The Ministry of Civil Aviation on January 15 unveiled the Vision 2040 document, which highlights the growth potential in different sub-sectors of Indian aviation and the key action steps are required to be taken to achieve the desired objective.
As per the document the total passenger traffic (to, from and within India) in India is expected to rise nearly six-fold from 187 million in FY 2018 to around 1124 million in FY 2040. This includes around 821 million domestic passengers and around 303 million international passengers (to and from India).
The overall CAGR works out to around 9% in domestic and 7% in international traffic during FY 2018-2040, it said adding that since aviation is a longterm plan, aircraft procurement, airport development, air navigation system changes and skill development should be done in a cohesive manner.
Rather than having five-year plans, the document talks about India having a robust 20-year plan that lays out the targets and the path to get there along with time lines and clear accountability. “This document is an attempt in that direction,” it said.
It said technology developments like artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, biometrics, composites, super-alloys, biofuels etc. are changing the face of aviation and it is humanly impossible to predict the oil price or the exchange rate a month down the line, much less the impact of technology 10 years hence.
The vision document said with the right policies and a relentless focus on execution, India can surprise the world by not just meeting but exceeding the Vision 2040 targets. “India is the seventh-largest country by area and the second-most populous with over 1.35 billion people. It’s one of the fastest growing economies of the world and likely to become the fifth largest in 2019,” it said.
“The Indian aviation market is on a high growth path. Total passenger traffic to, from and within India, during Apr-Nov 2018 grew by around 15% year on year as compared to around 6% globally. India is now the seventh largest aviation market with 187 million passengers (to, from and within India)inFY2017-18,” it added. It is expected to be third largest by 2022, it said.
As per the document initiatives like Nabh Nirman (for airport capacity augmentation), Digi Yatra (for paperless travel) and AirSewa (for online passenger grievance redressal) are bringing in radical changes.
“The tax structure for Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and aircraft leasing may be gradually aligned with leading global jurisdictions,” it said.
It said that the government may consider establishing a Nabh Nirman Fund (NNF) with a starting corpus of around $2 billion to support low traffic airports in their initial phases.
The concept of land pooling may be used to keep land acquisition costs low and to provide landowners with high value developed plots in the vicinity of the airport. It also said DGCA may be converted into a fully-independent Civil Aviation Authority, with its own sources of funding and freedom to recruit professionals at market-linked salaries.
“Most transactions with DGCA will be automated with minimal human interface,” it added.
