India’s civil aviation industry is on a high-growth trajectory. India aims to become the third-largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030. The Civil Aviation industry has ushered in a new era of expansion, driven by factors such as low-cost carriers (LCCs), modern airports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic airlines, advanced information technology (IT) interventions and growing emphasis on regional connectivity. India is the ninth-largest civil aviation market in the world, with a market size of around US$ 16 billion.

In January 2016, domestic air passenger traffic rose 23 per cent to 7.66 million from 6.25 million during the same month of last year. Passenger traffic during the January-December 2015 increased at a rate of 20.3 per cent to 81.1 million from 67.4 million in the corresponding period a year ago. In January 2016, total aircraft movements at all Indian airports stood at 156,048, which was 15.9 per cent higher than January 2015. International and domestic aircraft movements increased 10.6 per cent and 17.5 per cent, respectively, in January 2016.

Indian domestic air traffic is expected to cross 100 million passengers by FY2017, compared to 81 million passengers in 2015, as per Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).

Recent Developments:

•  Auto components maker Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL), the flagship company of the US$ 3 billion Kalyani Group, has formalised agreement with Rolls-Royce Plc, under which BFL will supply critical and high integrity forged and machined components for a range of aero engines
•  Boeing, has outlined the company’s long term commitment to investing in India in terms of funds as well as skills, capabilities, infrastructure and partnerships so as to help the aerospace sector build capacity and become one of the drivers of the Indian economy
•  Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) has signed a joint venture with American aircraft manufacturing major, Boeing, to establish a centre of excellence for manufacturing aerostructures for Apache helicopter initially and collaborate on integrated systems development opportunities in India in the long term
•  US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing plans to assemble one of its two helicopters namely, Chinook (heavy-lift) or Apache (attack type) in India, thus becoming yet another global company to invest in India encouraged by the ‘Make in India’ campaign
•  Airbus SAS, one of the top two aircraft manufacturers in the world, plans to open aircraft maintenance and repair overhaul (MRO) facility in India
•  Airbus, the world’s leading aircraft maker, expects India’s aviation industry to grow at over 10 per cent annually in the next decade, almost double the average growth rate of the global aviation industry
•  Eyeing large orders from Indian airlines, Airbus has committed to source products worth US$ 2 billion cumulatively over the next five years from India; the company plans to provide customised maintenance and other services closer to the base for all its airline customers in India