IAF Heritage Museum loses altitude as visitor inflow dips
Indian Air Force
Heritage Museum in the Tricity seems to be waning. The dedicated Air Force heritage centre launched by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh with much fanfare in May, 2023, has suffered a significant dip in footfall since its inception.
Its expansion plan has also remained restricted to paper for over one year.
"Initially, Indian Air Force and Chandigarh administration were in talks to expand the IAF Heritage Museum to start its second phase. Preparation of an MoU was discussed and both parties prepared points for the same. However, there has been no progress for more than one year," sources in the Chandigarh administration revealed.
Despite the tourist centre boasting of modern paraphernalia like virtual and augmented reality, holograms, simulators, and electromechanical enclosures, the flow of visitors has gone down.
Sources in the administration said that visitors from the Tricity thronged the IAF Heritage Museum initially but the inflow started thinning down. Now, most of the visitors are people from outside the Tricity.
As per records of the Chandigarh administration, 58,273 people visited the Air Force Museum in the eight months from its inception on May 8, 2023 to December, 2023. From January, 2024 to December, 2024, the number of visitors at the museum located in the heritage building of the city in Sector 18, fell to 48,712.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Could This NEW Collagen Blend Finally Reduce Your Cellulite?
Vitauthority
Learn More
Undo
The most drastic reduction was seen in the first six months of 2025, when only 22,586 people visited the centre from January, 2025 to June, 2025.
According to records, Chandigarh administration earned significant revenue from the IAF Heritage Museum. From its launch in May 2023 to the end of July 2025, the authority earned over Rs 1.1 crore, including both entry fee of visitors as well as immersive experiences.
Box: Year and month-wise tourist flow
2023
Month | Tourist numbers
May | 6,678
June | 14,067
July | 5,906
Aug | 6,741
Sep | 4,195
Oct | 10,797
Nov | 4,632
Dec | 5,257
Total | 58,273
2024
Month | Tourist numbers
Jan | 2,800
Feb | 3,029
March | 3,720
April | 2,968
May | 3,135
June | 4,420
July | 3,621
August | 4,090
Sep | 3,388
Oct | 4,555
Nov | 5,404
Dec | 7,582
Total | 48,712
Year: 2025
Month | Tourist numbers
Jan | 3,599
Feb | 3,218
March | 3,565
April | 2,594
May | 3,479
June | 6,131
Total | 22,586
Box: Yearly data of visitors
2023 | May to Dec | 58,273
2024 | Jan to Dec | 48,712
2025: Jan to June | 22,586
Box: Revenue collection (including GST)
Period | Mode | Amount
2023-2024 | Entry fee | Rs 19.34L
2023-2024 | Immersive | Rs 34.37L
2024-2025 | Entry fee | Rs 13.44L
2024-2025 | Immersive | Rs 28.66L
2025-2026 (till July 31) | Entry fee | Rs 4.28L
2025-2026 (till July 31) | Immersive | Rs 11.15L
Total collected from May, 2023 to July, 2025
Entry | Rs 37L
Immersive | 74.18L (Including GST)
MSID:: 123346349 413 |
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and
silver prices
in your area.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
5 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Telcos' operating profit likely to grow 12-14% this fiscal on data surge: Crisil Ratings
Synopsis India's telecom industry is projected to see a 12–14% rise in operating profit, reaching ₹1.55 lakh crore in FY26, driven by higher data consumption and rising ARPU, Crisil Ratings said. ARPU is set to rise to ₹220–225 from ₹205, aided by 5G rollout and premium data plans. Lower capex post-5G rollout is expected to boost free cash flow to ₹70,000 crore, improving credit profiles. ANI The operating profit of telecom companies in India is expected to grow 12-14 per cent to about Rs 1.55 lakh crore this fiscal, driven by more data consumption and rise in average revenue per user, Crisil Ratings said on Monday. The "robust" operating performance, along with declining capital expenditure intensity of leading players post 5G rollout, is seen improving free cash flow, supporting credit profiles of leading players in the industry. The telecom industry benefits from high operating leverage, Crisil Ratings said adding that its analysis suggests that every Re 1 increase in ARPU adds Rs 850-950 crore to the industry's operating profit. "Operating profit (Ebitdar or Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and payment of lease rentals) of India's telecom companies will grow a strong 12-14 per cent to about Rs 1.55 lakh crore this fiscal, driven by surging data consumption and a consequent increase in the average revenue per user (ARPU)," Crisil Ratings said in a release. The analysis of three telcos, with about 93 per cent of subscriber market share, indicates as much, it added. The operating profit metrics last fiscal, grew at about 17 per cent, lifted predominantly due to tariff hikes. This fiscal, however, the growth will be supported by strong intrinsic factors, as per Crisil Ratings. ARPU is expected to climb to Rs 220-225 this fiscal from Rs 205 last fiscal, largely on account of rising data consumption, according to Anand Kulkarni, Director of Crisil Ratings. "Wider availability of 5G network, with penetration expected to touch 45-47 per cent by March 2026 from