GS Paper 2:
Syllabus: Government Policies and associated issues.
Context:
The Union ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) announced the country’s first national air sports policy (NASP 2022).
- It has been launched to improve the state of aero sports in India, with a vision to make India a hub for air sports in the world by 2030.
- It aims to provide a safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India.
Highlights of the Policy:
Four-tier governance structure: The air sports in India will be under a four-tier governance structure. This includes: 1) Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) as the apex governing body, 2) National associations for individual air sports or a set of air sports, 3) Regional or state and union territory level units of the national air sports associations and 4) District-level air sports associations.
About ASFI: The ASFI will be an autonomous body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and will represent India at the Lausanne-headquartered Fédération Aéronaautique Internationale (FAI) and other global platforms related to air sports. It will be chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Functions: It will provide governance over various aspects of air sports, including regulation, certification, competitions, awards and penalties, etc.
Rules and Functions of Each air sports association: Lay down its safety standards for equipment, infrastructure, personnel and training, and specify the disciplinary actions to be taken in case of non-compliance. Inability to do so may lead to penal action by the ASFI.
Coverage: It will cover 13 air sports activities like aerobatics, aeromodelling, amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning, drones, gliding, hang gliding, paragliding, microlighting, paramotoring, skydiving, and vintage aircraft.
Significance of the Policy:
- Besides the revenue from air sports activities, multiplier benefits in terms of growth in travel, tourism, infrastructure and local employment, especially in hilly areas of the country, are much greater.
- Creating air sports hubs across the country will bring in air sports professionals and tourists from across the world.
Need for:
The aerosports industry has expressed its displeasure that the government was not doing enough to encourage aero sports in the country despite the fact that there is a tremendous potential in the country keeping in view the diverse scenic locales.
- Aerosports create significant opportunities for growth of tourism, employment generation and interest in aviation activities.
- A growth-oriented NASP may help attract investments in latest aerosports technology, infrastructure and best practices.
Insta Curious:
Did you know that the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland is the world governing body for air sports?
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Highlights of the Policy.
- About ASFI and its roles and functions.
- About FAI.
Mains Link:
Discuss the need for and significance of an Aerosports policy.
Q. 3) Consider the following statements:
- India’s first national airports policy was unveiled in 2020.
- It was unveiled by the Ministry of Defence.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- 1 only.
- 2 only.
- Both.
- None.
Sources: the Hindu.
