Govt unveils 100-day plan for civil aviation sector

New Delhi: Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday announced a 100-day plan for India's civil aviation sector, including policy measures and development of airports as well as heliports.

The civil aviation minister also said the plan would focus on 16 areas. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Scindia said "the plan has been prepared after combined consultations. Out of the 16 areas, 8 relate to policy and 4 pertain to reforms. Among others, six heliports would be developed in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN." A new policy for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities has also been announced. The civil aviation sector has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and is slowly coming on the recovery path.

Scindia said the aim was to make India a global hub for MRO. Discussions are also going on for convergence between civil and military works with respect to MRO. To boost MRO activities, the government has selected eight airports, including Delhi and Kolkata, for such works and to attract investments. The government has been making efforts to bolster MRO activities in the country. Currently, most of such works are done outside the country. In March last year, the GST Council decided to reduce the GST on MRO services to 5 per cent from 18 per cent.