“The entire Air India transaction is a win-win situation for everyone,” said Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India, while addressing the special Session “Building India into a Global Civil Aviation Powerhouse” of Partnership Summit 2021, organised by CII in association with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, from 13 – 15 December 2021.
The Minister said that the successful transaction was the result of an iterative, dynamic, vigorous, and result-oriented spirit while involving different stakeholders in the completely transparent process. Mr Scindia wished the TATAs well and said that the transfer of ownership will be complete at the turn of the new year. The privatisation of national carrier Air India finally coming through, after more than two decades of attempts by the central government, marks a watershed event for the policy discourse on disinvestment and privatisation in India.
The Minister said that the Omicron variant has triggered a fresh wave of concerns over international travel across the world leading to the imposition of new travel measures by several nations including India. “We must put health of our citizens at the top of our priority list amid the new concerns.” The Minister, however, stated that his ministry is actively working with the health ministry, and the Ministry of Home Affairs to ease out travel restrictions.
India has brought out a supportive Drone policy based on trust and with the thrust to make India aatmanirbhar in Drone manufacturing, the Minister said. He further remarked, “We have incorporated ease of doing business practices, reduced the number of forms from 25 to 5, and from 72 type of fees to 4 type of fees. We have fixed up the accountability by introducing time-bound licences for drone operators. The Production Linked Incentive scheme through which government is offering incentives is twice the size of the entire drone industry as of now.”
Shri Scindia highlighted that the ministry and government is focusing to develop an entire aviation ecosystem in the country ranging from MRO, aircraft leasing, general aviation, and drones to helicopters and aerospace manufacturing.
Mr Vinayak Chatterjee, Co-founder of Feedback Infra, and infrastructure expert, and Chairman of CII National Council on Infrastructure welcomed the liberal and market friendly Drone policy. He remarked that the recent focus on developing the MRO industry can create thousands of jobs.
Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, welcomed the taxes on ATFs being reduced and a friendly regulatory regime.
14 December 2021