New Delhi: At Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the 81st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), stressing that India is becoming a major actor in global aviation and manufacturing. It is the first time in 42 years that India is organising the IATA AGM and the World Air Transport Summit (WATS), as the event was in India only once before in 1983. From June 1 to 3, over 1,600 top decision-makers in aviation, global chief executives, government officials and international journalists attended the summit.
According to the PM’s speech, India’s civil aviation market is the world’s third largest because of more people wanting to fly, business-friendly regulations and better airport and airline infrastructure. He said, “the aviation industry in India is not only growing, but also becoming very important in the global air transport field.” He stated, “India is a great place for global players in aviation, because of its highly skilled workforce and growing industry.”
Prime Minister Modi also reaffirmed the government’s support for developing infrastructure, saying the number of airports in India has risen from 74 in 2014 to 162 in 2024. He mentioned programs such as UDAN, which have made 619 regional air routes functional, allowing more people to travel by air and supporting local economies.
Indian Prime Minister Modi highlighted that the government aims to transform India into a major manufacturing base, giving priority to the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector, since it is expected to become a $4 billion marketplace by 2031.
About 369,700 people are employed in India’s aviation sector, contributing $5.6 billion to the GDP, and it also supports 7.7 million jobs, providing a total economic contribution of $53.6 billion, which accounts for 1.5% of the national GDP.
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