From the Editor-in-Chief

There are winds of change, positive at that, in the civil aviation realm of the country, thanks to the proactive steps taken by the government, though there are still many bureaucratic hurdles which need to be dealt with posthaste. There is change at the helm of the Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) too with Rohit Kapur coming back as the President for the third time. Piloting BAOA during these crucial times, when policies are getting drafted, is a Herculean effort, particularly getting the bureaucracy to think ‘out of the box’. He has rightly said that the challenge for the business aviation community is whether the government can be excited and motivated to come up with ‘Big Bang’ reforms to facilitate business and general aviation as it has done for the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

This journey which has to be a collective one is not going to be an easy one. The team at SP’s Aviation and BizAvIndia has relentlessly pursued a path of creating awareness, spreading knowledge, networking and encouraging all the stakeholders to be on one page such that the powers that be, not just take note of the issues, but also act upon them.

In this issue, we have carried excerpts of an interview WION News channel conducted with Group Captain Rajesh K. Bali (Retd), Managing Director of BAOA, wherein he has stated how the government is focused on giving the general aviation and business aviation industry its due share of importance. In another article, he has acknowledged the efforts of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for the regional connectivity scheme which has been christened ‘UDAN’. The scheme has given wings to hardworking citizens who have begun to value their time. UDAN, he believes, will provide the much desired impetus to Indian economy and catapult growth rate to double digit in the coming years.

It is not just India, neighbouring China too is making rapid progress in terms of aviation growth, including general and business aviation and this comes out loud and clear at the annual ABACE (Asian Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition) event. The need to connect vast geographical areas through various modes of transportation for seamlessly connectivity has caught on with growing nations.

Back home, we have yet another major challenge – that of finding pilots. In a humorous but striking piece, Colonel Sanjay Julka (Retd) has highlighted how pilot shortage has created a situation of hiring Captain Dulls from overseas. It is indeed a sad commentary of the situation and needs to be tackled with forthwith through training and creating opportunities. However, there is the silver lining, civil aviation is looking up!

Proudly, we are happy to mention that SP’s has been felicitated with ‘Special Contribution Award’ at 3rd BizAvIndia Awards Event.

J. Baranwal
Editor-in-Chief