<div>T. Suvarna Raju Saturday took over as the 17th chairman of the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), following his predecessor R.K. Tyagi's retirement.<br /><br />"My priorities will be on operational excellence, building the company as a technology powerhouse and creating a knowledge organisation," Raju said in a statement after assuming charge here.<br /><br />Raju, director for design and development in the Rs.15,000-crore ($2.5 billion) defence behemoth, was selected from among five contenders to succeed Tyagi by the Public Enterprises Selection Board Sep 16 in New Delhi.<br /><br />Raju, who has the distinction of being granted the first patent in the company in 2002, has applied for a whopping 1,000 patents during the last two years.<br /><br />"My goal will be to align the company with the government's 'Make in India' endeavour though it's a challenging task in aerospace. I believe the best of technologies can never be bought, but can only be developed," Raju said.<br /><br />Hailing from a village in West Godavari district in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Raju joined HAL in June 1980 as management trainee after graduating from IIT in Chennai.<br /><br />He has master's degrees in business administration and in defence and strategic studies.<br />Raju, who drafted the company's first research and development (R&D) policy, spearheaded the country's self-reliance in producing 25 kN (kilo Newton) turbofan engines.<br /><br />"Under Raju's leadership, the company initiated several R&D programmes covering Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), HTT-40 trainer, Jaguar Darin-III and Mirage upgrade," the statement said.<br /><br />Raju was also instrumental in setting up a production line for rolling out advanced jet trainer (AJT) Hawk under licence from Britain's BAE Systems for Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots.<br /><br />Raju is also the first member-secretary of the design development management board in the defence ministry and member-secretary of the national aeronautics coordination group.</div>
<div>T. Suvarna Raju Saturday took over as the 17th chairman of the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), following his predecessor R.K. Tyagi's retirement.<br /><br />"My priorities will be on operational excellence, building the company as a technology powerhouse and creating a knowledge organisation," Raju said in a statement after assuming charge here.<br /><br />Raju, director for design and development in the Rs.15,000-crore ($2.5 billion) defence behemoth, was selected from among five contenders to succeed Tyagi by the Public Enterprises Selection Board Sep 16 in New Delhi.<br /><br />Raju, who has the distinction of being granted the first patent in the company in 2002, has applied for a whopping 1,000 patents during the last two years.<br /><br />"My goal will be to align the company with the government's 'Make in India' endeavour though it's a challenging task in aerospace. I believe the best of technologies can never be bought, but can only be developed," Raju said.<br /><br />Hailing from a village in West Godavari district in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Raju joined HAL in June 1980 as management trainee after graduating from IIT in Chennai.<br /><br />He has master's degrees in business administration and in defence and strategic studies.<br />Raju, who drafted the company's first research and development (R&D) policy, spearheaded the country's self-reliance in producing 25 kN (kilo Newton) turbofan engines.<br /><br />"Under Raju's leadership, the company initiated several R&D programmes covering Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), HTT-40 trainer, Jaguar Darin-III and Mirage upgrade," the statement said.<br /><br />Raju was also instrumental in setting up a production line for rolling out advanced jet trainer (AJT) Hawk under licence from Britain's BAE Systems for Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots.<br /><br />Raju is also the first member-secretary of the design development management board in the defence ministry and member-secretary of the national aeronautics coordination group.</div>