The seven months that Ajit Singh has been at the helm of the civil aviationministry have been tumultuous - both in terms of government policy and the business of airlines. He has acted tough at times - be it staring down striking Air Indiapilots into submission, or firing a mercurial bureaucrat. At other times, his decisions have been criticised as being soft on some private airlines (read Kingfisher). He has set new rules - opening up fuel imports, and reversed old policy - making it easier for more private airlines to fly more international routes. But that's just the publicly visible part of his job. Behind the scenes, he has been unrelenting in his efforts for breakthroughs. He lobbied within the government to push through a Rs 30,000 crore bailout for Air India.
He is lobbying outside too, even with difficult allies like Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee, to muster support for a proposal to increase FDI in airlines to 49% from 26%, ministry sources say.
"The overall sentiment prior to his joining was negative, which was largely due to no progress achieved during his predecessor's (Mr Ravi) tenure," says Kapil Kaul, CEO, global airline consultancy firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) South Asia. "I was surprised at the speed with which he (Singh) has moved forward."
That's one view. Air India pilots, or those close to EK Bharat Bhushan, the former chief of DGCA, the aviation regulator, or some known Kingfisher baiters are unlikely to buy that. Yes, Singh has many critics, but no one can accuse him of inaction. That, in an environment where the rest of the government has been crippled by deep policy paralysis, is being seen as a virtue.
"There have been some positive efforts in the last couple of months. Most initiatives that were put on the backburner earlier are now revived like import of ATF and inclusion of ATF in the GST list...most things have materialised... even the FDI might happen," says Neil Mills, CEO, SpiceJet. "We have seen some positive moves coming from the ministry and we hope it continues going forward."
Taking Tough Decisions
Singh, an IITian and M-Tech from University of Illinois (USA) who spent 17 years with IBM in the US in the seventies, joined politics in 1986. Ever since, he has intentionally cultivated the image of a 'kisaan leader', taking on the mantle of his father and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. But many are seeing a new 'Chaudhary Ji.' In his current role, he is fast building a reputation as a nononsense administrator and policy maker. Air India pilots will vouch for that. They took him on - and lost.
Last April-May, when pilots belonging to the union, Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), went on strike, Singh's immediate predecessor Ravi asked the aviation ministry officials to persuade the pilots to join work.
After intense negotiations led by joint secretary and director-level officials - some of which stretched for eight hours - Ravi gave in to several demands including reinstatement of all and recognition to their union. But this year, when pilots of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) went on a similar strike, Singh refused to speak to an unrecognised union for two months. He asked AI management to curtail schedule to ensure the revenue-expenditure gap does not widen. IPG pilots, who have been on strike since May 7, are now ready for reinstatement, leaving all other demands behind.
"I think he's doing very good and I am in full support of the way he has handled the Air India strike," says Praful Patel, who was aviation minister from 2004 to 2010. "This is the minister's way of giving out a message to other Air India employees that this is not the time for mischief, but (time) to support the airline," says a senior UP cadre bureaucrat from the civil aviation ministry, who has also worked with Singh's father.
Singh is not shying away from tough and objective decisions. Only a couple of months after taking charge, he made it easier for all private carriers to get international routes by taking away Air India's right-of-first refusal.
For an airline to fly abroad, the government must first negotiate a bilateral treaty known as an Air Service Agreement (ASA) with the destination country's government. Till recently, Air India had first right to such 'bilateral rights.' The minister did away with this.
Immediately after Air India monopoly ended, Jet Airways sought approvals for increasing international flights by a large number, applying for routes five seasons in advance. IndiGo and SpiceJet have also made several applications for international routes.
"Opening up of bilateral rights to other private carriers has created a silent revolution and may turn out to be the single biggest reform facilitating global presence of Indian carriers," says global consultancy firm KPMG Partner (Aviation) Amber Dubey.
Aviation ministry bureaucrats say Singh showed remarkable foresight quite early in the job. Global carriers were flying away with a lot of the international traffic originating in India. But, making it easy for Indian carriers to get approvals for foreign routes will help the industry compete with international airlines better, they say.
Singh is thinking one step ahead. He wants India to emerge as a hub for global traffic along the lines of Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Private carriers are also happy with another of Singh's decisions. This February, the government allowed direct import of aviation turbine fuel (ATF). This could help the industry save Rs 2,500 crore annually. Industry estimates peg the total ATF bill of domestic airlines at Rs 10,000 crore.
