Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his Government is working in a “mission mode” for expansion of the aviation sector and has put in place the country’s first integrated policy to tap the potential of small cities. He accused the previous Governments at the Centre of having “no vision” for aviation.
Modi also lashed out at the black-money holders and wondered what would have happened if the Government had adopted the “surgical strike” strategy in the recent campaign against blackmoney, which unearthed Rs65,000 crore.
“We gave some time to those who had generated black money (to declare it). You will be happy to know that Rs65,000 crore in black money came into mainstream with payment of tax and penalty. Now think, Rs36,000 crore that was leaking has been stopped (by direct benefit transfer), and Rs65,000 crore of black money is unearthed, together it is Rs1 lakh crore. And this Rs1 lakh crore has been brought back without launching surgical strikes,” Modi said, invoking the term used for recent operation by Army against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Speaking after dedicating the new integrated terminal building of the airport in Vadadora, which is now the second green airport of the country after Kochi, Modi noted that India in the near future would probably become the third country in the world in terms of airport activity benchmarks with more middle-class families aspiring to travel by air.
The PM said the country’s development can take new dimensions if the tier-2 and tier-3 cities are bought on the aviation map and noted that the Government was making efforts to revive the large number of non-functional airstrips and airports in the country. “That is why to promote this, the Government brought out a new regional connectivity scheme under which people can travel with airfares of only Rs2,500 for up to 500 kms distance,” he said.
Attacking the previous Governments, he 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 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,” he said.
“After the NDA came to power, for the first time since independence it formulated a new aviation policy for the country... We are working in a mission mode for expansion,” he said.
“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.
According to International Airport Transport Association, India will add 322 million new passengers out of the total 442 million passengers by 2035. It has also forecast that the country will become the third largest aviation market in the world displacing the UK by 2026. last fiscal, the country registered a growth of 21.6 per cent in the number of air travellers.