Belagavi: Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has said that his ministry was planning to introduce 15 helipads across the country to improve tourism prospects.

They will be established in hilly areas to explore the tourist potential in the north and north-eastern parts of the country where flights cannot land.

Mr. Sinha was speaking at STEP conclave organised by Prabudha Bharat in VTU, Belagavi, on Sunday.

He credited the government for its move of enabling Foreign Direct Investment in the aviation sector with a cap of 49%. He claimed that it was in conformity with the global standards, while also claiming that no previous government had dared to do so.

He said the government was re-evaluating the process of disinvestment in the national carrier. The previous attempt at disinvestment unfortunately hit with bad timing as the oil prices in the international market went north and the industry was hit with slowdown. However, the aviation sector had good future and made profits of ₹1.8 lakh crore on part with railway and telecom, he said.

The government was committed to improving air connectivity at tier-II cities, including Belagavi.

Around 10 to 15 flights will commence their operation from Sambra airport. The city deserves more flights. There is an indication that a larger number of carriers are expressing interest and likely to participate in bidding of the UDAN 3 scheme, he said. The government was also contemplating opening three airports in the State for international destinations.

The fares of air travel was the lowest and it will enable the common man to travel by air at cheaper prices by booking well in advance.

About his father and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha being critical about the government, he said people would judge based on the performance and what the government had delivered and vote for it. “Hope my father would also vote in this favour evaluating its performance,” he said.

“The greatest weakness of economists is that they are only economists, whereas, as politicians we have to always talk about people and their upliftment. Hence, there is a need to develop as there is a vast majority of youngsters who are still working in the unorganised sector,” he said.