The Kingfisher Stance
Many in the industry are wondering why Kingfisher Airlines, which has cut down most of its flights due to financial troubles, is still being allowed to fly. Singh has been soft on Kingfisher, they allege. Singh plays by the rule book. "Any airline is fit to fly till it has a minimum of five aircraft in its fleet," the Rashtriya Lok Dal leader has maintained since January. For a while, it seemed that people were beginning to buy the logic. That's when Singh fired Bharat Bhushan, a day after the latter made 'file notings' saying that the Vijay Mallya-owned carrier either pay its employees within a fortnight or shut shop. Bhushan's marching orders came the very next day, exactly one week after his term as DGCAwas extended by six months. Singh maintains this was a procedural matter and the extension was done without his knowledge. A day after Bhushan vacated office, Kingfisher Airlines cancelled more flights as its employees refused to report to work on nonpayment of salaries.
A few industry experts say some of Singh's measures were Kingfishercentric - lobbying for 49% FDI and clearance for direct import of ATF. Mallya has repeatedly said survival and recapitalisation of his airline depend on this policy change (foreign investment). Kingfisher was also the first to apply to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in December 2011 seeking permission for direct import of jet fuel. The minister dismisses such talk. "Mallya may be the first one to request for an ATF import permit, but wasn't SpiceJet the first one to go for it and then Air India?" Singh quips. "Similarly, others are also looking forward for change in FDI norms," he adds. Lastly, while Singh's handling of Air India has won admirers, it has also drawn criticism, notably that he micromanages everything.
The admirers point out that although he is flanked by key bureaucrats at all press conferences, he seldom gives them a chance to do more than nod as figures, data and details are on his finger tips. He doesn't stare into papers, doesn't look at his officials for help and often surprises the media with his instantaneous responses backed by statistics.
Critics see it differently. At a couple of press conferences in Mumbai, Singh took all questions, hardly allowing Air India CMD Rohit Nanadan to speak, that too when the strike by pilots was at its peak. "You must understand that he (Nandan) is a bureaucrat and he will not be able to answer queries," Singh once said in another context.
A ministry official sums it up well: "This is a 'hands-on' minister." You have to take the good with the bad.
The Inevitable Comparison
Praful Patel spent six years as civil aviation minister. Ajit Singh is only in his eighth month. Still, the industry is already drawing comparisons between the two.
Patel's tenure is regarded as a game-changing period when true liberalisation (open skies policy) took place. Airlines expanded and put more aircraft on the skies, airports turned modern (Delhi's Terminal 3, Shamsabad airport at Hyderabad, modernisation of Mumbai and Bangalore airports).
Patel was a doer. And Singh's many initiatives so early in the job naturally force such comparisons. Both see air travel as a necessary transport infrastructure, not as a luxury. But that is perhaps where the similarity ends.
Bureaucrats at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, which houses the civil aviation ministry, joke that the difference between the two (Patel and Singh) is that of Bombay and Baghpat: one is known for his wine and cheese parties; the other for his association with rustic Western UP. One can't get inside Praful Patel's house without having a prior appointment and ID proof. But one can just drive or walk into Singh's Tughlak Road home in Delhi.
Farmers from more than one north Indian state are squatting all over his garden — sitting on chairs or charpais — waiting for their turn to meet the minister. Singh ensures that they are attended to and has a dedicated air-conditioned visitors' room where people waiting to meet the minister can even sleep over.
"The circumstances (under Patel and Singh) are different, but continuing deep structural reforms is essential," says Kaul. Patel had a long stint as civil aviation minister.
Singh has only till 2014 when general elections are due. But politics has never been easy for Chaudhary Ajit Singh. Singh came back to India in 1985. After 17 years with IBM, he wanted to set up a software company here. But his father Chaudhary Charan Singh fell into a coma and he entered politics.
"He was a lanky, young, English-speaking fellow who had returned from the US leaving a roaring career at IBM behind and we were all comparing this modern boy with Chaudhary Charan Singh's grand persona," says a veteran journalist who first met Singh 22 years ago in Baghpat.
Later, everyone was offered big glasses of lassi, which none of the 12 journalists present were able to finish. All eyes were on the 'fresh from US' Ajit Singh, the journalist recalls. "He finished it and said if I can't even do this much, I can't be my father's son."
The tumult of UP politics has proved to be harder than the lassi. While Singh carried Charan Singh's legacy, his father's close friends like Mulayam Singh walked away with the vote bank. Singh couldn't hold on to his father's Jaat-Gujjar-Ahir base. "My father was a kisaan leader and not a caste leader," Sigh says. "It was unfortunate that he was tied to such an image. This is what I want to break...I am a kisaan leader," says the man who will shape India's skies...till 2014 at least.
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