Flying high into Amrit Kaal

Why in News?

• The article highlights the significant strides in the development of civil aviation sector in India owing to policy push by the Government of India.

 

Statistics Related to Civil Aviation Sector in India

• As per International Air Transport Association (IATA), India is the third largest domestic aviation market in the world after China and the US and is expected to overtake UK to become the third largest air passenger market by 2024.
• It is also currently the 7th largest civil aviation market in the world and is expected to become the third-largest civil aviation market within the next 10 years.
• Domestic passengers more than doubled from 60 million in 2014 to 143 million in 2020 and the domestic traffic also contributes around 69% of the total airline traffic in South Asia.
• There has also been a significant increase in international air passengers from 23 million to 35 million.
• The rising demand has thus pushed the number of airplanes operating in the sector and is expected to reach 1,100 planes by 2027.
• As of 2022, India had 129 operational airports and India has envisaged increasing the number of operational airports to 190-200 by 2040.

 

India’s Unique Tryst with Commercial Aviation

• The initial history of Indian aviation can be traced back to February 18, 1911, when the first functional Civil Aviation flight from Allahabad took off for Naini over a distance of 10 km by a French pilot named Henri Pequet.
• JRD Tata became the first Indian to pass out with 'No. 1' endorsed on his flying license and later he piloted the first flight in the history of Indian aviation.
• Indian aviation kicked off in 1932 with the introduction of the first airline, Tata Air Services and JRD Tata later came to be known as the "Father of Indian civil aviation".
• By 1994, India repealed all laws regulating the formation of airlines and allowed the introduction of scheduled private airlines.
• This led to new airlines like Jet Airways and ModiLuft along with government-run airlines like Air India and Indian Airlines.
• Currently, around ten major airlines are offering air services in the Indian skies, including AirAsia, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, Akasa Air, Air India, Jet Airways, etc.

 

What are the Government Initiatives to Boost Civil Aviation in India?

• RCS-UDAN scheme: To stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable for the masses the Centre had launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) in 2016.
  • The scheme provides connectivity to unserved and underserved airports via the revival of the existing airstrips and airports and make flight operations to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities commercially viable.
  • It hence aims to increase air connectivity by providing affordable, economically viable and profitable travel on regional routes.
  • Currently, approximately 475 UDAN routes involving 73 airports including nine heliports and two water aerodromes have been operationalised.
  • About 75 routes, which is more than 15 per cent, connect the Northeast where terrain and other challenges require a robust air network.
  • Since its inception, over 1.14 crore passengers have travelled in more than 2.16 Lakh UDAN flights and Rs 2,300 crore has been paid to selected airlines by the government as a part of the viability gap funding.
• Production Linked Incentives (PLI) for drones: The government issued guidelines for PLI for drones and drone components while aiming to house a $1.8 billion drone industry by 2026.
  • Coupled with this there has been a massive liberalisation of the drone policy under which 25 forms have been reduced to just five and 72 types of fees have been reduced to four.
  • Also, approximately 90 per cent of airspace has been marked as ‘Green’ under which no permission is required to operate drones.
• Digi Yatra policy: It aims to provide passengers a seamless experience and hassle-free movement at airports without the need for verification of ticket and ID at multiple touch points.
• Key investments: The government has allowed 100% FDI under the automatic route in scheduled air transport service, regional air transport service and domestic scheduled passenger airline.
  • FDI inflow in India’s air transport sector (including air freight) reached USD 3.56 billion between April 2000-June 2022.
• Krishi Udan Scheme: The civil aviation policy aims to contribute in the area of agriculture by transporting perishable food products of farmers from the hilly areas, north-eastern states and tribal areas.
• Rescue Missions: The Ministry of civil aviation had been instrumental in rescuing Indians and foreign nationals during emergencies. For instance, under Vande Bharat Mission, India operated air bubbles to facilitate the travel of 1.83 crore passengers during the various COVID-19 waves.
  • Further, Operation Ganga rescued 22,500 Indian students from Ukraine at the peak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

 

What is the significance of Civil Aviation penetration in India?

• India’s civil aviation sector has democratized air travel by adding crores of first-time fliers as flying is no longer looked upon as an elitist luxury but a necessary service.
• It has also provided employment opportunities for engineers, trained technicians and airline service staff.
• The private airlines are also attracting India’s large middle class into becoming commercial air travellers by offering competitive no-frills, cost-effective services.

 

Focusing on the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Sector of Indian Civil Aviation

• Indian flight operators have a fleet size of approximately 750 aircraft and as flight operations in India continue to grow, the fleet size is expected to increase rapidly.
• The growth in the country’s fleet size is positively correlated with the growth in MRO sector, keeping the aircraft airworthy.
  • As per industry estimates, the market size of the MRO sector in India stood at around $2 billion, catering to 15 per cent of our domestic MRO work.
• By 2028, the MRO industry is likely to grow over US$ 2.4 billion from US$ 800 million in 2018.
• Hence land allotment for entities setting up MRO facilities in India has been revised to a period of 30 years in September 2021, from earlier 3-5 years as the government aims to make India a ‘Global MRO Hub.’
  • To actualize this, 100 per cent FDI is permitted via automatic route for MRO. This is in addition to a reduction of GST from 18 per cent to 5 per cent with full Input Tax Credit.
• The availability of a strong pool of English-speaking engineers at affordable rates also gives India a natural advantage in increasing its share of MRO-related work.

 

Increasing the Flying Fleet

• As the Indian fleet size grows, the need for flying staff including commercial pilots, transport pilots and others will increase.
• The need for pilots has also led to an increase in Flight Training organisations (FTOs).
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in an attempt to train commercial pilots in India announced in 2021 the setting up eight new flying academies across five airports.
  • These are namely Belagavi and Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Jalgaon in Maharashtra, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, and Lilabari in Assam.

 

Building Synergy Between Tourism and Civil Aviation

• While inaugurating Kushinagar airport to facilitate the air travel requirements of international Buddhist pilgrims in India in 2021, PM Modi referred it as a tribute to the devotion of Buddhist communities around the world.
• He further emphasized that tourism in all its forms, whether for faith or leisure, needs modern infrastructure and airways are one of the most crucial components.
• Taking this into account, the Ministry of Tourism also funds more than 50 routes and has approved another 10 routes under the RCS-UDAN Scheme.
  • According to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India ranked 7th among 185 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution (4.7%) to the GDP in 2020.

 

Conclusion

• The industry’s stakeholders should further engage and collaborate with policy makers to implement efficient and rational decisions that would boost India’s civil aviation industry.
• With the right policies and relentless focus on quality, cost and passenger interest, India would be well placed to achieve its vision of becoming the largest aviation market in the era of India’s entry into Amrit Kaal.

 

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Q1) What is the role of AAI?

The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under Ministry of Civil Aviation,responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India. 

 

Q2) What is DGCA?

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation regulating air transport services to/from/within India and for enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety, and airworthiness standards.

 

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Source: Indian Express

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7AMnrYK9ps&t=441s