Page 12 - Civil Aviation Ministry

State-run HAL to provide maintenance support for GA-ASI's MQ-9B engines

State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will provide maintenance support services for engines of American MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, considered one of the most sophisticated armed drones globally. The HAL will provide the maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the operations of MQ-9B drones in India, officials said on Wednesday. The announcement of the project comes amid India's ongoing talks with the US to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion primarily to crank up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region. The HAL and US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI), the manufacturer of the MQ9Bs,, announced the collaboration on the MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) services for the drones on the sidelines of Aero India-2023 at the Yelahanka air base complex. In 2020, the Indian Navy had taken on lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones fro

Drone use not limited to pesticide spraying in agriculture sector: Govt

Union minister of civil aviation on Tuesday said the applicability of drone in the agriculture sector is beyond pesticide spraying and has tremendous scope in organic and natural farming as well. Drone industry in India has grown 6-8 times in the last one-and-a-half years. The drone infrastructure set up in the country is "extremely robust" and an Indian case study of drones as pioneer in agriculture will be exhibited in the ongoing meeting of G20 agriculture working group. India's aim is to become a global hub for drones by 2030, for which an industry friendly policy including the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) is in place, he added. Addressing the media on the sidelines of the first G-20 Agriculture Deputies Meeting here, the Union minister said: "Don't look at drones through narrow lines. The versatility and diversity of the application of using drones as service is vast." The use of drones in agriculture should not be limited to pesticide spraying. It can be used in .

Civil aviation ministry says 63 passengers put on 'No Fly List' in 2022

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said three passengers have been put on the 'No Fly List' this year while a total of 63 passengers were placed on the list in 2022. A total of 143 passengers have been put on the list since 2017, according to data provided by the ministry to the Rajya Sabha. These passengers were placed on the list as recommended by airlines' internal committees set up as per aviation regulator DGCA's Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) pertaining to the handling of unruly/disruptive passengers. The CAR was notified in September 2017 as a measure to deal with the issue related to the handling of unruly/disruptive passengers. "As on date, there are 143 passengers who have been placed in 'No Fly List' for such period, as per the recommendations of airline's internal committee... since 2017," Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. As per the data, Air India has put three passengers on the list in 2023. In 2022, IndiG

Budget 2023-24: Civil Aviation Ministry's allocation dips to Rs 3,113.36 cr

The Budget allocated Rs 3,113.36 crore to the ministry, against Rs 10,667 crore in 2022-23, which was later revised to Rs 9,363.70 crore

India has become world's third-largest aviation market: President Murmu

India has become the third-largest aviation market in the world and is growing rapidly, with the number of airports increasing to 147 from just 74 in 2014, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday. She also said the Indian Railways is emerging as a modern institution and many inaccessible areas are being added to the rail map of the country. In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Murmu said the country's aviation sector is also growing rapidly. "Up to 2014, the number of airports in the country was 74, it has now increased to 147. Today India has become the third-largest aviation market in the world. The UDAN Yojana has played an important role in this regard," she said. UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is the government's ambitious regional air connectivity scheme and UDAN flights have carried around 1.15 crore people over the last six years. Talking about the India Railways, Murmu said a modern and semi-high-speed train has become part of it in the form of Vande

Scindia assures speedy action over urinating incident on Air India flight

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said speedy action will be taken in the case where a man allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger on a New York-Mumbai flight last November. Delhi Police on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old accused, Shankar Mishra. He allegedly urinated on the woman, a senior citizen, in an inebriated condition in the business class of the Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 last year. "Further action will be taken speedily after the completion of the ongoing proceedings, Scindia told reporters here on Saturday without elaborating. The carrier's CEO on Saturday issued an apology over handling of the incident and said four cabin crew and a pilot have been de-rostered and the policy of serving alcohol on flights is being reviewed. The Delhi Police arrested Mishra from Bengaluru after he was traced to that city through technical surveillance, officials earlier said. A Delhi court on Saturday sent Mishra to judicial remand f

MoCA asks airlines to modify check-in systems from China, 5 other countries

The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to modify their check-in systems for international passengers coming into India as part of the revised Covid guidelines, which makes a negative Covid test report a must for travellers coming from China and five other countries from Sunday. The ministry's direction comes a day after the health ministry decided to make RT-PCR negative test reports compulsory for passengers coming on all international flights from six high-risk countries --China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan. The new rule will come into effect from January 1, 2023, amid rising coronavirus cases in these six countries and some other parts of the world. Airlines are directed to modify their check-in functionalities to incorporate the changes and issue boarding passes only to those international passengers travelling from the six countries who have submitted self-declaration forms on the Air Suvidha portal, the Ministry of Civil ...

