The civil aviation ministry has mandated the National Council of Applied Economic Research to conduct a study and recommend ways to lower air tariffs to make them more affordable.

Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the affordability aspect would be the prime element in the civil aviation policy, which is expected to be completed within the next couple of months.

"NCAER will provide an outlook on the domestic aviation sector primarily on the issue of affordability. We have also set up a task force, headed by former Cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra, to study the various issues relating to the civil aviation policy. The committee will table its final report on the policy within two months. We intend to freeze the policy soon," Rudy said.

Rudy said besides the affordability aspect, the policy would ensure a level playing field for all players.

Other highlights of the policy include modernisation of airports, upgradation of Air-India and Indian Airlines' services and aviation turbine fuel pricing policy.

"My priority will be to increase the capacity of Indian Airlines and Air-India and make them competitive and to privatise, modernise and develop the Delhi and Mumbai airports as world-class hubs apart from speeding up the reforms process in the aviation sector," Rudy said.

The minister also said the issue of high tax on aviation turbine fuel had been taken up with the finance ministry as well as the state governments.

On the fleet expansion plans of the two state-owned air carriers, Rudy said the government would come in the picture only after the respective airlines completed their techno-feasibility reports and submitted them to the ministry.