NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Civil Aviation, in an attempt to simplify the process of buying aircraft, has decided to hand over powers to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to grant initial approval to private airlines for import or acquisition of aircraft
“The change of power is being made since DGCA was looking after the compliance of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) regulated by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),” said an official. “The current process was cumbersome as the requests for aircraft acquisitions were being handled by the ministry while DGCA was looking after CAR. The clearance was also time consuming as both agencies were involved,” he said. The Director General of Foreign Trade and Reserve Bank of India have been asked to amend the existing process while DGCA has been requested to make the necessary amendments to the CAR rules.
This decision is seen as a welcome move for the domestic carriers who are looking forward to expand their fleet in the fast growing aviation sector here. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), India is projected to be the world’s third-largest aviation market by 2029.
According to leading aircraft maker Airbus, the growing passenger traffic in India and other emerging markets would help generate aircraft demand worth $5 trillion in 20 years. International Civil Aviation Organisation of the United Nations, which conducted audit of the Indian civil aviation and Delhi airport security in October has concluded that implementation of aviation security in India stands at 99.23 per cent—an improvement of 10 per cent over its last audit in February 2011.