OREANDA-NEWS. Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated the Meeting of Chief Ministers and State Civil Aviation Ministers in New Delhi today to discuss the Draft Civil Aviation Policy and other issues related to civil aviation sector. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the civil aviation sector in India has been growing steadily registering a growth of 13.8% during the last 10 years. He said, though the rate of growth came down during the last two years due to the overall economic slowdown, it is recovering fast, with the year 2013-14 showing a growth of 6%.

Shri Raju expressed concern that despite high growth rates ,most of the airlines in the country are reported to have incurred losses and some airlines are struggling to stay afloat. He said, though there is a need for helicopter operations in India, helicopter population in the country has not improved in recent years. The number of small aircraft and seaplanes is stagnant. The Minister said that the aviation industry as such is seriously affected by high operational costs including cost of aviation turbine fuel, service tax and other charges, shortages of maintenance facilities, high foreign exchange rate, competition from foreign airlines etc. There is a high customs duty on import of private aircrafts and helicopters.

Shri Raju stated that aviation is now acknowledged as a growth engine, which has a force multiplier effect. He said that as per global estimates, for every \$100 of input, there is \$325 worth of output generated while for every 100 jobs created by aviation industry, there are 610 jobs created in other industries. Highlighting close linkages between tourism and civil aviation sectors, the Minister said more than 90% of the international tourists arrive by air. He said that according to a study conducted in 2009, the aviation sector has contributed 0.5% directly and 1.5% with catalytic effects to the Indian GDP and this, when coupled with the tourism sector’s contribution of 5%, works out to be a significant 6.5% of the GDP. He said acknowledging the role of civil aviation in the overall growth of economy, Government has proposed a Draft Civil Aviation Policy.

Civial Aviation Minister said that India’s impressive growth in international and domestic trade over past few years has augured well for the air-cargo industry. However, he said, the current share of air-cargo compared to other modes of cargo-transportation is fairly low in India. The Minister added that the growth in the passenger and cargo traffic requires significant investments in terms of construction of new airports, expansion and modernization of existing airports, improvement in connecting infrastructure and better airspace management.

Shri Raju underlined that the real challenge is to manage phenomenal growth of air traffic with safety. He said, the increase in air traffic has not only increased demand of aircraft but also posed a challenge to meet the airport and air navigation infrastructure to ensure safe, orderly and efficient operations.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Tourism (Independent Charge) and Culture (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that the three Ministries, i.e. Civil Aviation, Tourism and Culture have to work together to realize the great potential that India has in the civil aviation sector. He emphasized on improving air connectivity to remote areas. Highlighting the role civil aviation plays in an economy like India, the Minister stated a multi-model approach is the need of the hour for the development of the sector.

Secretary, Civil Aviation Shri V Somasundaran, senior officials of the state governments and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.