India, Dec. 9 -- Last week's aviation fiasco - continuing this week but beginning to ebb - may have been piloted by the country's leading airline IndiGo, but it was fuelled by a system designed to fail. It has highlighted several gaps that need to be plugged if India is to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat (developed India).

Indian passengers paid a heavy price -- with some resorting to climbing on counters in airports and others reduced to tears -- thanks to the duopoly (the market leader, IndiGo has around 60% share, and Air India and its affiliates have around 25%) that is the aviation market. All the dangers of a duopoly in full force when market leader IndiGo miscalculated (or chose to deliberately miscalculate as is being alleged o...