Aviation set to spur growth: PM Modi

A day after the Centre launched the ambitious Regional Connectivity Scheme — re-christened as the “Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (Udan)” — to allow for better and more affordable air connectivity between small cities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused previous governments of having “no vision” for the aviation sector and said his government is working in “mission mode” for the expansion of the sector, which will spur growth and employment.

Attacking previous governments, Mr Modi said, “Earlier, airports were set up, planes would fly, but the country did not have an aviation policy. How to take the sector forward in the next five or ten years and take care of its and passengers’ needs, what should be done for common people, there was no vision in place earlier. It was just moving.”

“After the new NDA government came to power, for the first time since independence it formulated a new aviation policy for the country,” he said, inaugurating the airport terminal building at Vadodara, Gujarat, which is now the country’s second green airport after Kochi.

He said the new aviation policy will take care of consumers’ needs and the growth of the sector.

Mr Modi said that the aviation sector is growing at a very fast pace and more middle-class families aspire to travel by air.

“It is estimated that within five years, the situation in India would be such that the airports in the country would have as much footfall in a year as America’s total population. You can well imagine how this sector is growing. India, in the near future, would probably become the third country in the world in terms of airport activity benchmarks. This will help increase employment opportunities and would spur economic activity,” he said.

Speaking about the potential of tier-2 and tier-3 cities, he said the government brought “out a new regional connectivity scheme under which people can travel with airfares of only Rs 2,500 for up to 500 km distance.” The Modi government had unveiled the finalised version of Udan on Friday, capping airfares at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights (476 km to 525 km) and a maximum of Rs 3,500 for a distance of 800 km and beyond for 50 percent of seats on flights from an “unserved” or “underserved” airport.

The distances covered under the scheme are from 151 km to 800 km and above, and the fare-caps vary accordingly. For instance, the fare-cap for the minimum distance of 151 to 175 km is Rs 1,420, that of 326 km to 350 km is Rs 2,000, that of 476 km to 525 km is Rs 2,500, that of 651 km to 675 km is Rs 3,050, while it is Rs 3,500 for 776 to 800 km and beyond. The first flight under the Udan scheme will take off in January, 2017. The fare-cap is meant to encourage people in smaller towns and rural areas to fly.

The Vadodara airport will be zero discharge, energy saving and environment friendly, the Prime Minister said. “I am happy that after the formation of the new NDA government, two airports in the country have become a part of the green movement,” he added.