about 35 per cent as of March 2025, is fuelling data consumption for applications such as social media, video streaming, gaming, generative artificial intelligence and digital marketing," Kulkarni said. The data usage is expected to increase to 31-32 GB in FY26 from about 27 GB in the previous fiscal. "Additionally, the Indian telcos have been rebalancing their offerings by reducing plans with low data limit or offering 5G services only on plans offering higher data limit. This trend is expected to move consumers to premium plans, boosting telco ARPU," Kulkarni added. With rising demand for data-driven services, telcos have introduced premium plans that bundle over-the-top (OTT) services, a strategy that also helps telcos upselling and raise their ARPUs. Moreover, internet penetration in rural and semi-urban areas is expected to increase by 4-5 per cent rising to 82 per cent by fiscal 2026. Users shifting from voice-only plans to data plans will further boost ARPU. Typically, a voice-only plan with validity of 28 days is priced about Rs 100 lower than an entry level data plan of the same validity. Increase in ARPU results in surge in operating profit, given that about 60 per cent of the overall cost of telcos are fixed in nature, Crisil Ratings explained. "Thus, telecom industry benefits from high operating leverage and our analysis suggests that every Re 1 increase in ARPU adds Rs 850-950 crore to the industry Ebitdar," it said. The expansion in operating profit will also improve free cash flow because of lower capex requirements. Nitin Bansal, Associate Director, Crisil Ratings noted that capex intensity, at 31 per cent average over the past two fiscals, is expected to moderate to 24-26 per cent this fiscal as a large part of 5G network rollout has been completed by the leading telcos. Further, most of the spectrum purchase was completed in fiscal 2023 and next significant spectrum renewal are due in 2030. "This will result in healthy operating free cash flow of around Rs 70,000 crore this fiscal, a large part of which will likely be utilised for debt reduction," Bansal said. As a result, net leverage is estimated at about 2.7 times this fiscal, a cool off from 3.4 times in fiscal 2025. "This augurs well for the credit profiles, especially for the leading telcos," Bansal added. Crisil Ratings' assessment does not factor in any tariff hike this fiscal and the release added that any tariff hike will have an upside for ARPU, resulting in further improvement in free cash flows this fiscal and the next.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
7 minutes ago
- Business Standard
23% of 560 million PM Jan Dhan accounts remain inactive, says govt
As many as 23 per cent of the total 560.4 million Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts are inoperative, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday. Out of 560.3 million PMJDY accounts at the end of July 31, 2025, 130.4 million such accounts are inoperative, he said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of inoperative Jan Dhan accounts at 27.5 million, followed by Bihar at 13.9 million and Madhya Pradesh at 10.7 million, he said. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines dated February 18, 2009, a savings account should be treated as inoperative/dormant if there are no transactions in the account for over a period of two years. The government has taken various steps to ensure smooth functioning of PMJDY accounts, including Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). These benefits are transferred even to the inactive accounts. Banks inform account holders in writing through letters or email or SMS about the accounts which are to become inactive and also contact the holder(s) of the inoperative accounts through letters, email or SMS on a quarterly basis, he said. The government launches various specific campaigns from time to time for promotion of enrolment under various schemes, as well as for issues like activation of inoperative accounts, he said. Recently, a Gram Panchayat level Saturation Campaign has been launched from July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025 across the country wherein Re-KYC of 'inactive PMJDY accounts' is one of the key focus activities of the campaign, he said. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said there is no proposal to impose transaction charges on UPI, at present. "In order to ensure continuity of the UPI services by the ecosystem partners, the government had implemented the incentive scheme during the last four years i.e. FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25. During this period, the government has extended incentive support of approximately Rs 8,730 crore," he said. In reply to another question, Chaudhary said Public Sector Banks (PSBs) raise capital from the market to meet their capital requirements from time to time. The robust financial strength of PSBs has boosted investors' confidence, enabling them to raise capital from the market. Banks raise capital from the market in the form of equity, Basel III compliant Additional Tier-I and Tier-II bonds. "Total amount of capital raised by PSBs in the form of both equity and bonds during the last three financial years (FY2022-23 to FY 2024-25) amounts to Rs 1,53,978 crore (Rs 44,942 crore in FY2022-23, Rs 57,380 crore in FY 2023-24 and Rs 51,656 core in FY 2024-25)," he said. The fresh raising of capital by banks is used for various purposes, which included meeting the capital needs of banks to support credit growth, meeting regulatory requirements for capital adequacy, complying with minimum public shareholding norms by increasing public shareholding, replenishing AT-1 bonds due for exercising call option, strengthening the overall capital position of the bank and creating capital buffer for their future business requirements, he said. