New Delhi: At the India Economic Summit 2024, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu highlighted the remarkable growth of India’s aviation sector over the past decade, attributing the success largely to the leadership and vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

“In 2014, India had 74 airports. Today, just ten years later, the country boasts 157 airports, a massive achievement that has been mirrored by a surge in passenger traffic. While India saw around 10 crore passengers annually a decade ago, the number has now more than doubled to over 20 crore. The country’s aircraft fleet has also expanded from 400 in 2014 to more than 800, further cementing India’s growth in the aviation sector. No other country in the world has seen this much growth in civil aviation. It has been a passionately driven success by the Prime Minister, and we take immense pride in this accomplishment”, Naidu proudly stated.

However, Naidu noted that while significant progress has been made, there is still much more to be achieved. “The foundation has been laid, and we believe there is a lot more that we can do,” he added.

Towards Becoming a Global Aviation Hub

Looking ahead, Naidu outlined India’s aspirations to become a global aviation hub. He discussed the government’s vision to create mega airports and highlighted the importance of forward planning for the sector’s future. In addition, he pointed out the government’s focus on establishing a supportive environment for the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services, aircraft leasing, and indigenous aircraft manufacturing.

Affordable Air Travel – Hawai Chappal Sey Hawai Jahaj Ka Safar

On the question of why India doesn’t yet have a global airline brand like Emirates or Etihad, Naidu explained the current focus of India’s aviation sector. He quoted Prime Minister Modi’s vision: “Hawai Chappal Sey Hawai Jahaj Ka Safar” (Journey from flip-flops to airplanes). According to Naidu, the key to India’s aviation growth is making air travel affordable for all segments of society. “Emirates is not the model we are following. We want to create an environment where even the person wearing Hawai Chappal can afford to fly,” he said, highlighting the goal of making flights accessible to everyone.

‘I am an Outlier’

Talking about his struggle and how he came into politics, Ram Mohan Naidu said,” I was always with the idea that politics is not my cup of tea. Though my father comes from a very strong political legacy. But for some reason, since the growing up days, it was always like politics is just up to him and I would do something of my own, probably some kind of business or something. But very unfortunate that I had to lose him at a very young age in an unfortunate road accident. And then destiny has brought me back to politics. And I was faced with that question at the time when I lost my father and there was an opportunity in front of me. Will I be continuing his legacy or not? And at that time it was a split decision that I have taken that being an educated man, this is what you want to see in the country. This is what people expect to see, the change in politics where they want young people to come in. No matter if I say that it’s a destiny-driven decision, I would say it is a calculated decision in the sense that I wanted to bring about the change where youth also can feel that this is an area where they can come in,  where they can perform, where they can feel the purpose and they can feel that this is an area which is related to us also. And it was that small commitment that I had at that time, that small change that I wanted to believe in. It is with that belief that I came in and the rest is history. You are seeing me as the youngest cabinet minister in the country.

He added, “Young in politics is probably 40-50 also people who are considering it to be young. Now being 36, I kind of am an outlier.”

Do Bureaucrats Take Him Seriously?

When asked do the bureaucrats really take him seriously?  Naid said,” Oh yes, they do. They definitely do. That much I can vouch for because they respect the position that I am in. Irrespective of age, let it be the bureaucrats that are around me or let it be the other ministers also who are around me, who have been seeing me for the last 10 years at least. They understand the position that we are in right now. And they definitely respect me and they definitely give value to the choices that I make or the decisions that I make.  So, I think the Indian political system respects the positions more than the age. It’s just that there is little opportunity for people my age to come to these positions at a very young age.”