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So far, no foreign airline has sought to invest in a domestic airline, Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh said.
In September, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had allowed foreign airlines to acquire stake of up to 49 per cent in domestic airlines.
“It is a long-term policy. Aviation is a very complicated business. The management and technical expertise that you get by tying up with another airline will help the Indian industry. Let us see what happens now,” the Minister said at the Economic Editor’s conference here.
He said that work on three new greenfield airports at Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai and Kannur in Kerala was expected to begin by the end of this financial year.
Singh said the Government was also looking at new route dispersal guidelines that would give greater focus to tier-III and IV cities. He said a consultant had been hired to look at the route dispersal guidelines and a report was expected in the next two months.
Disciplinary action
The Minister also said that disciplinary action had been initiated against 29 officers, of which 23 belonged to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and six to the Airports Authority of India.
“Nine officers have been placed under suspension and orders have been issued to lodge FIR in three matters,” he added.
On the Dharamadhikari report on wages of unified Air India, Singh said it would be implemented fully in the next 15 days or so.
Asked why the domestic aviation market had shrunk in the past three months, the Minister said it was partly due to global downturn and worries about the Indian economy as well.
>ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in
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