Potential bidders for a 75-aircraft Indian air force basic trainer requirement met this week for a pre-bid conference. India has issued a dozen manufacturers a request for proposals, with responses due by March 17. Delivery of the first 12 aircraft is expected within two years of a contract award, ruling out anything other than an off-the-shelf purchase. The urgency of the basic trainer requirement comes after the crash of an HPT-32 basic trainer and the death of two instructors last August brought about the grounding of the fleet. In the aftermath of the grounding, air force students have been training in the Kiran jet.