NEW DELHI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government has devised a new aviation policy for the first time since independence that aims at expanding the sector in the country.
"After coming to power, the government has for the first time since independence formulated a new aviation policy for the country, which will take care of the consumers' needs and the growth of the sector," Modi said in the western state of Gujarat Saturday.
Stating that the country's development can take new dimensions if the tier-II and tier-III cities are brought on the aviation map, he said, "The government is making efforts to revive a large number of non-functional airstrips and airports in the country."
He added: "That is why to promote this, the government brought out a new regional connectivity scheme under which people can travel with airfares of only 2,500 Indian rupees (40 U.S. dollars) for up to 500-km distance."
India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. It recorded an air traffic of 163 million passengers in 2013, estimated to have 60 million international passengers by 2017. The market is estimated to have 800 aircraft by 2020.
In 2015, Boeing projected India's demand for aircraft to touch 1,740, valued at 240 billion U.S. dollars over the next 20 years. This would account for 4.3 percent of global volumes.
