Achievements
of the Ministry of Civil Aviation
The
Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam 2024, introduced by the Minister of Civil Aviation Mr.
Ram Mohan Naidu, was passed by Lok Sabha on 9.08.2024 and by Rajya Sabha on 5.12.2024.
The Bill, after receiving assent from the President, the Central Government
hereby appoints the 1st day of January 2025 as the date on which the
provisions of the said Act, shall come into force. The Bharatiya Vayuyan
Adhiniyam, 2024 is a legislative reform aimed at modernising India’s aviation
sector by re-enacting the Aircraft Act 1934, in alignment with contemporary
needs and global standards. In line with the Prime Minister’s call to remove
colonial era influences, this Adhiniyam addresses the need for clarity,
efficiency and ease of doing business in the aviation industry. The new
legislation will foster indigenous manufacturing under Make in India and
Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, align with international conventions like the
Chicago Convention and ICAO, and streamline regulatory processes, such as
simplifying the issuance of licenses. The Adhiniyam removes redundancies and
provides provisions for appeals. Ultimately, the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam
2024 aims to revolutionise India’s aviation sector, enhancing safety,
innovation, growth and global compliance.
Under the chairmanship of Union
Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu, Ministry successfully organised the
2nd APAC-MC on 11 and 12 September 2024 in New Delhi. As a major achievement,
Delhi Declaration was proclaimed by Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi
during the conference. The conference was attended by Ministers and high level
dignitaries from twenty nine Asia Pacific countries. Further, the conference
was also attended by other aviation related International Organisations such as
IATA, ACI, etc and representatives from ICAO.
Expansion of airports
and terminals
Significant infrastructure
development included laying the foundation for new terminals at Varanasi, Agra,
Darbhanga, and Bagdogra. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi also inaugurated
airports in Sarsawa, Rewa and Ambikapur, strengthening regional connectivity.
Inauguration of
airports in UP
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated new
airports at Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Moradabad and Shravasti, further
expanding air connectivity across the state.
Record Passenger Traffic
Domestic Routes: During the year
2024 (January-November), scheduled domestic airlines operated a total number of
1.02 million scheduled flights carrying a total of 146.4 million scheduled
passengers as against 0.97 million scheduled flights carrying total of 138.2
million scheduled passengers during the previous year 2023 (January-November).
The number of domestic passengers carried by scheduled domestic Indian Carriers
has witnessed a growth of 5.9% in the year 2024 as compared to the previous
year 2023 during the same period (Jan to Nov). Marking a new record, domestic
air passenger traffic crossed 5 lakhs for the first time in a single day on 17 November
2024.
International Routes: During the
period January to November 2024 a total of 64.5 million passengers were carried
on international routes by scheduled Indian and foreign operators as against
58.0 million in the corresponding period in 2023, thereby witnessing a growth
of 11.4%. Out of the 64.5 million passengers, 29.8 million passengers were
carried by scheduled Indian carriers while 34.7 million passengers were carried
by scheduled foreign carriers during the period January to November 2024.
Setting up of Greenfield Airports
Government of India has so far
accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports
across the country namely, Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in
Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra
(Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh,
Dholera and Rajkot in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram
and Oravakal (kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in
Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. Out of these, 12
Greenfield airports, namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur,
Kalaburagi, Oravakal (Kurnool), Kushinagar, Itanagar, Mopa, Shivammogga and
Rajkot have been operationalised.
Further, development works at
two major airport projects i.e. Noida (Jewar) and Navi Mumbai International
Airports are at advance stage of completion and these airports are targeted for
operationalisation by first quarter of FY 2025-26. Besides, GoI has also
granted 'Site Clearance' for construction of 9 Greenfield airports namely Alwar
in Rajasthan, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, Kottayam
in Kerala, Puri in Odisha, Doloo in Assam, Parandur in Tamil Nadu, Kota in
Rajashtan and Raichur in Karnataka. Among these, 'Site Clearance' to 4
Greenfield Airport projects viz. Doloo, Parandur, Kota and Raichur has been
granted during 2024.
CAPEX on infrastructure development
Under
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), CAPEX of more than Rs. 91,000 crore is
envisaged for airport infrastructure development during the period FY 2019-20
to FY 2024-25, where the share of AAI is approximately Rs. 25,000 crore and
remaining expenditure is to be borne by airport developers under PPP mode.
Expenditure of Rs. 82600 crores have been incurred under NIP from FY 2019-20
till November 2024.
RCS-UDAN: 8 Years of regional connectivity
RCS-UDAN celebrated its 8th
anniversary, with 619 routes and 88 airports operationalised since the launch
of the scheme, exemplifying the government’s commitment to affordable air
travel. RCS-UDAN was launched on 21 October 2016 to enable air operations on
unserved/underserved routes connecting different regions, promote balanced
regional growth and make flying affordable for the masses.
102 New RCS routes commenced in the
year 2024 of which 20 new RCS routes commenced in the North Eastern States of
the country. 12 Aerodromes were also operationalised which included 4 Heliports.
Expansion of Digi Yatra Services
Minister Ram
Mohan Naidu launched Digi Yatra at 9 more airports this year. It has
transformed passenger experiences with seamless, contactless travel. Digi Yatra
is now operational at 24 airports namely Delhi, Bangalore, Varanasi, Pune,
Kolkata, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Lucknow,
Cochin, Chennai, Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Dabolim, Indore, MoPA Goa,
Patna, Raipur, Ranchi and Vishakhapatnam. Since its launch, 80+ lakh users
downloaded the app and 4+ crore journeys have been completed with Digi Yatra
facility. Digi Yatra App is available on android as well as iOS platform.
Eventually, all the airports will be covered with Digi Yatra in a phased
manner.
Guidelines for seaplane operations
The Minister of Civil Aviaiton
Ram Mohan Naidu launched Guidelines for Seaplane Operations in India on
22.08.2024. These guidelines prioritise the safety and security of operations
and define the responsibilities of all stakeholders, ensuring a seamless and
efficient seaplane operation across the nation. The adoption of the
Non-Scheduled Operator Permit (NSOP) framework for seaplanes is a significant
step forward in the Government’s commitment to enhancing regional connectivity
with a focus to allow expeditious commencement of seaplane operations in the
country. UDAN Round 5.5 has been launched to invite bids for seaplane
operations from more than 50 water-bodies across the country.
MRO sector development
The Government has introduced
several policies and regulations to bring India's MRO sector at par with global
peers and support growth of MRO industry in India. In a major boost to the
domestic MRO industry and to the aviation sector, the Government has announced
on 12 July 2024 that a uniform rate of 5% IGST will apply to imports of parts
components, testing equipment, tools and tool-kits of aircraft, irrespective of
their HSN classification subject to specified conditions. Previously, the
varying GST rates of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% on aircraft components created
challenges, including an inverted duty structure and GST accumulation in MRO
accounts. This new policy eliminates these disparities, simplifies the tax
structure and fosters growth in the MRO sector. Further, the period for export
of goods imported for repairs has been extended from six months to one year.
Also, the time-limit for re-import of goods for repairs under warranty has been
extended from three to five years.
Pioneering Green Energy Adoption
The Minister of Civil Aviation
Ram Mohan Naidu has been driving adoption of conventional sources of energy at
airports reducing the carbon footprint of operations. 80 airports have switched
over to 100% green energy usage with 12 airports making the switch in 2024.
Bengaluru Airport has achieved the highest Carbon Accreditation Level 5 of
Airports International Council (ACI), whereas Airports viz. Delhi, Mumbai and
Hyderabad have achieved Level 4+ ACI accreditation, becoming carbon neutral.