{"id":51940,"date":"2025-08-22T19:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=51940"},"modified":"2025-08-25T13:04:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T07:34:58","slug":"aviation-safety-gaps-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-08-2025\/aviation-safety-gaps-parliament","title":{"rendered":"Parliament Panel Flags Aviation Safety Gaps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A Parliamentary Standing Committee <\/strong>has recommended granting full financial and administrative autonomy to the aviation safety regulator, <strong>the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Concerns Identified<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of Autonomy in DGCA:<\/strong> The current dependence on the Ministry hampers independent decision-making; without autonomy, DGCA risks being a weak compliance-monitoring body in a fast-expanding market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Severe Staff Shortages in DGCA:<\/strong> Out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,063 posts at the DGCA, only 553 are currently filled. This represents a \u201cstaggering shortfall\u201d of nearly 50% of the required manpower.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recruitment bottlenecks:<\/strong> The sector is unable to offer industry-matching salaries or direct hiring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) Crisis: <\/strong>It also highlighted the shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) and the issue of fatigue among controllers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also criticised the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which handles the civilian air traffic control function in India, for not adhering to duty time limitations for ATCOs.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Operational &amp; Infrastructure Gaps: <\/strong>The Aircraft induction is outpacing airport expansion, which is straining facilities &amp; safety margins.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is a high recurrence of runway incursions, bird strikes, and engine failures without effective remedial measures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic &amp; Strategic Vulnerabilities: <\/strong>85% dependence on foreign Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) facilities is leading to strategic weakness.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There are helicopter safety lapses in hilly terrains due to a lack of a uniform regulatory framework &amp; specialised pilot training.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The current mismatch between recruitment and training capacity, coupled with operational overload, poses a direct and ongoing<strong> threat to airspace safety<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Recommendations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>DGCA Reforms:<\/strong> Grant full financial &amp; administrative autonomy; allow direct recruitment &amp; competitive salaries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Air Traffic Control (ATC) Safety:<\/strong> Develop a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS); conduct staffing audits; upgrade automation with AI-based systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capacity Planning:<\/strong> Formulate a National Capacity Alignment Plan to synchronise airport growth with airline fleet expansion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) Policy:<\/strong> Incentivise the domestic MRO sector via rationalised taxation &amp; policy support.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Operational Safety: <\/strong>Mandate root-cause analysis for high-risk events; strengthen remedial programmes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Helicopter Operations:<\/strong> Create a uniform national regulatory framework and terrain-specific pilot training.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Regulation of the Aviation Sector in India<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>The Ministry of Civil Aviation<\/strong> is responsible for the formulation of national policies for the development and regulation of the Civil Aviation sector.\u00a0<br>1. It is responsible for the administration of the Aircraft Act, 1934, Aircraft Rules, 1937, and various other legislations of the aviation sector.<br>2. It exercises <strong>administrative control <\/strong>over attached and autonomous organizations like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and affiliated Public Sector Undertakings.\u00a0<br>&#8211; <strong>The Directorate General of Civil Aviation<\/strong> is the<strong> regulatory body<\/strong> primarily dealing with safety issues.\u00a0<br>1. It is responsible for the regulation of air transport services to\/from\/within India and for the enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety, and airworthiness standards.\u00a0<br>2. It also coordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation.<br>&#8211; <strong>Airports Authority of India (AAI): <\/strong>The AAI is responsible for managing and developing civil aviation infrastructure, including airports and air navigation services.\u00a0<br>&#8211; <strong>Bureau of Civil Aviation Security:<\/strong> The main responsibilities of BCAS include laying down standards and measures with respect to the security of civil flights at international and domestic airports in India.<br>&#8211; <strong>Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs):<\/strong> India enters into bilateral agreements with other countries to regulate air services between them.\u00a0These agreements outline the number of flights, routes, and other operational details between the two countries.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The committee&#8217;s findings underscore that, while India&#8217;s civil aviation sector is on a growth trajectory, its long-term health is contingent on addressing these foundational issues of regulation, human factors, and infrastructure alignment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/aviation\/parliamentary-panel-full-autonomy-dgca-flags-manpower-shortage-10201241\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended granting full financial and administrative autonomy to the aviation safety regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key Concerns Identified<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Lack of Autonomy in DGCA: The current dependence on the Ministry hampers independent decision-making; without autonomy, DGCA risks being a weak compliance-monitoring body in a fast-expanding market.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Severe Staff Shortages in DGCA: Out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,063 posts at the DGCA, only 553 are currently filled. This represents a \u201cstaggering shortfall\u201d of nearly 50% of the required manpower.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recruitment bottlenecks: The sector is unable to offer industry-matching salaries or direct hiring.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) Crisis: It also highlighted the shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) and the issue of fatigue among controllers.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-08-2025\/aviation-safety-gaps-parliament\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":51973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/aviation-safety-gaps-parliament.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51940"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51977,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51940\/revisions\/51977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}