Airport operators, developers spent around Rs 82,500 crore as capex during last five years: Eco Survey

According to ICRA, the aviation industry is expected to report a net loss of Rs 20-30 billion in FY2025 and FY2026 each.

The Indian aviation sector has spent around Rs 82,500 crore in the last five years as capital expenditure to create infrastructure, and develop the aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) industry to support growth, said the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on January 31.

"Airport operators and developers, including the Airports Authority of India, are pursuing a capital expenditure plan exceeding Rs 91,000 crore from FY20 to FY25. About 91% of this has been achieved by November 2024," the economic survey said.

It added that government's regional air connectivity scheme UDAN has helped boost air connectivity in India. As of December 2024, 619 routes connecting 88 airports, including two water aerodromes and 13 heliports have been operationalised under UDAN, said the survey.

The Economic Survey 2024-25 also said that India has seen a rise in drone activities, with 140 remote pilot training organisations, 18,862 remote pilot certificates issued, 26,659 registered drones, and 82 approved drone models (DGCA type certificates).

Around Rs 60.6 crore has been disbursed under the Production-Linked Incentive scheme (PLI) for India's drone ecosystem so far. The first PLI for drones was introduced in September 2021 with an outlay of Rs 120 crore for three fiscal, starting 2021-22.

In November 2024, Moneycontrol had reported that a second PLI scheme for the drone ecosystem in India may take some more time as consultations with stakeholders have led to a rethink around monetary allocations, to make broadbase the gains.

Last year, a study by Nexgen Exhibitions suggested government needs to expand the PLI scheme and develop an ecosystem to realise the goal of making India a global drone hub. As per Civil Aviation Ministry's projection, the drone manufacturing industry is expected to reach Rs 900 crore by 2025, from just Rs 60 crore in 2020-21.

The survey also highlighted that the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gift City in Gujarat is experiencing a takeoff in aircraft leasing activity.

"As of November 30, 2024, 32 aircraft leasing entities (including provisional) have registered in the GIFT-IFSC, leasing 105 aviation assets, including 53 aircraft and 52 engines," the survey said.

Data from the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gift City showed that 14 new-leased aircraft were leased from the financial services centre in 2024-25 till November 2024.

The total value of aircraft assets leased from Gift City has surpassed $1 billion within a short span of three years. Around 80% of the leased assets from GIFT City are aircraft engines and ground support equipment, with a total value exceeding $800 million.

The survey also highlighted that civil aviation in India has tremendous potential, owing to growing demand, rising economic activity, tourism, higher disposable incomes, favourable demographics, and rising penetration of aviation infrastructure. The survey added that going forward, collaborative efforts between the government, industry stakeholders, and international partners will drive growth.

Domestic airlines carried 1613.31 lakhs passengers in 2024-25, which was 6.1 percent higher than the same period in 2023-24.