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said the ratio of Gross Non-Performing Assets in gold loans to the outstanding gold loans for SCBs has increased marginally from 0.20 per cent in March 2023 to 0.22 per cent in March 2025, while for Upper- and Middle-Layer NBFCs it has increased from 1.21 per cent to 2.14 per cent over the same period. The RBI has further informed that the data related to gold loans sanctioned by SCBs and NBFCs is not maintained by it, he said. The Office of the RBI Ombudsman has received 188 complaints related to gold loans during the financial year 2024-25, he said, adding that these complaints are handled in accordance with the provisions of the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021. To a question with regard to RBI's current official position on the regulation and legal status of cryptoassets, Chaudhary replied that RBI has informed that cryptocurrencies and crypto assets do not fall under its regulatory domain. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Express
7 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Is this a joke?': Gauhati High Court on cement company being allotted 3,000 bighas in Assam's tribal district
The Gauhati High Court, in a hearing last week, made sharp observations about the allotment of 3,000 bighas of land (around 4 square kilometres) in Assam's tribal Dima Hasao district to a private company to set up a cement factory, directing the state to furnish the policy under which 'such a huge chunk of land' has been allotted for the purpose in a region under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Dima Hasao is a tribal majority hill district in Assam, administered through provisions under the 6th Schedule of the Indian Constitution with an autonomous council, the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC). In October 2024, a plot of land measuring 2,000 bighas was allotted to Mahabal Cement Private Limited, a private company with its registered address in Kolkata, and in November that year, it was allotted another adjacent plot of 1,000 bighas of land. The allotment order, issued by the Additional Secretary, Revenue, NCHAC, states that the purpose of the allotment is the installation of a cement plant. Incidentally, Mahabal Cement had signed an MoU for investment worth Rs 11,000 crore with the state during the Assam government's mega investment summit, Advantage Assam 2.0, in February this year, in which a company spokesperson had said that they would set up a cement plant in Dima Hasao. During a hearing on two petitions concerning this allotment last week, including one by a set of locals alleging that they are being evicted from their land for the purpose, a Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi made the remarks when the counsel for the company, G Goswami, mentioned that the size of the allotment is 3,000 bighas. '3,000 bighas!… What is going on? 3,000 bighas allotted to a private company?… What kind of decision is this? Is this some kind of joke or what?' he remarked during the hearing. While the initial petition had been filed earlier this year by the company, seeking protection from 'disturbances created by local villagers' in construction work, Justice Medhi said last week that the court would like to examine the policy under which and the process through which the land was allotted to the company. In its order, the court referred to the size of the allotted land as 'extraordinary'. 'A cursory glance into the facts of the case would reveal that the land which has been sought to be allotted is about 3,000 bighas, which itself appears to be extraordinary. Ms. Goswami, the learned counsel, has, however, submitted that such allotment has been made pursuant to a mining lease granted under a tender process,' states the order. Directing the state to provide information on the allotment process, the court also noted the rights of tribal residents of the area concerned, as well as its environmental sensitivity. 'This court directs Shri C Sarma, learned Standing Counsel, NCHAC, to obtain the records containing the policy to allot such a huge chunk of land measuring 3,000 bighas to a factory. The aforesaid direction has been given by taking into account that the district is a 6th Scheduled District under the Constitution of India, where the priority has to be given to the rights and interests of the tribal people residing there. Further, the area involved is Umrangso in the district of Dima Hasao, which is known as an environment hotspot containing hot spring, stop over for migratory birds, wildlife, etc,' states the order. The Umrangso region in Dima Hasao has widespread coal, limestone and granite quarrying activities and a cement plant.
