Pawan Hans asked to chart financial and organisational turnaround plan by December

New Delhi: The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has asked state-owned helicopter operator Pawan Hans to submit a five-year turnaround plan by December, focusing on financial and organisational restructuring, steps to enhance operational and fleet efficiencies, and the identification of new verticals and revenue streams.

The move comes amid the government's push to handhold central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) with strategic potential and improve their performance. The communication, sent in the first week of October, follows a September meeting between the Pawan Hans management and senior DPE officials. Pawan Hans management is also planning to engage a senior consultant to help prepare the plan, officials said.








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"There is a lot of potential for the state-owned helicopter operator and, with proper hand-holding, it can grow multifold," a senior official said. The move follows an instruction by a committee headed by cabinet secretary TV Somanathan, which has recommended handholding CPSEs that can be strategic to the medium- to long-term growth of the country.

The roadmap is expected to assess opportunities in heli-tourism, religious tourism, helicopter emergency medical services, regional connectivity and other aviation-related businesses. The development of heliports and services for remote and underserved destinations could also feature in the expansion strategy. Pawan Hans has separately been exploring electric seaplane technology. In August, it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Norway's Noemi Aerospace to explore collaboration in electric seaplanes and sustainable aviation.

The turnaround exercise follows the collapse of an earlier divestment attempt. In May 2022, the government selected a consortium led by Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd to acquire 51% stake in the company for ₹211.14 crore. The process was subsequently called off in July 2023 amid pending legal cases.

The civil aviation ministry is the administrative ministry for Pawan Hans, while the DPE, under the finance ministry, frames policy guidelines relating to the performance and management of CPSEs. The ministry has already allocated ₹450 crore for fleet modernisation, linking the company's expansion plans to the government's push to strengthen indigenous helicopter capacity and improve connectivity to remote regions under the Udaan scheme.

The proposed induction of Dhruv helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd into Pawan Hans is also part of the Centre's effort to strengthen indigenous aviation capabilities.