Saturday, March 26, 2011

Ministry of Civil Aviation Set Up -Govt. of India

Organization Setup

Introduction

Located at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan at the Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for formulation of national policies and programmes for the development and regulation of the Civil Aviation sector in the country. It is responsible for the administration of the Aircraft Act, 1934, Aircraft Rules, 1937 and various other legislations pertaining to the aviation sector in the country. This Ministry exercises administrative control over attached and autonomous organizations like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy and affiliated Public Sector Undertakings like National Aviation Company of India Limited, Airports Authority of India and Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited. The Commission of Railway Safety, which is responsible for safety in rail travel and operations in terms of the provisions of the Railways Act, 1989 also comes under the administrative control of this Ministry.

Chronicles of Civil Aviation in India

The Aviation industry in India is one of the fastest growing sectors globally. The sector has undergone rapid transformation since the liberalization drive that began in the earlier half of the decade. The origin of Indian civil aviation industry can be traced back to 1912, when the first air flight between Karachi and Delhi was started by the Indian State Air Services in collaboration with the UK based Imperial Airways. It was an extension of London-Karachi flight of the Imperial Airways. In 1932, JRD Tata founded Tata Airline, the first Indian airline. At the time of independence, nine air transport companies were carrying both air cargo and passengers.
In early 1948, Government of India established a joint sector company, Air India International Ltd in collaboration with Air India (earlier Tata Airline) with a capital of Rs 2 crore and a fleet of three Lockheed constellation aircraft. The inaugural flight of Air India International Ltd took off on June 8, 1948 on the Mumbai-London air route. The Government nationalized nine airline companies vide the Air Corporations Act, 1953. These government-owned airlines dominated Indian aviation industry till the mid-1990s. In April 1990, the Government adopted open-sky policy and allowed air taxi- operators to operate flights from any airport, both on a charter and a non charter basis and to decide their own flight schedules, cargo and passenger fares. As part of its open sky policy in 1994, the Indian Government ended the monopoly of IA and AI in the air transport services. Private operators were allowed to provide air transport services. However, no foreign airline could directly or indirectly hold equity in a domestic airline company. By 1995, several private airlines had ventured into the aviation business and accounted for more than 10 percent of the domestic air traffic. Today, Indian aviation industry is dominated by private airlines and these include low cost carriers, who have made air travel affordable.

Attached / Autonomous Organisations

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation, primarily dealing with safety issues. It is responsible for regulation of air transport services to/from/within India and for enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety, and airworthiness standards. The DGCA also co-ordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The functions of DGCA include the following:

1. Registration of civil aircraft;
2. Formulation of standards of airworthiness for civil aircraft registered in India and grant of certificates of airworthiness to such aircraft;
3. Licensing of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and flight engineers, and conducting examinations and checks for that purpose;
4. Licensing of air traffic controllers;
5. Certification of aerodromes and CNS/ATM facilities;
6. Granting of Air Operator's Certificates to Indian carriers and regulation of air transport services operating to/from/within/over India by Indian and foreign operators, including clearance of scheduled and non-scheduled flights of such operators;
7. Conducting investigation into accidents/incidents and taking accident prevention measures including formulation of implementation of Safety Aviation Management programmes.
8. Carrying out amendments to the Aircraft Act, the Aircraft Rules and the Civil Aviation Requirements for complying with the amendments to ICAO Annexes, and initiating proposals for amendment to any other Act or for passing a new Act in order to give effect to an international Convention or amendment to an existing Convention;
9. Coordination at national level for flexi-use of air space by civil and military air traffic agencies and interaction with ICAO for provision of more air routes for civil use through Indian air space;
10. Keeping a check on aircraft noise and engine emissions in accordance with ICAO Annex 16 and collaborating with the environmental authorities in this matter, if required;
11. Promoting indigenous design and manufacture of aircraft and aircraft components by acting as a catalytic agent;
12. Approving training programmes of operators for carriage of dangerous goods, issuing authorizations for carriage of dangerous goods, etc.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) was initially set up as a Cell in the DGCA in January 1978 on the recommendation of the Pande Committee. The BCAS was reorganized into an independent department under the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1st April, 1987. The main responsibilities of BCAS include laying down standards and measures with respect to security of civil flights at international and domestic airports in India. BCAS Head quarter is located at "A" Wing, I-III floor, Janpath Bhavan, Janpath, New Delhi-110001. It has got four Regional Offices located at International airports i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

The functions of BCAS are:

1. Laying down Aviation Security Standards in accordance with Annex 17 to Chicago Convention of ICAO for airport operators, airlines operators, and their security agencies responsible for implementing AVSEC measures.

