Skip to content
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation published a new policy on air sports in India on June 7th.
“This is an industry that is ripe for harvest, but to date has lacked the architecture to drive it forward,” said Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. He said the policy aims to “organize a previously unregulated sector” and could potentially generate annual revenues of Rs8,000-10,000 in the near future.
What activities are considered air sports?
The National Air Sport Policy (NASP), 2022 lists 11 games in this category. These include aerobatics, model flying and rocketry, ballooning, amateur and experimental aircraft, drones, gliding and powered gliding, manual and powered gliding, parachuting, paragliding and paramotor flying, powered aircraft and rotorcraft. In India, the small industry is currently worth about Rs 80 crore and has 5,000 practitioners according to the government.
The best of Express Premium
bonus
bonus
bonus
bonusThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the global governing body for air sports. It sets standards, organizes events and has over 100 members.
What does the National Air Sport Policy propose?
The NASP, 2022, aims to create a structure that would help “promote the nation’s air sports sector by making it safe, affordable, accessible, fun and sustainable.” It contains safety regulations and penalties for violating these norms.
His vision is to make India “one of the best air sports nations by 2030”.
Scindia said in his address that the industry has the potential to create 1,000 jobs annually and generate hundreds of times the revenue it is generating now.
The first draft of the policy was presented on January 1, 2022 by a committee that included armed forces officials, members of the National Cadet Corps and experts. The policy states that the Air Sports Federation of India, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, will be the supreme governing body. He will chair the national sports federations, which in turn will chair the county and state bodies.
What impact is expected from politics?
The Union Government believes that India’s demographic dividend of a young population as well as its favorable climatic conditions can be used to make India a top air sports destination.
Tourism, the development of support infrastructure and the eventual manufacture of sporting goods used in air sports can lead to “economic multiplier effects”, the civil aviation minister said.
Newsletter | Click here to get the best explainers of the day delivered to your inbox
“This will be a private sector-led initiative in its truest form to ensure it thrives in the years to come,” said Scindia.
Given the increased risk associated with air sports, safety is maintained by establishing separate airspaces in designated air corridors exclusively for air sports, in coordination with the Air Traffic Control Department.