New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the aviation sector do not make a distinction between existing and new airlines, brushing aside Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's contention that the policy needs to be clarified.
"I don't want to get into what the civil aviation ministry's view is. But as per Press Note 6, the intent of the government is clear. We want to allow foreign airlines to invest in civil aviation, be it in existing air transport services or the capital of an Indian company. We are not talking greenfield or brownfield here. It's foreign investment by foreign airlines in the civil aviation sector," said Sharma.
The aviation ministry had opposed the AirAsia-Tata proposal to launch new airlines at a meeting of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) earlier this week, on the grounds that foreign airlines were allowed to invest only in existing carriers.
09/03/13 Diasha Seth/Economic Times
