05 Jan DRAFT NATIONAL AIR SPORTS POLICY GS- 2 GOVERNMENT SCHEME
Recently, the government released a draft national policy for air sports
in the country that will require the service providers and air sports
equipment to be registered and will also be made liable for penalties.
Highlights of the policy
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It proposes a two-tier governance structure for Air sports in the country, which will include an Apex governing body called the air sports federation of India and association for each air sport.
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ASFI will be an autonomous body under the ministry of civil aviation and will represent India at the lausanne- headquartered federation aeronautics international(FAI) and other global platforms related to air sports.
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ASFI will provide governance over various aspects of air sports including regulation certification competitions reward and penalties.
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ASFI will cover activities like acrobatics, micro modelling MH your build and experimental aircraft, ballooning,drones,gliding,hang gliding, paragliding, micro lightning, paramotoring, skydiving and vintage aircrafts.
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The association for each airsports will lay down its safety standards for equipment, infrastructure, personnel and training and specify the disciplinary actions to be taken in case of non compliance.
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The non compliance will attract penal action by the ASFI.
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All persons and entities providing air sports service will be required to register as members of the respective air sports association.
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Key equipment used will also have to be registered.
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Popular air sports places like Bir-billing in H.P, Gangtok in Sikkim, Hadapsar in Maharashtra and vagamon in Kerala can be declared as a “control zone” for Air sports in order to ensure the safety of other manned aircraft.
Significance of the policy
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Schools and colleges will be encouraged to include their sports in their curriculum and their students will have the opportunity to participate in the FAI’s international competition.
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The draft policy will promote domestic design, development and manufacturing of air sports equipment under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
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The draft policy will waive import duty on equipment for a few years.
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It will also request the GST council to consider rationalizing the GST ye rate on air air sports equipment to 5% or less.
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India has the potential to be among the leading nations in the world of their sports. It has a large geographical expanse, diverse topography and fair weather conditions.
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India has a large youth population and also a growing culture for adventure sports and aviation.
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In addition to direct revenue from air sports activities, a multiplier benefit will be growth of travel, tourism infrastructure and local employment.
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Creation of air sports hubs across the country will also bring in their sports professionals and tourists from across the world.
Conclusion
The vision of the draft National air sports policy is to make India one of the top air sports Nations by 2030. It envisages to promote the country’s air sports sector by way of making it safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable. The policy seeks to leverage India’s potential for Air sports and places a strong focus on ensuring international best practices in safety.
Plutus IAS Current Affairs Team Member
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