[New Delhi]Govt Reiterates Its Stand For Not Capping Airfares
Dr Mahesh Sharma has denied any proposal to regulate economy class air fares
Civil Aviation Minister Sharma’s remarks came against the backdrop of concerns expressed in various quarters about steep fluctuations in air ticket prices. Earlier this week, a parliamentary panel also suggested capping maximum air fares on domestic routes.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister said air fares are not controlled by the government.
To a query on whether the government proposes to regulate the economy class air fare for domestic routes, Sharma replied in the negative.
According to him, airlines are free to fix the ticket rates after taking into consideration various factors, including cost of operation and characteristics of service.
A Tariff Monitoring Unit has been set up at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to monitor air fares on certain routes on a random basis. This is to ensure airlines do not charge fares outside the range declared by them.
In a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture had suggested a cap on maximum air fares.
The report pertained to action taken by the government on observations/recommendations of the panel on the Ministry’s Demands for Grants (2015-16).
Earlier, some parliamentarians had asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to look into the issues of steep hikes in air fares during festival seasons
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Civil Aviation Ministers
Tag: Tourism and Culture
Dr.Mahesh Sharma Puts Safety+security for international+Tourists On Priority
[New Delhi]Dr.Mahesh Sharma Puts Safety+security for international+Tourists On Priority
Dr. Mahesh Sharma assumes charge as Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Tourism and Culture
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Tourism and Culture, Dr Mahesh Sharma has said that it would be the priority of the Government to promote culture, rich heritage and natural beauty of the country by creating synergy between the ministries of culture, tourism and civil aviation.
He was speaking while assuming office as Minister for Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture in New Delhi today.
Highlighting the importance of the tourism and culture sector, Dr. Sharma said that the Prime Minister, Sh Narendra Modi has a great vision for this sector and that he would make all efforts to take this sector to a new high.One of the important action points will be to explore tourism potential of new areas like medical tourism and also promote domestic tourism among the youth, he added.
Expressing concern over the bottle necks especially in the area of international tourism, the Union Minister said that providing adequate infrastructure, security and use of technology will be the focus over the next three months. He said that India has world class doctors and we should take advantage of this talent pool to promote medical tourism. Similarly, the youth in India is getting directed to tourist destinations abroad and we should try to make domestic destinations equally attractive for them. Dr. Sharma has said that to provide immediate connectivity to tourist destinations with poor connectivity, helicopter services and heliports will be provided for these areas.
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The Minister also held separate meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture where presentations were also made to update him on the latest developments of the two Ministries.
Dr. Mahesh Sharma is a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Gautam Budh Nagar constituency, U.P.
Photo Caption
The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati greets the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma as he assumes his office, in New Delhi on November 12, 2014.
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