National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016

NCAP was initiated in 2016 that aims to take flying to the masses by making it affordable and convenient, establish an integrated eco-system which will lead to significant growth of the civil aviation sector to promote tourism, employment and balanced regional growth, enhance regional connectivity through fiscal support and infrastructure development and enhance Ease Of Doing Business through deregulation, simplified procedures and e-governance. The policy enlists -

• Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS): It will not allow the airlines to charge more than 2500 rupees for one hour flight between two small cities.
• 5/20 Rule: The requirement for 5/20 is modified and all airlines can commence international operations provided that they deploy 20 aircraft or 20 percent of total capacity (in term of average number of seats on all departures put together), whichever is higher for domestic operations.
• No-Frills Airports: They will be built at an indicative cost of 50 crore to 100 crore rupees.
• Code-share Agreements: Indian carriers will be free to enter into code-share agreements with foreign carriers for any destination within India on a reciprocal basis.
• Encourage Private Security: The Government will encourage use of private security agencies at airports for non-core security functions. The private security agencies will comprise retired personnel from military and para-military forces.
• Viability Gap Funding (VGF): It will be shared between MoCA and the State Government in the ratio of 80:20 while it is 90:10 for the North Eastern States.
• Bilateral Traffic Rights: Under this, government will enter into an ‘Open sky’ Air Service Agreements (ASA) on a reciprocal basis with SAARC countries and countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5000 kilometers radius from New Delhi.
• Ground Handling Agencies (GHA): The airport operator will ensure that there will be three Ground Handling Agencies (GHA) including Air India’s subsidiary/JV at all major airports as defined in AERA Act 2008 to ensure fair competition.
• Advanced Cargo Information system: It will be implemented in a phased manner after a universally accepted international template has emerged. MoCA will be the nodal agency for this.
• Growth of helicopters: Government will support growth of helicopters for remote area connectivity and separate regulations for helicopters will be notified by DGCA.

Issues with the Policy

• The policy did not provide the sector with the institutional infrastructure required for the long-term growth of the industry. The policy is not clear on dispute redressal mechanism for conflicts between AAI and private players.
• The policy is silent on professionalizing the crucial entities that govern aviation safety and security in the country like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
• The policy is also silent on the future roadmap for the state run Air India.

Ways to Improve

• Aviation experts want the government to separate Air Navigation Services from the AAI and establish it as an independent, professional body.
• The industry stakeholders have to actively engage with the policy makers to implement the rational decisions to boost the growth of civil aviation sector.
• Framing right policies with special focus on quality, cost and passenger interest can make India achieve its vision of becoming the third largest civil aviation market by 2020 and largest by 2030.