Our project on Civil Aviation in India: relevance and achievements

After successful 4.5 years of implementation, our aviation project in India has concluded. Recap and evaluation of work done.
17.12.2014

Bound with rapid economic growth, the civil aviation sector in India has been expanding at extraordinary speed — among the highest growth rates in the world. It experienced 38% growth between 2009 and 2013, with India promising to be the world’s third largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030.

Domestically, such expansion bears implications for sustainable economic development, traffic management and safety, human health and safety, and the environment, in particular noise management, aviation emission and carbon efficiency, and climate change. Internationally, it reflects the fact that the EU is India's largest trading partner and main source of FDI; it indicates the increasing strategic importance of India for European airlines, aircraft manufacturers and service providers; and finally, it also bears implications — this time internationally — for traffic management and safety, human health and safety, and the environment.

In context, the EU-funded project Technical Assistance for the Institutional Capacity Building for the Civil Aviation Sector in India was launched in March 2010 to help ensure a safe, secure and sustainable aviation environment in India through: good governance; implementation of international civil aviation standards; harmonisation with EU standards and cooperation with European aviation authorities, agencies and key stakeholders; and policy support. This has allowed to get India’s Aviation policy settings right at a critical time for the sector.

For the EU, the Project has key relevance not only in terms of its pro-growth implications in India, but also given its role in the implementation of the Action Plan for the ambitious EU-India Strategic Partnership.

During implementation, the Human Dynamics led consortium worked with the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Air Traffic Service provider and Airport Authority, the Bureau of Aviation Security, European aviation authorities/agencies and a range of relevant stakeholders.

Achievements

After successful 57 months, the project concluded. The Project assisted India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in driving the implementation of a range of key reforms to the sector. The project also fostered important structural changes within the DGCA, drafted needed updates to the Civil Aviation Act, undertook important training in key organisations, and converged Indian policies with international best practice for aviation and environmental policy.

Aviation policy

The Project helped shape aviation sector policy at the national level – by building on best practices from elsewhere in the world and on work already undertaken by the DGCA. Our contributions include, inter alia:

  • Draft Civil Aviation Act to replace the Aircraft Act of 1934 to regulate all aspects of Civil Aviation including economics aspects, environment and passenger protection;
  • Draft Bill for establishment of India's first Civil Aviation Authority of India, including financial independence and sustainability, structure of the Authority, qualifications of Board Members, respective Central Government powers, etc., in correspondence with other national and international legislation (approved by  Cabinet 14 Feb 2014);
  • Assistance in the effective implementation of the Cape Town Convention (CTC);
  • Assistance to the issue of India's first State Safety Programme (Dec 2010) ; development of draft State Safety Plan 2014-2015, including safety priorities, objectives, SPIs, targets, etc.;
  • Publication of State Safety Programme/Safety Management Systems procedures manual;
  • Improved Indian Civil Aviation Regulations for Helicopters, particularly with respect to regulatory audits in the sector.

Aviation university

The Project provided support to the aviation regulator DGCA to develop the rules for Flying Training School for Trainers, including On-the-Job Training.

Aviation safety

  • Assistance to airports, airlines, air traffic service providers and maintenance organisations to develop their own safety management systems to meet the new regulatory requirements;
  • Support in order to measure and improve the operational and safety performance of the Air Navigation System – through development of an outline performance-based framework, new processes and trial reports, assessing the effectiveness of the data collection, storage and analysis, and exploiting new data sources;
  • Report on the Airport Authority of India including recommendations on improving data collection and monitoring, and steps to be taken toward its development as a performance-based organisation;
  • Coaching of DGCA officers to implement the State Safety Programme effectively;
  • Support for the development of rules for aerosports (light sport aeroplanes, hang-gliders, gyroplanes, etc.), including training, pilot qualification, certification and licensing  requirements, etc., and inspection handbooks, all in line with international best practice.

Environmental protection

The project developed a number of reports in relation to land use, noise management and the adoption of the international environmental protection regulations on aircraft engine emissions (ICAO Annex 16). It also contributed to the formulation of a comprehensive Environmental Policy for the Indian Aviation, to climate change and noise management, carbon footprint management, cooperation with airlines/airports, and research. Our achievements include:

  • India’s first ever detailed aviation carbon footprint (July 2012, for y2011), including information on the emissions of Indian scheduled airlines for domestic and international operations as well as foreign carriers, future emissions growth, efficiency performance of Indian airlines, and the contribution of airports to climate change. This information is now available and in use for environmental protection purposes. The Carbon Footprint of Indian aviation is now developed annually;
  • India’s first ever comprehensive noise study for Delhi International Airport (2012). The pilot study included the development of noise maps to show the impact of noise around the airport, a validation process, as well as an action plan with noise mitigation measures. Based on this study as well as project reports on noise limits benchmarking, noisy aircraft operations in India, etc., a comprehensive report on Noise Management in India was prepared (2014);
  • Increased participation of India’s airports in the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) and other similar initiatives. As of 2012, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore’s Changi airports have been accredited at the Mapping level of the ACA accreditation process, while New Delhi and Bangalore are the first airports in the region to be accredited at the Reduction level; thus India’s airports have taken the lead in the Asia-Pacific region;
  • Report on Financing Aviation Climate Protection Projects which identifies financing opportunities for the aviation industry (airports, airlines, government agencies) to undertake projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Convergence of Indian environmental policies in aviation with international best practices, e.g. noise mapping. Conversion of existing Circulars on noise management, climate change and local air quality to draft Civil Aviation Requirements. On-time on-going compliance of airports with Circulars 2, 3, and 4 (of 2013) on climate change, noise management and local air quality respectively.

Knowledge-sharing and empowerment

  • Empowerment of the aviation authority DGCA to address international developments in the sector – and in specific promotion of India's proactive environmental stance regarding international matters – including through international conferences, contribution to the process of the International Civil Aviation Organization, actively participating in ICAO’s deliberations for a global scheme on climate change, etc.;
  • Multiple workshops, conferences and trainings on key aviation environmental issues;
  • Continued cultivation of an efficient framework of cooperation between important relevant stakeholders on aviation and environmental issues (e.g., airlines, airports, DGCA).