New Delhi: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), SpiceJet along with four other aviation-related firms are looking to set up aircraft leasing services at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat's GIFT city in Ahmedabad.
Till now, the Indian aviation industry was dominated by lessors from Ireland and Hong Kong. On February 1, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech proposed a tax exemption for aircraft leasing companies.
"Acumen Aviation, an Ireland-based lease manager would be participating in the GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) in Gujarat. Vman Aero, Mumbai based Aviation Consultancy an asset management firm, London-based Investec Aviation Finance and JetSetGo Aviation Services Private Limited is in the process of establishing a leasing entity at GIFT city, " said Civil Aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola at aircraft leasing summit in New Delhi.
Kharola said SpiceJet is also considering leaving seaplanes from lessers here. Air India's regional arm Alliance air is also planning to lease two Dorniers of HAL through Gift city.
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"India currently has 700 aircraft. But, so for not even a single aircraft has been released from within India unfortunately. India has now created a highly efficient system for aircraft leasing and financing which is comparable to that of Ireland, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and anywhere in the world," he added.
Addressing the summit, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India must leverage its growing air traffic to establish a robust aircraft leasing industry, which would finance new aircraft deliveries through its own policies and products.
"To commensurate with the growth potential of the Indian aviation sector, in the next 20 years, India will need 1,750-2,100 aircraft valued at over Rs 20,40,000 crore, with an estimated 100 deliveries each year, as per the predictions of Airbus and Boeing," said the Civil Aviation Minister.
He added that in anticipation of the long-term requirements of the country's aviation industry, the government envisages creating an ecosystem through GIFT city which is an IFSC in India, wherein the flexibility of regulations needed in the industry will not affect the mainland regulations.
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