Snapshot
The National Air Sports Policy-2022 is expected to create 100,000 direct jobs and over Rs 8,000 crore annual revenue, said Civil Aviation Minister Scindia.
Aiming to become the global capital for air sports, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has launched the National Air Sports Policy with the vision of making India as one of the top sports nations by 2030, by providing a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India.
Air sports, as the name suggests, encompasses various sports activities involving the medium of air. These include sports like air-racing, aerobatics, aero modeling, hang gliding, paragliding, para motoring and skydiving etc. India has the potential to be among the leading nations in the world of air sports.
The National Air Sports Policy-2022 is expected to create 100,000 direct jobs and over Rs 8,000 crore annual revenue, said Scindia after launching the new policy.
The policy will cover Aerobatics, Aero modeling and model rocketry, Amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning, drones, gliding and powered gliding, hang gliding and powered hang gliding among others.
India has a large geographical expanse, diverse topography, and fair-weather conditions. With its large population, especially the youth, India has a growing culture for adventure sports and aviation.
Parachuting (including skydiving) , paragliding and paramotoring (including powered parachute trikes), powered aircraft (including ultra light, micro light and light sports aircraft), rotorcraft (including autogyro) are being covered in the NASP-2022.
Scindia said, “It is time for India to take its rightful place and become the global capital of air sports. We want to create an environment of adventure, thrill and sports in the country. For this, we will leverage the energy of our youth below the age of 35 which accounts for 70 per cent of India’s population which is larger than the total population of Europe and three times that of the USA.”
The NASP-2022, is a step in this direction. It has been drafted based on the inputs received from policy makers, air sports practitioners and public at large and will ensure establishment of good quality of infrastructure, equipment, instructors and services.
He further said, “India has a huge geographical expanse, extending from the Himalayas and the mountainous regions to our states in the northeast to the plains in central India to the coastal regions on the western-eastern coastline, and therefore you have the ability in this country to have the widest diversity of air sports.”
The policy, according to the Minister, will serve to attract air sports enthusiasts from all over the world, especially those who live in areas where harsh winters prevent them from participating. He believes that air sports enthusiasts from Europe, North America, and Australia would flock to India to practice in the winters.