India is making a major push to attract foreign investment in some key areas of aviation sector, namely aviation training, aircraft maintenance, cargo services and ground handling.
The Indian Government says in a statement it has lifted the cap and decided to allow 100% foreign ownership of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) businesses, flying schools and technical training institutions.
It also says foreign ownership of ground handling businesses is now subject to a 74% cap on foreign ownership. In India, ground handling has generally been handled by Indian-owned carriers.
In terms of foreign ownership of scheduled airlines, the cap remains at 49% but if the airline is a non-scheduled passenger carrier or a dedicated cargo airline then the cap is now 74%, it adds.
India already has a large number of scheduled passenger airlines but has relatively few dedicated cargo airlines.
The country also has a severe shortage of skilled maintenance engineers and qualified pilots and as a consequence many international training organisations and flying schools are looking at setting up in India to meet this demand.
There are also aviation companies such as Airbus, Boeing and Lufthansa which are looking to establish MRO firms in India in joint venture partnership to cater to India’s burgeoning airlines.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: FlightGlobal.com
