The Hindu : National : 'Civil aviation policy will be consumer-oriented'

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Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

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National

'Civil aviation policy will be consumer-oriented'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 8. After the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government's hurried move on privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports hit an air-pocket when the Left parties warned it to tread cautiously, two key Ministers concerned today asserted that the new Civil Aviation Policy would be ``consumer-oriented and liberal.''

The Union Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, and the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, met here to discuss the broad contours of allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector and chart out a road-map for putting in place the civil aviation policy which would send the ``right message'' to investors and not compromise on quality.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Kamal Nath said that the Government would hold consultations with the potential investors and airlines before formulating the policy. The Government was not against foreign investment, but was looking at the best possible mix.

``Aviation policy should have been in place a long time ago, but the previous Government did not give it a serious thought, Mr. Kamal Nath said.

Asked if a time-frame had been fixed, the Civil Aviation Minister said it was in the ``initial stages'' and the endeavour was to have it at the earliest. Mr. Patel said that he would also hold discussions with other Ministers concerned, including External Affairs, Finance and Tourism.

Asked if the Naresh Chandra Committee recommendations would be the basis of the policy, Mr. Patel said that it was ``a working paper.''

Were there differences on the issue of FDI between the Aviation and Commerce Ministries? ``There is none at all,'' Mr. Kamal Nath said. ``There is nothing wrong if the FDI has been capped at 49 per cent instead of 74 per cent.''

Asked whether private carriers would be allowed to fly to foreign destinations other than the SAARC nations, he said private carriers had played a major role in the aviation sector and they would be allowed to consolidate their economies of scale first before they begin operations to other foreign destinations.

On the ``Open Sky'' policy, both the Ministers said that efforts were on to enhance seat availability on flights to foreign destinations. The open sky policy as well as the new civil aviation policy would need Cabinet approval before they were put in place.

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