 Speaking at a national seminar held in December 2014, HAL's chief test pilot, Wing Commander Unnikrishna Pillai, gave a talk on the design challenges posed development of medium and heavy lift helicopters in India.He said that, following on from the expertise gained in earlier projects, the Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre (RWR&DC) of India has become confident and is well poised to develop medium lift helicopters.During early 2017, HAL reportedly re-launched its MLH proposal, now seeking to produce a 12-tonne twin-engine multipurpose helicopter; a new project name, the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) was also applied to the programme.