India has its own Air Force One now

A Business Boeing Jet (BBJ), patterned on the US president's office-in-the-sky Air Force One, was inducted into the Communications Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) by President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday.

A Business Boeing Jet (BBJ), patterned on the US president's office-in-the-sky Air Force One, was inducted into the Communications Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) by President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday.

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Patil will be flying to Lilabari in the aircraft on her way to Arunachal Pradesh.

The jet is one of three the IAF has purchased and is equipped with state-of-the-art security gadgets and the latest communication systems.

The first BBJ will be christened Rajdoot, a name initially borne by a Russian TU-124 and then by the Boeing-737 the new jet is replacing. The BBJ is based on a newer generation Boeing-737.

The Communications Squadron ferries the president, the vice president, the prime minister, the service chiefs and other dignitaries.