Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the India Aircraft Leasing & Financing Summit 2.0 at GIFT City, highlighting the growing role of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in strengthening India’s aircraft leasing ecosystem. The summit has been jointly organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, IFSCA and FICCI.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu attended the summit as the chief guest, while aviation industry leaders, policy makers and stakeholders from India and abroad participated in the event.
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During the inauguration, several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between Air India, IndiGo, Star Air, Bank of India, IFSCA and Akasa Air to promote new partnerships and investments in the aviation sector. A FICCI knowledge report was also unveiled at the summit.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that GIFT City, envisioned under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has emerged as a major fintech hub for the country. He stated that the summit would help strengthen India’s aviation financing ecosystem by adopting global best practices and expanding the role of IFSCA in aircraft leasing and financing.
The Chief Minister noted that the unified regulatory framework introduced through IFSCA has improved ease of doing business for the aircraft leasing industry. He also referred to tax holidays and incentives announced in the Union Budget to enhance the competitiveness of GIFT City’s IFSC ecosystem.
Highlighting Gujarat’s growing leadership in the aviation sector, Bhupendra Patel said that more than 370 assets have already been leased through IFSCA at GIFT City. He urged industry leaders to collaborate with GIFT City to accelerate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India by 2047.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu described GIFT City as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “brainchild” and India’s gateway to global financial markets. Comparing it with international financial hubs such as Dublin, Singapore and Dubai, he said GIFT City has developed a strong ecosystem for aircraft leasing and financing that will play a key role in making India self-reliant in aviation.
He further stated that India’s aviation sector offers leasing opportunities worth nearly 50 billion dollars over the next decade and that the country is moving from being merely a consumer of global finance to becoming an architect of global aviation financing. He projected that India is set to become the world’s third-largest civil aviation market by 2035 with a fleet of nearly 2,250 aircraft.
The Union Minister also stressed the importance of leasing smaller regional aircraft with 40 to 100 seats, along with helicopters and seaplanes, to improve regional connectivity. He announced that seaplane operations would soon begin in Lakshadweep. The government is also working on policies related to fractional ownership and recognising aircraft as infrastructure assets.
Civil Aviation Secretary Sameer Kumar Sinha said the summit would be a decisive step toward making India self-reliant in aviation financing. He noted that over 80 percent of Indian airline aircraft are currently leased from foreign jurisdictions such as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai, and the government aims to establish India not only as an aviation market but also as a financing jurisdiction.
IFSCA Chairman K. Rajaraman said India has become the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Praising the infrastructure development and metro connectivity at GIFT City under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, he stated that while there were no leasing units in 2020, GIFT City today hosts more than 40 aircraft lessors and has successfully completed leasing transactions involving over 200 aircraft and 84 engines.
FICCI Civil Aviation Committee Chairman and Airbus India Managing Director Jurgen Westermeier also addressed the summit. Senior Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Amit Ray welcomed the participants at the beginning of the programme.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, aviation experts, policymakers, industry leaders and investors were present at the summit.
