DRMumbai: Plans are on by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India, for Vision 2035 under which 100 new airports are being planned across India with the investment of USD 60 billion. Major issues concerning aviation industry such as airport infrastructure, taxation, use of technology, etc., are to be addressed.
Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India revealed the plan at the International Aviation Summit that was held recently with the support of MoCA, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airports Authority India (AAI) at Taj Palace, New Delhi. He said that India’s economy is poised to grow to USD 10 trillion by 2035 and aviation sector will be one of the major contributors to that growth
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lead the growth of the economy of India and that the aviation industry must assist the growth. According to him the Private Public Partnership (PPP) business model strategy has been most effective in helping India achieve the milestone of 50-straight months of double digit domestic growth.
Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India at the Summit said that IATA has forecast India to cater 500 million trips by 2037. He said that MoCA was chasing a target of one billion trips by the same time.
He said supply was the problem for the growth of industry and not demand of which there was enough. MoCA has various initiatives in the pipeline to create a balance between demand and supply in the aviation sector which includes building 15 to 20 terminals at existing airports, building new Greenfield airports, pushing the Ministry of Finance to bring Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) under GST, use of technology for ease of passenger travel and air traffic management, etc.
Also present at the Summit, Alexandre De Juniac, Director General and CEO, IATA, said that demand from India has grown at a commendable pace but this came with challenges. “ATF and airport infrastructure is the biggest challenge ahead. We must address infrastructure constraints that limit growth and government policies that deviate from global standards and drive up the cost of connectivity.”
