The newly appointed Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, is keen to pursue and achieve the idea of making use of Indian skills to develop the aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector, a move which will help save foreign exchange and provide employment.

The Minister is also keen to come up with a policy that will help prevent a situation similar to that of Kingfisher, where the airline had to shut down because of financial problems and mounting debt. During a free-wheeling interaction, the Minister spoke to Business Lin e, often quoting from a book brought out by the Hindu Group of Publications on the English translation of poems of a famous Andhra poet. Edited excerpts from the interview:

You were present at the meeting of the Prime Minister on infrastructure development…

No. The Prime Minister was taking stock of the situation in various departments. We also presented our case and he gave a patient hearing. All I can say is that the idea is to make the sector more dynamic, as this Government is for the people.

One issue that affects Indian aviation is the high cost of aviation turbine fuel. How will you look at tackling this issue?

This is just one of the various issues. Several years back then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, was able to bring down the sales tax in the State to a uniform 4 per cent.

We have 29 States but it is only in a handful of States where aviation activity is large. We need to talk to these States to find a way ahead. We need to talk with the Chief Ministers of States that will benefit.

Will you be in favour of India allowing airlines to operate flights abroad and foreign airlines in India?

The only thing I would like to say at the moment is that the exchange of bilaterals leaves much to be desired. I do not think the bilateral issue was handled in India’s interest.

When one talks about improvement of infrastructure the issue of airport development comes up. Will your Government look at development of airports?

There are several issue to this. Some airports suffer from congestion, while others suffer underutilisation, and there are others lying unutilised.

There is also the issue of some airports such as Gaya, a seasonal airport, where flights are operated during a particular season. We need to look at all this.

What is your opinion on the rule which lays down that an airline must have five years of experience of flying in the domestic skies and a fleet of 20 aircraft before it is allowed to operate abroad?

Regulation has to have some purpose. Can someone enlighten me where in the world there are such rules? Policy should be in the interest of the country and not be used to tie the hands and feet of people.

We need to draw up a reasonable and transparent policy.

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