2. Monitoring the implementation of security rules and regulations and carrying out survey of security needs.

3. Ensure that the persons implementing security controls are appropriately trained and possess all competencies required to perform their duties.

4. Planning and coordination of Aviation security matters.

5. Conducting -
a. Surprise/Dummy checks to test professional efficiency and alertness of security staff.
b. Mock exercise to test efficacy of Contingency Plans and operational preparedness of the various agencies.

The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) , working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the Government of India, deals with matters pertaining to safety of rail travel and train operation and is charged with certain statutory functions as laid down in the Railways Act (1989), which are of an inspectorial, investigatory & advisory nature. The Commission functions according to certain rules viz. statutory investigation into accidents rules framed under the Railways Act and executive instructions issued from time to time. The most important duties of the Commission is to ensure that any new Railway line to be opened for passenger traffic should conform to the standards and specifications prescribed by the Ministry of Railways and the new line is safe in all respects for carrying of passenger traffic. This is also applicable to other works such as gauge conversion, doubling of lines and electrification of existing lines. Commission also conducts statutory inquiry into serious train accidents occurring on the Indian Railways and makes recommendations for improving safety on the Railways in India.

The National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (NACIL) was incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 on 30 March 2007 and is owned by the Government of India. The Company was created to facilitate the merger of the two main state-owned airlines in India: Air India, with its subsidiary Air-India Express and Indian Airlines, together with its subsidiary Alliance Air.
Subsidiary Companies of NACIL are
1. Hotel Corporation of India Limited
2. Air India Air Transport Services Limited
3. Air India Engineering Services Limited
4. Air India Charters Limited
5. IAL Airport Services Limited
6. Airline Allied Services Limited [1]
7. Vayudoot Limited

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) was formed on 1st April 1995 by merging the International Airports Authority of India and the National Airports Authority with a view to accelerate the integrated development, expansion, and modernization of the operational, terminal and cargo facilities at the airports in the country conforming to international standards.
The main functions of Airports Authority of India are as under:
1. Design, Development, Operation and Maintenance of international and domestic airports and civil enclaves.
2. Control and Management of the Indian airspace extending beyond the territorial limits of the country, as accepted by ICAO.
3. Construction, Modification and Management of passenger terminals.
4. Development and Management of cargo terminals at international and domestic airports.
5. Provision of passenger facilities and information system at the passenger terminals at airports.
6. Expansion and strengthening of operation area, viz. Runways, Aprons, Taxiway etc.
7. Provision of visual aids.
8. Provision of Communication and Navigation aids, viz. ILS, DVOR, DME, Radar etc.

The Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) is one of the leading helicopter companies in India and is known for its reliable helicopter operations. Its objective is to provide helicopter support services to the Oil Sector for its off-shore exploration operations, services in remote and hilly areas as well as charter services for promotion of travel and tourism. The Registered Office of the Company is located at New Delhi and its Regional offices are at Mumbai and New Delhi.
PHHL is the first ISO 9001: 2000 certified Aviation Company in India. Pawan Hans has played a vital role in the growth story of the Helicopter Industry in India.

The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) was founded by the Late Capt Rajiv Gandhi, then Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, on 07 November 1985, to bring about a quantum improvement in the standards of flying and ground training of commercial pilots in the country. The main objective of the akademi is to improve the Flying Training standards in the Civil Aviation Industry and to impart Line Oriented Flying Training of International Standards, as per ICAO norms. The students are honed thoroughly for easy transition to Airline industry. The Akademi functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India through its Governing Council. IGRUA is located at Fursatganj Dist. Raebareli (U.P)