GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ministry of Civil Aviation

 RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1378
ANSWERED ON JULY 22, 2014

 QUESTION
Downgrading of Air Safety Ranking by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

1378. SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR:

 Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state; 

(a)   whether it is a fact that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has again downgraded India's aviation safety ranking to Category 2 in February, 2014, citing inadequate oversight by the regulator; 

(b)   if so, the details thereof; 

(c)    what responsibility has been passed on Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for allowing this decline in aviation safety; and

 (d)   the details of steps Government has taken or proposes to take to upgrade the aviation safety ranking that is putting the lives of millions of travelling passengers at risk and the steps being taken to immediately address the issue and improve aviation safety?

ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION
(SHRI G. M. SIDDESHWARA)

(a) & (b) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 31^st January 2014 informed DGCA that India has been assigned Category 2 from Category 1, which India had been holding since 1997. The Category 2 was assigned primarily due to the finding related to lack of sufficient number of regular Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) resulting in DGCA's inability to have effective safety oversight. 

(c) & (d) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken immediate steps to address the open findings of Federal Aviation Administration audit and Post December, 2013 visit of FAA, DGCA has completed actions on 6 out of 7 open findings. To address the remaining one open finding, 75 posts of Chief Flight Operations Inspector, Dy. Chief Flight Operations Inspector, Senior Flight Operations Inspector and Flight Operations Inspector have been created, against which, 35 FOIs have already been appointed. 

Further, in order to strengthen DGCA's regulatory capacity to meet minimum standards of ICAO, a Grant Agreement Project, under the auspices of US-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) has been signed between DGCA and US Technical Development Agency (USTDA) on 13^th May, 2014.The technical assistance project funded by USTDA would assist DGCA to address the FAA findings.