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Guwahati: Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, has launched the National Air Sports Policy, which aims to earn over Rs 8,000 crore in yearly income and create 100,000 direct jobs.
The objective of the National Air Sport Policy 2022 (NASP, 2022) is to make India one of the top sports nations by 2030 by establishing a safe, cheap, accessible, fun, and sustainable air sports environment in India.
The event was graced by Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, Airport Authority of India (AAI), Shri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, MoCA, Smt. Rubina Ali, Joint Secretary, MoCA, Shri SK Mishra, Joint Secretary, MoCA, Shri Piyush Srivastava, Senior Economic Advisor, MoCA, Shri PK Thakur, Deputy Director-General, MoCA, and other dignitaries from AAI, MoCA, DGCA, and BCAS.
Air sports, as the name implies, include a variety of sports employing the medium of air, such as air-racing, aerobatics, aero modeling, hang gliding, paragliding, para motoring, and skydiving. India has the potential to be one of the world's leading nations in the field of aviation. It boasts burgeoning adventure sports and aviation culture. The NASP 2022 was created with consultation from policymakers, air sports practitioners, and the general public, and it will assure the construction of high-quality infrastructure, equipment, instructors, and services.
The policy will cover the following air sports in India: -
Under the new policy, there will be a four-tier governance structure for air sports in India namely
Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) is the top governing body of National associations for specific air sports or a combination of air sports, as applicable Regional (e.g. West/South/North East, etc.) or State and Union Territory level units of the national air sports organisations, as appropriate; and District-level air sports associations, as required
Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, stated, "It is time for India to assume its rightful place and become the world capital of air sports."
According to the Minister, the strategy would entice air sports fans from across the world to participate. He believes that in the winter, air sports enthusiasts from Europe, North America, and Australia would travel to India to practise.
"From a tiny market size of approximately 5,000 odd air sports practitioners earning around Rs 80-100 crore of annual income in India, I feel we can target over Rs 8,000-10,000 crore yearly revenue and produce over 1,00,000 direct employment," he added. The economic multiplier effects from travel, tourism, support services, and local infrastructure development would be more than threefold."
