HYDERABAD, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Aircraft holding and the Indian Hindavia company will soon set up a joint venture to market and sell Il-114-100 airliners in India, the head of the Russian company said on Wednesday.

The Il-114-100 is a short-range passenger airliner powered by two PW-127 Pratt and Whitney turboprop engines. It can carry up to 64 passengers.

"The joint venture will promote the Il-114 on the Indian market and in other South and Southeast Asian countries," Pavel Melnikov said at the opening of the India Aviation 2008 air show.

India Aviation 2008 is India's first international civil aviation exhibition. The exhibition is organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation jointly with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and is being held from October 15 to 18 at Hyderabad.

Melnikov said that despite the current crisis in the global civil aircraft industry, India remains an attractive market for foreign aircraft manufacturers.

He also said that Il-114 planes have twice the fuel efficiency of their turbojet counterparts, and that demand for the aircraft will grow as fuel costs rise.

Il-114-100 planes are produced at Uzbekistan's Tashkent aircraft manufacturing plant, which has been integrated into Russia's United Aircraft Corporation.