The Ministry of Civil Aviation of Government of India is the nodal

Ministry responsible for the formulation of national policies and

programmes for development and regulation of Civil Aviation and for
devising and implementing schemes for the orderly growth and expansion
of civil air transport. Its functions also extend to overseeing airport facilities,
air traffic services and carriage of passengers and goods by air. The
Ministry also administers implementation of the Aircraft Act, 1934, Aircraft
Rules, 1937 and is administratively responsible for the Commission of
Railways Safety.

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.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is the nodal authority responsible for the

formulation of national policies and programmes for development and
regulation of the civil aviation industry in the country. Its functions
also extend to overseeing airport facilities, air traffic services and carriage of
passengers and goods by air. Two separate organizations under the Ministry
monitor and regulate the sector:-

1. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the regulatory

body responsible for regulation of air transport services to/from/within
India and for the enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety and
airworthiness standards.  The regulations are in the form of
the Aircraft Act,1934; the Aircraft Rules,1937; the Civil Aviation
 Requirements; and the Aeronautical Information Circulars.  Its
other functions include:-

 Registration of civil aircraft;

 Formulation of standards of airworthiness for civil aircraft

registered in India and grant of certificates to such aircrafts;

 Licensing of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers; flight

engineers; and air traffic controllers;

 Maintaining a check on the proficiency of flight crew, and also of

other operational personnel such as flight dispatchers and cabin
crew;

 Conducting investigation into accidents/incidents and taking

accident prevention measures;

 Carrying out amendments to the Aircraft Act, the Aircraft rules

and the Civil Aviation requirements for complying with the
requirements of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO);

 Granting approval to aircraft maintenance, repair and

manufacturing organizations;

 Rendering advice to the Government on matters relating to air

transport including bilateral air services agreements; on ICAO
matters and on all technical matters relating to civil aviation;
etc.

2. Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is the regulator for civil

aviation security in the country. It's main responsibility is to lay down
standards and measures in respect of security of civil flights at
International and domestic airports in India. This also includes
planning and co-ordination of all aviation security related activities,
operational emergencies and crisis management. It is the "Appropriate
authority" to ensure development, maintenance, updation and
implementation of 'National Aviation Security Programme' for India
and fulfill all international obligations in this context. The bureau has
four 'Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS)' positioned at the
international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai with
latest sophisticated equipment like Robot, Real time Viewing System
(RTVS), Electronic Stethoscope, Explosive Detector, etc.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has the following public sector
undertakings/companies/autonomous bodies under its administrative
control:-

1. National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL)  :- is a

company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and has the
functions and responsibilities of providing safe, efficient, adequate,
economical and properly coordinated international air transport
services. It has been set up after the merger of Air India and Indian
Airlines in 2007. This merger aims to create the largest airline in India.
The name of the new airline is Air India and its logo is Maharaja.
NACIL is carrying its operations under two operating permits, viz.,
NACIL-A and NACIL-I. It has following wholly owned subsidiaries,
namely, Hotel Corporation of India Limited, Air India Charters
Limited (AICL), Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL); Air India
Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL); and Alliance Air.

2. Airports Authority of India (AAI)  :- was constituted in 1995 for

creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation
infrastructure, both on the ground and air space of the country. It
aims at providing world class airport services for efficient operation of
air transport in the country. It manages 127 airports, which include
16 international airports, 8 customs and 79 domestic
airports and 24 civil enclaves at defence airfields. It controls the
entire Indian airspace of 2.8 million square nautical miles.

3. Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL)  :- was established in

1985 as the country's national helicopter company for providing
helicopter support services to the Oil Sector; operate scheduled/non-
scheduled helicopter services in inaccessible areas and difficult
terrains; as well as provide charters for promotion of travel and
tourism. It has a well balanced fleet of 35 helicopters consisting of Bell
206L4, Bell 407, Dauphin SA 365N & AS 365N3 and Mi-172, which are
most appropriate for multi-farious jobs. It is the only aviation company
in India being awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification for its entire
gamut of activities.

4. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA)  :- was

established by the Government with the objective of improving the
flying training standards in civil aviation and to impart line oriented
flying training of international standards. It has been set up at
Fursatganj in Rai Bareilly District of Uttar Pradesh. It is equipped with
modern and sophisticated trainer aircraft, flight simulators, computer
based training system, runway with modern navigational and landing
aids and its own airspace. It is manned by highly qualified flying and
ground instructors, with long experience in the field of aviation and
flying training.

With liberalisation of the Indian economy and its global integration,

continuous upgradation and modernisation of the aviation sector has
become critically important. Accordingly, the current policy focus of
the Government is on modernisation of the existing airports as well as
the construction of new ones. For instance, the international airports in
Delhi and Mumbai are being restructured through public-private
partnership. Two greenfield airport projects at Bangalore and
Hyderabad are being implemented on Build Own Operate Transfer
(BOOT) basis. The AAI has decided to develop and modernise 35 non-
metro airports to world class standards. Also, the bilateral
arrangements are being strengthened for ensuring better international
connectivity.