‘India must take concerted policy decisions if it is to remain competitive in the global air logistics industry’ - Experts
With an ever-increasing
convergence of aviation, globalization, digitization, and time-based
competition, the worlds of commerce and supply chain management are rapidly
changing. E-Commerce is refining the entire way the business has been done.
Innovation is driving change of pace of discovering and establishing new
business. The opportunities – as well as the challenges – are now greater than
ever before.
This
was the general refrain at the Summit on Air Logistics – Meeting Challengesorganized
by the Aviation and Airports Committee of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber here
today.
Speakers agreed that India
will become the fastest growing economy in the world and will continue to do
for many years to come. Falling oil prices have helped the country maintain
fiscal deficit under control and also helped contain inflation below 5% after
many years. There is a sense of optimism everywhere and it should be
capitalized by the air logistics industry.
Over the years air cargo
has grown without being given serious attention to it by anyone in the country,
whether the Government or the trade bodies, thus increasing competition from
other modes of transport. Air cargo constitutes just 0.5% of the total Exim
trade in India down from 1% in past years. The time has come to seriously look
at marketing Air cargo and its benefits to the trade in India,if we have to
seriously look at increasing the air cargo in the country. How that can be done
is something over which the industry needs to ponder quickly. It is without
doubt that sea freight has become more efficient over the past years vis-à-vis
the air mode and so poses a challenge to it.
According
to Mr. Bharat Thakkar, Co-Chairman,
Airports and Aviation Committee, who moderated the Summit, the existing regulations in the civil
aviation sector in India often hinder the ease of operations of airlines, as well
as the growth and development of the air cargo industry. It is felt that
Indian regulations are too stringent and not in line with global standards and
best practices. It would therefore be essential to change many regulations to
facilitate the efficiency of airlines and the passenger and cargo sectors.
Earlier,
welcoming the participants, Mr. Dilip
Piramal, President, IMC, said that growth itself is a big challenge for
many airport operators as they strive to expand infrastructure capacity to
match demand. There are issues of accountability and the service standards of
service providers, as well as the availability of appropriate infrastructure to
meet the growing and varying demands of air passengers and cargo. Regulatory pressures also add to the burden
of the industry.
IMC
is a 108 year old premier Chamber of Commerce, Trade and Industry and reaches
out to over 225,000 business establishments through its membership base.
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