Centre asks Tata to deduct salary of those overstaying in government colony

The Centre had asked its employees to vacate the accommodation by July 26, six months after AI's disinvestment

2,613 air incidents reported in India in last 5 years, IndiGo tops the list

IndiGo has the highest number of air incidents in these five years from 2018 to 2022. Gen VK Singh (Retd) said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that IndiGo reported 215 incidents in 2022

IndiGo seeks final approval from DGCA to wet lease B777 aircraft

IndiGo airline is planning to wet lease aircrafts to meet the growing demand for air travel

Necessary actions resulted in 'least wait time' for boarding at IGI: Centre

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Wednesday said necessary actions taken to reduce congestion at the Delhi airport have resulted in "least wait time" for boarding at check points and entry gates. In recent weeks, there have been rising passenger complaints about long waiting hours at the airport here and authorities have taken various measures to deal with the situation. Listing out the measures, the ministry in a series of tweets said more Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) manpower are underway and four X-ray machines have been added for baggage check. "Domestic security increased with 6 personnel with evenly distribution on all gates," it said. There is a command centre and count meter for crowd management. Besides, display boards have been installed at all departure entry gates of the airport, which provides real-time data and is being shared via social media, according to the ministry. The ministry said in order "to curb congestion and waiting time at @DelhiAirport,

Unmanned check-in counters causing congestion at airports, says govt

Airlines ask passengers to arrive early to ensure 'smooth' security check

Aviation ministry lists five-point action plan to decongest Delhi airport

A surge in air travel has strained the infrastructure at the country's busiest airport and forced the civil aviation ministry to order a reduction and shifting of peak-hour flights

LIVE: Mandous Cyclone in Andhra Pradesh, rivers overflow in several areas

Catch all the latest news and updates from around the world here

Centre accords 'in-principle' approval for 21 greenfield airports

The Central government has accorded 'in-principal' approval for the setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country, said Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh

Podcast: Will congestion at Indian airports end anytime soon?

do we have a long-term solution to make sure that airports don't descend into chaos like what we see at our railways stations. Listen to this podcast to know

India jumps to 48th place in ICAO aviation safety ranking: DGCA officials

India has jumped to the 48th position in the global aviation safety ranking by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to DGCA officials. Four years ago, the country was ranked at the 102nd position. In the ranking, Singapore is at the top, followed by the UAE and South Korea at the second and third positions, respectively, the officials said. China is at the 49th place, they added. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16. On Saturday, DGCA chief Arun Kumar told PTI that the regulator has worked tirelessly to upgrade India's safety ranking and the results are there. "Hopefully, we continue to remain vigilant and improve further". The country's score in terms of effective implementation of key safety elements has improved to 85.49 per cent, the officials said. On November 16, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA

Civil aviation min notifies operational guidelines for drone PLI scheme

The civil aviation ministry has notified the operational guidelines for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components. The government has approved the PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs 120 crore and the scheme is to be implemented during the 2022-23 to 2024-25 period. In a communication dated November 29, the ministry said the guidelines have been finalised after consultations with stakeholders, including industry representatives. The PLI will be extended only to companies engaged in the manufacturing of drones and drone components in India. The total PLI per manufacturer is capped at Rs 30 crore which is 25 per cent of the total financial outlay of Rs 120 crore. Indian MSMEs and startups manufacturing drones and having annual sales turnover of Rs 2 crore will be eligible for the scheme. In the case of drone component makers, the eligibility threshold will be Rs 0.5 crore. For Indian non-MSMEs that are into making drones, the annual sales turnover ...

Explained: How 'Digi Yatra' reads one's face as the boarding pass

At the launch, Scindia said Digi Yatra will be one of the most efficient systems in the world

Airports, nearby areas may not get 5G network services anytime soon

DGCA asks telcos to ensure a buffer zone amid fears of C-band 5G interfering with aircraft altimeters