Hyderabad, Jan 18 (Reporter) Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Thursday announced that India has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the world's third-largest purchaser of aircrafts after United States and China. The announcement was made by the Minister after inaugurating the four-day Wings India 2024 event at Begumpet Airport, here. Scindia highlighted the significance of the day, citing the launch of Udaan-3.0, the inauguration of Airbus's Tata joint venture training center, and the announcement of Airbus's new manufacturing contract in India. Emphasizing the progress in air wheel space manufacturing, he noted that India's aviation sector is at a takeoff stage. Providing details on current fleet statistics, the Civil Aviation Minister mentioned that Air India boasts 470 aircraft, with 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. Additionally, IndiGo has 500 aircraft, including the largest order for Boeing 737 by Akasa, comprising 150 aircraft. Scindia applauded Akasa for its remarkable growth, defying previous narratives of airlines shutting down. He highlighted the success of the airline, which expanded from 2 to 20 aircraft within a year, placed an order for 76 aircraft, and subsequently announced an additional order for 150 aircraft. Reflecting on India's aviation growth, the Minister mentioned the birth of five new regional airlines through UDAY: Sare India One Air, Fly 91, Fly Big, and Air Taxi. He expressed pride in India's achievements, breaking records not only in the country's history but also on a global scale. Scindia provided insights into India's aviation sector's impressive growth rates, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3 per cent for domestic traffic and 6.1 per cent for international traffic. He stated that India now ranks as the third-largest domestic civil aviation market, seventh-largest international civil aviation market, and fifth-largest overall civil aviation market in the world. Looking ahead, the Minister discussed the potential for further growth, with domestic passenger numbers expected to reach 300 million by 2030. Despite this projection, he emphasized that India's aviation market remains under-penetrated, with plans to increase penetration from 3-4 percent to 10-15 percent. Underlining the government's commitment to harnessing this potential, Scindia outlined plans to expand airport infrastructure, targeting 200 airports by 2030. He noted the addition of greenfield airports in Navi Mumbai and Jewar, with the aim of supporting a USD 20 trillion economy by 2047. Scindia affirmed that India is gearing up to meet the challenges and opportunities in the aviation sector under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (Dr) V K Singh, Telangana Roads and Building Minister Komatireddy Venkatreddy, Ministry of Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam and among others were present on the occasion...////...