Aviation Cooperation Between India and New Zealand

• 31 Aug 2023

For Prelims: Global Research Alliance (GRA), New Zealand geographic location

For Mains: Infrastructural development in the aviation market, Benefits of India's participation in the Global Research Alliance (GRA) for its own agricultural practices

Source: PIB

Why in News?

Recently, India and New Zealand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in civil aviation.

• Furthermore, a meeting took place between the Agriculture Ministers of both countries, where they not only reaffirmed their commitment to boost agricultural collaboration and invited India to join the Global Research Alliance(GRA).

What are the Key Highlights of MoU on Civil Aviation?

• Building upon an Air Services Agreement, 2016, the MoU aims to further strengthen the aviation partnership between India and New Zealand.
• The cooperation in civil aviation includes scheduling new routes, codeshare services, traffic rights, and capacity entitlement.
• Both India and New Zealand enjoy the privilege of exercising third and fourth freedom traffic rights, enabling them to conduct unlimited services using any type of aircraft.
  • New Zealand's airlines can operate to/from six destinations in India, while Indian airlines can serve Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and three additional points in New Zealand, as determined by the Government of the Republic of India.
• Airlines from both countries can freely operate unlimited cargo services using any type of aircraft, with the right to stop at intermediate points and extend their services to destinations beyond, without being restricted by specified route points.

Freedom Traffic Rights in Aviation

• Freedom traffic rights refer to the rights granted to airlines by international agreements or treaties to operate air services between countries.
• These rights outline the extent to which airlines can fly into and out of a country, including the number of flights, routes, and destinations they can serve.
• There are different levels or "freedoms" of traffic rights, ranging from the first freedom (the right to overfly a country without landing) to the ninth freedom (cabotage, which allows foreign airlines to operate domestic flights within another country).
• These rights are negotiated and agreed upon in bilateral or multilateral air service agreements between nations.

Global Research Alliance

• The GRA is an international organization that brings countries together to find ways to grow more food without growing greenhouse gas emissions.
• The GRA was launched in 2009 by New Zealand and has since grown to include 67 member countries (India is not a member).
• The GRA goal is to reduce the emissions intensity of agricultural production systems and increase their potential for soil carbon sequestration.
• The GRA focuses on three main agricultural sub-sectors: paddy rice, croplands, and livestock.
  • It also coordinates cross-cutting activities such as inventories and nationally determined contributions (NDCs), soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, and integrative research.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: (2009)

	List I (Geographic feature)		List II (Country)
A.	Great Victoria Desert	1.	Australia
B.	Grand Canyon	2.	Canada
C.	Lake Winnipeg	3.	New Zealand
D.	Southern Alps	4.	USA

Code:

A B C D

(a) 1 2 4 3
(b) 1 4 2 3
(c) 3 2 4 1
(d) 3 4 2 1

Ans: (b)

Exp:

• The Great Victorian desert is Australia’s largest desert. It lies in western Australia and South Australia, extending from the Gibson desert on the north to the Nullarbor plain on the south and eastward from Kalgoorlie-Boulder almost to the Stuart Range.
• The Grand Canyon lies in the southwestern portion of the Colorado Plateau, which occupies a large area of the southwestern United States and consists essentially of horizontal layered rocks and lava flows.
• Lake Winnipeg has an area of 9,416 square miles (24,387 square km) and is one of Canada’s largest freshwater lake.
• Southern Alps is a mountain range on South Islands, New Zealand. It is the highest range in Australasia. It extends from Haast Pass, at the head of Wanaka Lake, northeastward to Arthur’s Pass. They vary in elevation from 3,000 feet (900 metres) to 16 peaks above 10,000 feet (3,050 metres) and culminate in Mount Cook which is about 12,316 feet (3,754 metres).
  • Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

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Mains

Q. Examine the development of Airports in India through joint ventures under Public–Private Partnership (PPP) model. What are the challenges faced by the authorities in this regard? (2017)