Speech By The President Of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee On The Occasion Of Inauguration Of Integrated Terminal Building At Swami Vivekananda Airport

It gives me immense pleasure to be here in Raipur on the occasion of inauguration of the New Integrated Terminal at Raipur Airport.

I am extremely happy that Raipur Airport has been named after the saint/philosopher and visionary Swami Vivekananda. After Kolkata, Raipur is the place Swamiji spent the largest number of years of his life. This year is his 150th birth anniversary and we also have only recently marked 100 years of civil aviation in India. It is therefore most appropriate that the Airport be named after him.

I hope that this Airport will help build bridges between Chhattisgarh and the rest of India as well as the world. I am confident it will help bring a large number of tourists and business people to the beautiful and mineral resource rich state which has a hard working and talented population.

Airports serves as gateways to the country. They are economic magnets which help further development and growth of the region where they are located. The first impression about the state of infrastructure in a city or a state comes from the facilities at the Airport. Airports serve as an effective medium for the movement of goods and services from one region to the other. These also serve as a life line in remote areas. It is therefore of critical importance that we build across India airports that conform to international standards and are safe, efficient, comfortable as well as convenient to passengers.

The Aviation industry has grown world over and India is no exception. Air travel is no longer a luxury or the exclusive privilege of the rich. The rapid expansion of aviation in India has provided significant impetus to the economy. He said that the rapid expansion of aviation in India has provided significant impetus to the economy. He also stated that airport

I am happy to know that the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India have taken up the development and modernisation of existing airports in a mission mode.

State Governments today also acknowledge the importance of having sufficient airports in their State to have better connectivity between various cities. I hope Chhattisgarh State Government, with the help of Civil Aviation Ministry and Airports Authority of India will develop more airports in the State.

I dedicate this airport to the Nation and wish the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India all success in their endeavours to build state-of-the-art infrastructure in the country. I hope that this new terminal will not only support growth and prosperity of this state but also that of the country as a whole.

I thank Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India and Chhattisgarh State Government for inviting me to this function.

Jai hind