India, US likely to ink aviation safety pact next year

Moving ahead with its cooperation with the US in the aviation sector, the government is likely to sign a bilateral safety agreement next year to enable certification of each other's products and technology.

"We are working in right earnest to get the (BASA) agreement concluded by 2010," Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar said at the ongoing Indo-US Economic Summit here.

In order to conclude the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), the regulatory authorities of both the countries like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), besides firms like Hindustan Aeronautics, are already in talks.

The pact would enable certification of Indian aviation and aeronautic products by the US authorities and vice-versa. It would enable India-made products to be sold globally as the strict American standards are accepted worldwide.

Nambiar said a Joint Aviation Steering Committee, set up last year, was working on the regulatory, safety, security and other technical issues. Some working groups on areas like airworthiness and flight standards were already functioning.

"We are closely working with the FAA on this programme. We will be launching the second and third phase of our collaboration in these areas shortly," he said.

The growth in the aviation sector in the country, despite the recent slowdown, would continue in double digits, the official said.