Know your ministry No. 5 - Civil Aviation

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. 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.

MINISTRY DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE IN PUBLIC DOMAIN WITH ARCHIVES

Enactments, Rules and Regulations, Policies, Agreements, Circulars, Notifications, Orders, Committee Reports, Minutes of Meetings with State Governments, Press Conferences, Proformas (sample forms), Passenger Charter of Rights and National Counter Drone Guidelines.

CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR CIVIL AVIATION MINISTRY

The Ministry is exposed to huge challenges under the following:

1. Air Safety issues as over the past few years there have been a number of fatal accidents that killed hundreds of lives.
2. Co-ordination between Civil Aviation Planners, Managers and Regulars to establish a better understanding of the dynamics of the man-machine interface.
3. Financial and Human Resources Management to ensure competence and efficiency.
4. Maintenance and operational efficiency of Aircrafts including Cargo.
5. To rebuilt the Civil Aviation policy and strength all the pillars of Civil Aviation (Ministry, Directorate General, Airport Authority of India, Flight Training Organizations, Scheduled and Non-scheduled Operators.

WAYFORWARD

Civil Aviation Ministry assumes a greater role in exploring innovation in the following areas:

1. Air Taxi Services to transport passengers and cargo in all major Metropolitan Centers and Cities where there is a scope for Regulated Air Traffic Services having commercial and business viabilities to reduce congestion on Roads.
2. Air Ambulance Services to lift critically ill patients and accident victims need emergency medical help.
3. Devise a suitable Action Plan and feasibility to manage National Disasters and Emergency Relief activities.
4. Manage Helipads and Helicopter Services for transport of VVIPs so that they never hinder the normal road traffic resulting in disruption and wastage of resources.
5. Revamp all the bottlenecks to enhance the business productivity of the Civil Aviation Sector.

Civil Aviation Ministry can explore huge demand and extend transport facilities to citizens within the optimum resources to mitigate the infrastructure constraints, rising cost of fuel, Exchange Rate fluctuations, competition amongst domestic carriers, technology deficits and shortage of skilled manpower. Government of India needs to work out a suitable strategy to address the deficiencies to take off as a globally competitive entity.