Addendum
Pie in India’s sky as government touts nation as global hub
April 1st 2016
No one questions the fact that India is one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets, despite its reputation for being somewhat chaotic. Read More » But a global aviation hub? That’s the plan, declared Anil Srivastava, joint secretary at India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, in a speech in March. It also will be one of the top three aviation markets in the world by 2020, he said, with passenger traffic at airports expected to increase to 450 million in the next four years from 159.3 million in 2012-2013.
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In India’s 12th Five Year Plan, investment in aviation is forecast to be $12.1 billion, with private investment contributing $9.3 billion to the total sum. Elements of the aviation strategy have been questioned, particularly the construction over the next two decades of 200 low-cost airports at tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country. India already has several “ghost airports” that are virtually empty because passenger demand does not justify airlines servicing them. Minister Srivastava said $1.3 billion is planned to be spent on non-metro projects from 2013-2017, mainly on modernizing airports.
Becoming an global hub will depend largely on the content of New Delhi’s new aviation policy, now being finalized. It must promote a regulatory and tax environment that will allow airlines in India to flourish.
