Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act to further improve the ease of doing business in the fast-growing aviation sector.
The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024 was passed in the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote. It was earlier cleared by the Lok Sabha on August 9. The bill seeks to remove redundancies and replace the Aircraft Act, 1934, which has been amended 21 times.
Replying to the debate on the bill in the Upper House, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the change in title of the bill from English to Hindi, to which many members raised objections, was done to "showcase the India's heritage and culture", and "there was no violation of Constitutional rule".
It will be difficult to pronounce the name of the bill in Hindi initially but one will get used to it, he added.
The bill focuses on enhancing safety, regulatory oversight, and consumer protection while aligning with international standards. The bill also promotes self-reliance in aircraft manufacturing, encourages investment, and establishes robust governance structures for civil aviation authorities.
Responding to concerns of some MPs over skyrocketing airfare, the minister said the government has worked on improving accessibility to a certain extent through Udan scheme and is committed to making it affordable for passengers.
"Through Udan scheme, we have kind of addressed the accessibility. We are now addressing the affordability factor," he said.
Naidu further said the air ticket pricing mechanism is deregulated and it remains a "win-win situation for everyone".
He explained that the airfares are deregulated globally and in India since 1994. However, the ministry monitors the airfares and airlines have liability to inform it before they decide a fare for a particular route.
The civil aviation ministry monitors the ticket pricing and a meeting was held with airlines on the issue of airfares in August.
Airfares were lower during the two days before Diwali this year compared to the same period last year, Naidu said, adding that in major sectors, ticket prices came down by 2 to 42 percent.
"We are making tariff monitoring unit robust so that they cannot act according to their whims and fancies as if they are in a closed room and can do whatever they want. We are keeping a watchful eye on them," he said, adding that airlines have liability to inform it before they decide a fare for a particular route.
Participating in the debate, Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS-UBT) expressed concern about "duopoly" of the aviation sector by Air India and Indigo airlines and their domination has led to high airfares.
She said 16 direct flights were launched on the Mumbai-Ayodhya route, but not even one is operating now.
A A Raheem (CPI-M) urged the government to rename the bill as 'Indian Aircraft Act' and expressed concern over the government having no control over the aviation sector.
"Our Indian aviation sector is controlled by three-men army -- Tata, Indigo and Adani. Almost all major airports are in Adani's hands, while the skies are dominated by Tata and Indigo," he said.
On renaming the title of the bill in Hindi language, Ram Chander Jangra (BJP) said it is unfortunate people are clinging on to English even after the country's independence.
"Tales of language are tales of our country. Hindi is not only our mother tongue and soul, but the country's pride," he said, urging members to love Hindi.
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