New Delhi: In order to execute India's obligation to the Chicago Convention, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Tuesday said DGCA has issued various regulations and advisories to the industry with regard to safe flying.
Also known as the Convention on International Aviation, the Chicago Convention had established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which establishes rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety, and details the rights of signatories in relation to air travel among others.
"In accordance with the standards and recommended practices of ICAO, DGCA has developed State Safety Programme for India," Raju said while chairing a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee, attached to his ministry, on 'Safety Measure in Civil Aviation Sector'.
Raju also said that during the current year, cargo sector has registered a phenomenal growth of 10 percent over the previous year, according to an official release.
He also informed the commitee members that the government plans to replace Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with Civil Aviation Authority of India to ensure efficiency in its procedures with ease of recruitment of skilled manpower.
"It will strengthen the system's ability to cope with emerging safety challenges of the growth of the sector in the long run," he said.
In accordance with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, India has also established State Safety Programme which is to be implemented in the phased manner, he said.
As part of phase III implementation, DGCA has established seven key state safety priorities including airborne conflict, controlled flight into terrain, runway excursions and overruns among others, he added.
"To meet the safety target for the years 2015 and 2016, safety action plan has been developed in association with the stake holders," he said.
The DGCA has also strengthened its voluntary reporting system under which occurrences that are not required to be reported under regulations, but are safety related and may be potential hazard, can be reported via voluntary (and anonymous) reporting system to DGCA (HQ), Raju said.
With the implementation of GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN), Raju said India has become the fourth country in the world to provide the certified satellite base augmentation services over Indian Flight Information Region.
The meeting was attended by several MPs - A P Jithender Reddy, E Ahamed, FS Kulaste, S Rajendran, T Chhewang, V B Raut, Praful Patel, P C Gupta, V J Darda and V P Nishad.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma delivered the vote of thanks, the release said.
