India can become top air sports nation

The ministry had released a draft ‘National Air Sports Policy’ for public feedback in January this year.

The policy covers sports like aerobatics, aeromodelling, amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning, drones, gliding, hang gliding and paragliding, microlighting and paramotoring, skydiving and vintage aircraft.

The vision of the policy is to make India one of the top air sports nations by 2030. The mission is to provide a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India.

NASP 2022 seeks to leverage India’s huge potential for air sports given its large geographical expanse, diverse topography and fair weather conditions.

An Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) will be established as the apex governing body. Associations for each air sport will handle day to day activities e.g., Paragliding Association of India or Skydiving Association of India.

“The Government of India therefore plans to promote the country’s air sports sector, by way of making it safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable. Systems and processes need to be simplified and made more transparent; focus on quality, safety and security needs to be enhanced; and investments in infrastructure, technology, training and awareness building need to be facilitated,” a statement from the ministry said, as reported by Trinity Mirror, a partner of TV BRICS.

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