India wants to complement global aircraft leasing hubs, not compete, says Rammohan Naidu

Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu said India has a bigger market, and every country surrounding India and closer to the region is seeing a boom in the aviation sector today, and will look to India as a leader in aviation.

Gandhinagar: Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu on Friday said India does not seek to compete with established global aircraft leasing hubs, but to complement them, and the country is committed to creating the right ecosystem.

Addressing the inaugural session of India Aircraft Leasing and Financing Summit 2.0 at GIFT City here, Naidu said that India's aviation sector is transforming at a pace that is catching the attention of the entire world, and the ecosystem that India builds enables not just the country but the region surrounding it.

"The scale of the global aircraft leasing market, and particularly the India-related portion of that market, is large enough to accommodate multiple private sectors across the world...The globe has been so strongly connected that we can have multiple regional centres across the world, and India wants to be a strong player in that. We want to be a global player, but at the same time complementing the global industry," he said.

He said India has a bigger market, and every country surrounding India and closer to the region is seeing a boom in the aviation sector today, and will look to India as a leader in aviation.

"So it is very important for us to take the right steps, to create the right ecosystem, because not only India but a bigger region is also enabled through the ecosystem we build here," he said.

The Union Minister further noted that the March 2026 consultation paper of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) states that many leasing activities in GIFT City still function with ownership, with primary financing and structuring happening offshore.

"We must try to change this, and scale GIFT IFSC as a true global leasing hub, not just a registration destination but a full-scale service centre, where transactions originate, are structured, executed and managed," he said.

He said that India is the third-largest domestic civil aviation market, but looking at the momentum in the industry, it is certain to become the third-largest aviation market in the world.

Naidu said that India's commercial fleet is set to reach 1,100 aircraft by 2027 and will triple to 2,250 by 2032, making it the world's third-largest civil aviation market.

India's passenger transit in 2026 alone has touched 191 million, both domestic and international routes combined, he added.

He pointed out that the Central government's reforms have shown results, with the GIFT IFSC now being home to 38 registered aircraft lessors as of December 2025.

The Union minister said that seaplane operations will also be launched next month or this month itself at Lakshwadeep, and India will see a great opportunity for people in seaplane leasing.

Naidu said that his ministry is also working on deepening financing, with rupee-denominated financing not just being a convenience but a strategic imperative.

"We want to see much greater partnership from our domestic financial institutions as full partners in aviation finance and not just being on the periphery," he added.

The government is ensuring legal and tax reforms, robust dispute resolution capabilities, and institutional mechanisms at GIFT City to stand shoulder to shoulder with one of the top industries across the world, he said.

"Aircraft leasing and financing business is the most profitable segment in the entire aviation value ecosystem," Naidu said, adding that India is also building an ecosystem to meet the growing demand in the aviation industry.

He noted that on November 3 last year, India recorded the highest-ever domestic passenger count of 5.3 lakh, a historic milestone, and since then, it has been crossing 5 lakh passengers every single day, showing the strength and resilience of the Indian aviation market today.

Naidu said that a record number of commercial pilot licences have been issued in the last year, and an outlay of more than Rs 29,000 crore has been committed for developing 100 airports and 200 helipods over the next 10 years.

India's legislation — the Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Act, 2025 — aligns the country's legal framework with the Cape Town Convention, and its impact has also been profound, he said.

In the Union Budget of 2026, the government has formalised an extended tax horizon for IFSC leasing structures, providing long-term predictability that international investors need to commit capital with confidence, he said.