The government's motives for lying about its new aviation policy seem as inscrutable as the everyday statements of its Minister for Civil Aviation. If discovered, they will possibly be indefensible. But this unnecessary act of deception ought not to detract from the merits of the policy itself.

If it is found to be useful, it ought to be promoted regardless of other factors, because the circumstances in which it was conceived have nothing to do with its credibility. The man in the street has suffered enough from the machinations of a ministry that has always been more concerned with protecting its own turf and nurturing its monopolistic and discretionary powers than with its stated aim: to provide a dependable and affordable service. Had he lived in a less protectionist regime, he would not have had to look upon air travel either as a luxury because of high tariffs or, conversely, as an unrelenting nightmare because of poor service.

Now, another round of political football in the ministry is about the last thing he needs. Had the skies not been opened up by the Narasimha Rao Government, the State carriers would still be among the least dependable airlines in the world. It was competition that got them off the ground, stirred the imagination and caused the birth of daring ideas like fat-free in-flight meals. Moreover, the experiment with Jet Airways has clearly shown that the private sector does not compromise the national interest that the Aviation Minister guards so zealously, even when it is partly funded by offshore equity. Their flights took off on time and the foreign devil minded his own business far away in the Isle of Man, expressing no interest in toppling the managing director of Indian Airlines.

Had private sector operators been given a relatively free hand in running their enterprises, Indian aviation would have been a booming sector. Because aviation provides the most important gateway to Indian cities, the boom would have fuelled growth in practically every sector of the economy. The national interest would truly have been served. Instead, they were burdened by unrealistic constraints, like an insistence on running a minimum percentage of services on low-paying routes.

That is the job of the government carrier, which the public pays for. In this case, neither did the public get their money's worth, nor were the private airlines allowed to operate optimally. The new draft, however, appears to be far more progressive. At least, it has allowed private operators to run foreign traffic and also allowed foreign airlines equity participation in Indian ventures. The Tata-SIA project seems to be headed for a well-deserved resurrection and more proposals will come up if the terms are attractive enough. Right now, when credibility and safety records have plumbed new depths, every sector of Indian aviation, from actual airline operation to ground support functions, could have some liberalisation. It is imperative that the new policy be pushed through in the shortest possible time provided it is not found intrinsically wanting without unnecessary controversies about its provenance, or unnecessary speculation about the government's motives in keeping it under wraps.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.