Ram Mohan Naidu takes over Aviation Ministry from Jyotiraditya Scindia. What are the challenges awaiting him

Son of former Union Minister K Yerran Naidu (the youngest Cabinet Minister in 1996), he graduated in electrical engineering from Purdue University and a completed his Master’s in Business Administration from Long Island University. Ram Mohan Naidu was initially drawn to a career in Singapore but fate led him back to his roots after his father’s death in a road accident in 2012.

His father, a senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) functionary, had been a minister for rural development in the United Front Government headed by HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral between 1996 and 98.

He contested from his father's Srikakulam constituency for TDP in 2014, and was elected as an MP when he was just 26. He won again in 2019 and in the recent 2024 election as well, defeating the (Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party) YSRCP candidate by a margin of 3,20,000 votes.

Aviation Industry in the country

The Indian aviation sector has witnessed a seismic shift over the past two years, with Indian carriers placing orders for a staggering 1,150 aircraft, scheduled for delivery by 2035.

The domestic traffic is likely to grow at 6-8 percent to 161-164 million in FY25 over the previous year and international traffic at 9-11 percent to 75-78 million.

However, despite the rise in traffic domestic airlines are likely to widen losses to $400 million-$600 million in FY25 despite a likely rise in traffic, aviation consulting agency CAPA India chief executive officer Kapil Kaul said.

In FY24, the Indian aviation sector’s estimated losses stood at $300- $400 million, supported by market leader IndiGo's record profit.

India’s airlines are expected to add 84 aircraft this year, taking the fleet count to 812 by the end of FY25 from 728 in the previous year. The fleet size would double by 2030.

The CAPA India CEO expects 25 more airports to be privatised during the next financial year, coupled with an investment of $4 billion by the Airports Authority of India in the next two years to better the airport infrastructure.

Challenges facing the new aviation minister

As many as four ministers have led the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the last 10 years, and nearly three airlines have collapsed under the watchful eye of the current government.

Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Suresh Prabhu, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Jyotiraditya Scindia have all shared the throne at the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the last 10 years.

The monumental growth expected in the Indian Aviation industry presents the new aviation minister with a daunting set of challenges and complexities.

Despite doubling in terms of the market size in the last nine years, the government has failed to attract the biggest aircraft original equipment manufacturers or OEMs to set up shop in India or create an infrastructure for commercial aircraft leasing.

Another major issue the minister will have to tackle is the plea from the UAE and Qatar for increased bilateral rights. For years, carriers like Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways have lobbied to operate more flights to and from India.

However, around 70 percent of their Indian passengers use their hubs merely as transit points to destinations like North America and Europe. This has raised concerns among carriers like Air India, which plans to boost flights to these regions using their newly ordered wide-body planes.