India wants more FDI from US for aviation sector: Ajit Singh

Asserting that India has taken significant steps in making air travel affordable, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today called for more foreign direct investment from America in the country which now offers immense business opportunities.
"The Indian Government has taken a number of measures to make affordable air connectivity to remote and interior areas of the country in Tier II and Tier III cities of India," Singh said in his address to the 4th India-US Aviation Summit which is being attended by top officials from the two countries' aviation sector.
Singh said the two countries share common values and are strategically moving towards closer ties.

The Indian airport system, he said, is poised to handle 360 million of domestic and 85 international passengers by 2020. This will make India the third largest aviation market, he added.
The India, he said, has envisaged an investment of USD 12 billion in the airport sector in the 12th plan of which USD 9 billion is expected from the private sector.
This includes, construction of new airports, expansion and modernisation of existing airports and development of low cost airports, the minister said.

Singh said India has made a number of policy changes to attract foreign direct investment.
One of the most important decision in this direction is to allow 49 percent FDI by foreign airlines in Indian carriers, he said. The results of these policies are already visible as two airlines Air Asia and Tata Singapore and going to start their services in near future, he added.

Noting that the Indian aviation experiencing is dramatic expansion across the board, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox said the US is actively involved in supporting the growth of business aviation.
He also called for reducing emission in transportations while continuing to grow the economy.