In order to give a boost to Make in India initiative, the Narendra Modi-led government is preparing a roadmap for the domestic manufacturing of aircraft as well as for aircraft financing and maintenance within the country, said the Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu. He was speaking at the Global Aviation Summit 2019, which was held in Mumbai and organised jointly by FICCI, Airports Authority of India and Civil Aviation Ministry.
“We will soon roll out a road map for manufacturing of aircraft in India…We would like to join hands with top players from across the globe,” Prabhu said while emphasising on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work to happen on domestic turf only. According to Prabhu, if the MRO work is done outside the country, there will be a loss of money as well as job opportunities.
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In order to meet future air travel demand, there is a requirement of about 2,300 new aircraft. The government wants the financing for aircraft to be done by local players and is working on it how that should happen from India, Prabhu said, adding “We are losing out lot of resources to outsiders.” The domestic passenger traffic has been rising at a rate of 17-18%.
The inaugural session of the Global Aviation Summit primarily focused on the summit’s main theme of ‘Flying for all’, which touts to make air travel affordable for the citizen of every class in this country.
Indian #Aviation sector has been growing at the rate of 20% for last 4 years – the fastest growing Aviation Sector in the world! Led by the vision of our Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, we are ready with a robust growth strategy to pave the way forward. #GAvS2019 #FlyingForAll pic.twitter.com/VYWga22qxX
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) January 15, 2019
Meanwhile, the government has also launched a drone policy and wants drones to become as one of the preferred use for several sectors such as disaster management and agriculture, among others. “We will make sure that drones are manufactured in the country,” he added.
The new policy by Ministry of Civil Aviation seeks drone operators to have a unique identification number, unmanned aircraft operator permit, no permission-no takeoff clearance, insurance, and ID plate via the newly launched online portal for drone registration – Digital Sky.
India’s drone market, according to a report by advisory firm BIS Research, will become $885.7 million in size by 2021 even as the global market will hit $21.47-billion mark.