Air cargo target of 10 MT by 2031 can be achieved with efficient ecosystem: Gen (Dr) VK Singh

New Delhi: Air cargo plays a pivotal role in the economy of any nation and a nation can truly leverage this advantage if it makes effort where air cargo is concerned, said Gen (Dr) VK Singh, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation on Saturday. While inaugurating a seminar organised by Foundation for Aviation Sustainable Tourism (FAST), he added, "Air cargo ecosystem needs to become much more efficient then only we will be able to take air cargo services to the targets of 10 million tons by 2031 easily."

The MoS declared that he is looking forward to an action plan that emerges from the proceedings of the technical sessions. He applauded the role of FAST for taking over this responsibility.

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Dushyant Chautala, Deputy CM of Haryana, who also addressed the participants, said that "We foresee India becoming a big player in the cargo industry."

Speaking on the occasion, Piyush Srivastava, Sr Economic Advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation said, "We need to have a manufacturing base of aircraft and aircraft components, leasing capability in the country, and the role of drones in the cargo industry is only said to expand exponentially. We can begin with having a supportive infrastructure. PM Gati Shakti, which is the National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity, is at the heart of infrastructure development."

VP Agarwal, former Chairman of AAI and Vice President of FAST said that the cargo industry has a major role in achieving the climate-friendly targets of the government. He mentioned that during the Covid pandemic, India's cargo industry played a sterling role. One of the major drawbacks of our cargo industry is that six to seven major players are engaged in moving products from manufacturer to transportation to airlines and at each stage, there are hurdles which cause delays. This aspect, if managed, through proper integration and regulatory mechanisms can bring positive changes.

Dr RK Tyagi , Former Chairman, HAL, and veteran aviation expert summed up the proceedings of the session.

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