Trends on wings
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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BBC World's ongoing series, "Take Off" flies the viewers into the helipad of the Indian aviation industry.
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ISSUE-BASED "Take Off" talks about various issues ranging from infrastructure to airline workforce to budget airlines to privatisation.
For the man on the street, low-cost flying is perhaps the most tangible outcome of India's fledgling aviation industry. Thanks to competitive pricing, not only many long-distance commuters who traditionally board the train because of high airfare, are now flying but it has also given an opportunity to many to fly for the first time.
But the growth of the country's aviation industry has many other facets to it, which you and me won't have a handle on. Simply because we are neither experts in the field nor policy makers. But interestingly, to augment the knowledge of a wider section of people in India, and also to give an in-depth idea to viewers across the world about the Indian aviation industry, BBC World has recently started a six-part series called "Take Off", aired every Tuesday at 9 p.m. The series, produced by Delhi-based Miditech Productions, talks about various issues ranging from infrastructure to airline workforce to budget airlines to privatisation. All in layman's language.
The ongoing series that closes on April 10, is not only exploring the changing landscape of the Indian aviation industry but is also looking at issues that need to be tackled to sustain expansion.
Narendhra Morar, Commissioning Editor, BBC World, underlines the point, "The country's aviation industry has not been covered in any real depth before which is why we decided to commission the series." Morar calls the series "a metaphor for India's increasing importance as a global economic player", a reason as to why the channel is transmitting it globally.
In the upcoming part this Tuesday, "Take Off" will focus on India as an emerging market for aviation in the world. As analysts predict a growth of 100 million passengers by 2010, Indian airlines place orders worth 13 billion US dollars at the Paris Air Show, thus stunning the industry.
Independence Day coverage
Also, there are now outside firms bidding for airport maintenance and revamping. The series will focus on whether such partnerships will work in the Indian context, among other issues.
Though "Take Off" ends in April, Morar promises that BBC World will continue to feature India and stories relating to it. "In addition, we are currently planning special programmes to mark the 60th anniversary of India's independence," he says. Besides news coverage, "there will be documentaries, at least one debate as well as short form vignettes."
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