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Globalising air: The Pioneer
New Delhi, Dec 10: The recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee, the first part of whose report was released on Monday, clearly aim at putting India`s civil aviation regime at par with that of any advanced country of the world through a process that is in tune with the wider one of globalisation at work.
New Delhi, Dec 10: The recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee, the first part of whose report was released on Monday, clearly aim at putting India's civil aviation regime at par with that of any advanced country of the world through a process that is in tune with the wider one of globalisation at work. The committee has borne in mind not only the specific requirements of the country's civil aviation sector but also the need to preserve the national carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines, bring air travel within the reach of the proverbial common person, and promote tourism.
The goals are unexceptionable. The need to upgrade India's civil aviation sector is self-evident at a time when the country not only seeks to be a major global destination for foreign direct investment but also to have a vibrant national economy which requires both rapid communications and connectivity. Equally transparent is the need to popularise air travel. Only 2.6 crore of India's population of 100 crore flew by air last year while over 64.8 crore people used airlines in the rest of the world. Further, as Mr Chandra observed, every Rs 10 lakh invested in tourism generated 89 jobs compared to 13 in the manufacturing sector and 45 in agriculture. Unfortunately, India currently attracts 24 lakh foreign tourists every year which is a mere 0.4 per cent of the international tourist traffic.
Equally unexceptionable is the major thrust of the committee's recommendations which are aimed at improving the viability of the airlines, the quality of their services as well as expanding and upgrading the entire infrastructure of civil aviation in India which, in the last analysis, will determine the quality of the country's civil aviation regime. The slew of measures to improve airlines finances include permission to carriers to source aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from suppliers of their choice, substantial reduction in excise duty and sales tax, abolition of import duty and sales tax on aviation gas, reduction of landing and navigation charges at Indian airports which are now 78 per cent higher than those in other countries, and the lowering of airport charges to levels comparable to those in neighbouring Southeast Asian and Gulf countries. In terms of infrastructure, the recommendation for removing air traffic control (ATC) services from the jurisdiction of the Airports Authority of India, has everything to commend it. The coming of age of civil aviation in India will involve a vast increase in the volume of air traffic and an independent and efficient ATC set-up will be needed to handle that.
Meanwhile, the opening up of Indian skies must not threaten domestic carriers. Bilateral and multilateral pacts signed in this context have to be carefully crafted on the basis of reciprocity. Also, much will depend on how the Naresh Chandra Committee's report is finalised-suggestions would be received until December 31-and implemented, and what the second part of the report, to be ready in six to eight weeks, recommends.
The goals are unexceptionable. The need to upgrade India's civil aviation sector is self-evident at a time when the country not only seeks to be a major global destination for foreign direct investment but also to have a vibrant national economy which requires both rapid communications and connectivity. Equally transparent is the need to popularise air travel. Only 2.6 crore of India's population of 100 crore flew by air last year while over 64.8 crore people used airlines in the rest of the world. Further, as Mr Chandra observed, every Rs 10 lakh invested in tourism generated 89 jobs compared to 13 in the manufacturing sector and 45 in agriculture. Unfortunately, India currently attracts 24 lakh foreign tourists every year which is a mere 0.4 per cent of the international tourist traffic.
Equally unexceptionable is the major thrust of the committee's recommendations which are aimed at improving the viability of the airlines, the quality of their services as well as expanding and upgrading the entire infrastructure of civil aviation in India which, in the last analysis, will determine the quality of the country's civil aviation regime. The slew of measures to improve airlines finances include permission to carriers to source aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from suppliers of their choice, substantial reduction in excise duty and sales tax, abolition of import duty and sales tax on aviation gas, reduction of landing and navigation charges at Indian airports which are now 78 per cent higher than those in other countries, and the lowering of airport charges to levels comparable to those in neighbouring Southeast Asian and Gulf countries. In terms of infrastructure, the recommendation for removing air traffic control (ATC) services from the jurisdiction of the Airports Authority of India, has everything to commend it. The coming of age of civil aviation in India will involve a vast increase in the volume of air traffic and an independent and efficient ATC set-up will be needed to handle that.
Meanwhile, the opening up of Indian skies must not threaten domestic carriers. Bilateral and multilateral pacts signed in this context have to be carefully crafted on the basis of reciprocity. Also, much will depend on how the Naresh Chandra Committee's report is finalised-suggestions would be received until December 31-and implemented, and what the second part of the report, to be ready in six to eight weeks, recommends.