India To Get 140 Mn Air Travellers By 2024: Scindia

Mr. Scindia noted that there was a time when there was not a single passenger at the airports, and now we have 4.56 lakh domestic passengers in a day.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, spoke on Monday at the CAPA India’s Aviation Summit 2023 and discussed the various aspects of the growth of the Indian aviation industry.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Scindia noted that there was a time when there was not a single passenger at the airports, and now we are at a time when we have 4.56 lakh domestic passengers in a day. 

In FY 2024 alone, India will have more than 140 million passengers, he continued.

According to the minister, domestic passenger numbers increased by more than twice from 120 million to about 275 million in the six years between FY 2014 and FY 2020, at a CAGR of 14.5 percent. If the COVID outbreak hadn’t occurred, the CAGR would have been closer to 18 to 20 percent. 

The minister stated that while India is the third-largest domestic market in the world in terms of seat capacity, we are still ranked 18th in terms of international seat capacity. He then went on to discuss the potential for exponential growth.

“As a result, the likelihood of the market experiencing steady, long-term growth appears to be very high. In FY 2030, India’s real GDP is anticipated to reach about 252 trillion rupees, and its GDP per capita will have risen from lower middle-income to upper middle-income status. 

India is becoming more urbanized, and by 2030, 40% of the country is predicted to be urbanized, up from 34.9 percent in 2020. 

Middle- and high-income households are experiencing much faster increases in disposable income than the national average.

The young population in India will be among the largest in the world, and young people typically travel more, he continued. 

Speaking about overcoming supply-side difficulties, he said that the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been making unheard-of efforts to build capacity, get rid of bottlenecks, and streamline procedures so that the country can have the necessary aviation infrastructure in place.

 “The goal is to have a 20 trillion dollar aviation system in place by 2047, when the country will be celebrating 100 years of independence. In line with this vision, the government has doubled the number of airports in the past eight and a half years, going from 74 in 2014 to 148 today. 

To ensure that doing business in the sector is simple, the union government is simplifying regulations. To ensure the country has an adequate supply of pilots, cabin crew, engineers, etc., policies have been liberalized. 

Compared to 2702 filled positions in 2019 there are now more than 3692 filled positions, an improvement of almost 33% in the ATCO staffing position in just the last three years. We also anticipate hiring 396 more ATC employees this year, he continued.

Additionally, the government has liberalized the FTO policy, which has led to a proliferation of FTOs in the nation, in order to increase pilot training capacity over time. 

It has been decided to do away with the idea of airport royalty (the revenue share payments made by FTOs to AAI). 

Currently, we have 35 FTOs. At 5 airports, 9 additional FTOs are approaching. By December 2023, there will be 50 FTO slots available thanks to the 6 FTO slots that AAI has awarded at 5 airports.

Speaking about aerospace manufacturing and MRO, Mr. Scindia stated that the government has been concentrating on ensuring that India becomes an essential component of global supply chains, such as in the aviation industry, as part of the Make In India campaign.

 “The Airbus-Tata joint venture’s introduction of private manufacturing for the C-295 transport aircraft represents a significant step toward achieving self-reliance. In light of the estimated 1500–1700 aircraft that Indian carriers are expected to order in the near future, we should work to establish India as a manufacturing hub for the aerospace industry. 

Additionally, we have taken action to create an ecosystem for MROs for aircraft. In addition to allowing 100 percent FDI into the sector, we have lowered the GST rate on MRO services from 18% to 5%. Even the MRO Guidelines were relaxed. 

Since we reduced the GST by 25%, there has been a significant increase in MROs (from 113 to 140 MROs approved by DGCA today). 

Our MRO sector has a turnover of close to USD 2 billion, but our work is currently limited to 15% to 20% of the market, which we need to make sure is fully tapped into, he continued. I urge our MRO industry to think big, think global, and act globally. 

Speaking about the growth of the nation’s drone industry, the Minister stated that a CAGR of 80% is expected for the market to grow from 2900 crore in 2020 to approximately 77,300 crore in 2025, and that it could eventually reach up to 2,95,000 crore by 2030.

Manufacturing and drone flying each have a potential workforce of close to 3 lakh people. 

A number of actions have been taken in order to fully realize the economic potential of drones in India, including the notification of New Drone Rules 2021, which eliminate a number of licenses, fees, and forms.

90 percent of India is now a green zone, where using a drone is not subject to approval, according to the Drone Airspace Map, which was published on September 24, 2021. 

The PLI scheme was established to promote drone production. As a result, drone use is increasing across all industries in the nation, and drone production is rising.

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