India@100 Summit: 'My hands quite full with or without Air India,' says Civil Aviation Minister Scindia

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that his hands are “quite full” with or without Air India, while adding he is confident that Air India will reach new heights under the new management. Scindia was speaking at Business Today’s India@100 Summit in a session moderated by Business Today TV’s Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi.

Scindia said, “My hands are quite full with or without Air India. I am confident that under the new management, it will soar to new heights… with their [Tata’s] expertise on the IT front and the hospitality front.”

Using the example of Air India, the Union Minister underscored that he believes it is high time the government changes its approach from that of being a regulator to being a facilitator.

"I firmly believe that the government's role is seminary in terms of new industries and technologies that are coming out. Government's role has to move from being a regulator to being a facilitator," he said.

He also talked about government officers learning from the private sector today. Air India was sold to Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Sons for Rs 18,000 crore through a competitive bidding process. Air India was started by the Tata Group in 1932 and was nationalised in 1953.  

Going further, Scindia pointed out that all the travellers in civil aviation will become the bulwark of air-conditioned travel in India in the coming years.  He added that new growth areas in aviation will come from regional spaces and that ensuring last-mile connectivity is a key focal area.  

"The new growth areas in aviation are going to be from regional spaces. While you concentrate on international connectivity and the 6 metros, also focus on last-mile connectivity."

Going further, Scindia said, “We have 1.3 billion people. But, pre-pandemic, we only had 144 million flyers in India. Only the first AC and second AC part of railways is our nearest competitor. But the CAGR for civil aviation is 10 per cent.”

While number of passengers is growing every year, the Union Minister said air passenger traffic will grow from 220 million to 460 million at the six metro airports in the next three years.  

Also read: Business Today's 'India@100 Economy Summit' in New Delhi begins today