India-US programme to modernise Indian civil aviation
Friday, 22 June 2007, 19:30 IST
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Washington: India and the United States are establishing an Aviation Cooperation Programme (ACP) to rope in the US industry in efforts to modernise India's civil aviation sector. To this end, US Trade And Development Agency (USTDA) and India's Civil Aviation Ministry will sign a memorandum of understanding (Mou) Friday to address the challenges posed by demands on India's aviation infrastructure to accommodate increasing passengers and cargo with the rapid growth of its economy. Under the ACP, India's Civil Aviation Ministry, USTDA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other US and Indian public sector entities will partner with the US industry in identifying and supporting India's civil aviation sector modernisation priorities, USTDA announced Thursday. Thanks to the extraordinary growth of its economy, India is facing enormous infrastructure development challenges as it strives to further enhance air service quality, airport efficiency, flight security, and air-space management, said USTDA. The ACP will respond to these challenges by promoting enhanced safety, operational efficiency and system capacity in the Indian aviation sector. It will also facilitate and coordinate aviation industry training and technical ties between the US and India and strengthen overall US-India aviation cooperation. USTDA will provide funding for training and technical assistance programmes and the FAA and US aviation companies will provide in-kind support. USTDA advances economic development and US commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. In carrying out its mission, it gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from US exports of goods and services. Meanwhile, the Indian Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel, who is currently visiting the US, Thursday had discussions with the US-India Business Council, a business advocacy group promoting US commercial interests in India. The American business leaders wanted to know more about the growth of the civil aviation sector in India and the future policies of the Indian government in this regard.
Source: IANS
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