“We’re a growth-enabler. We deserve to be treated like one,” said Captain Karan Singh, MD of the Business Aircraft Opera-tors Association, as he came down heavily on state policies with regard to the sector.
“Why do we need to be taxed? We see growth rates of 30-40 per cent in markets that have no taxation. Business jets are not a luxury. They save time and drive growth,” Capt. Singh said.
He said, India currently has about 140 business jets, as opposed to Brazil, which is a similar market but boasts of 4,000 business jets. “We need to step up infrastructure to achieve our target of 400 aircraft by 2020. Despite the unhelpful conditions, we hope to be a $4-billion industry by 2020, with an overall economic impact upwards of $20 billion.”
The Emergency Medical Services segment, which includes airlifting of those that require urgent medical attention from remote locations, is one that, despite a lot of potential, is almost non-existent in India, he said. “Of course, it is economically viable,” he responded to a query. “There will always be a demand,” he said. “No plane no gain,” he says.