Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday invited industry players from the European Union (EU) to become a part of the fastest-growing aviation market in the world.

He was speaking virtually at the two-day EU-India Aviation Summit that began in New Delhi this morning. During the summit, a declaration of intent was signed by the Airport Authority of India with Eurocontrol, and a letter of intent memorandum of understanding was signed by the DGCA with the European Union Aviation Safety for closer cooperation.

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The summit focuses on EU-India air transport relations and the mutually shared challenges and opportunities of the two regions, such as the post-COVID recovery of air traffic, increasing sustainability, maintaining safety, and the development of unmanned aircraft systems.

Scindia said, “India and the European Union (EU) have shared strong historical relations which continue to grow today on the back of robust physical, digital and people-to-people connectivity, aided by the aviation industry”

He said the Modi government has taken several steps to promote aircraft manufacturing in the country. ”We have reformed the regulatory environment to make it as conducive as possible for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MROs), reduced GST rates on MRO services from 18 to 5 per cent, and allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in the sector. New MRO guidelines have also been rolled out for rationalisation of the charges levied on MRO Service Providers for ease of doing business. I would urge industry players from the EU to tap these opportunities, and become a part of the fastest-growing aviation market in the world.”

He also invited EU players to partner with India in developing adaptive technologies and support the objective of tackling emissions from the aviation Industry. “We are encouraging airports to use 100% green energy by 2024 and achieve net zero by 2030. 25 AAI airports are already using 100% green energy. Our target is to make another 121 Airports carbon neutral by 2025. We have also mandated the use of renewable energy as part of the bid documents for upcoming airports; we are also working towards encouraging the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Indian Airline operators have already conducted demonstration flights using bio-fuel blended with ATF,” he said.