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India’s aviation regulator DGCA awarded ICAO Council President certificate
The award was presented to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, at the opening ceremony of the ICAO assembly
NEW DELHI: India’s aviation regulator has been awarded the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council president certificate in recognition of the progress made to establish an effective safety oversight system and improve the implementation of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
The award was presented to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), at the opening ceremony of the ICAO assembly which opened on Tuesday in Montreal and runs through October 3.
The ICAO Council President Certificate was established in support of the No Country Left Behind initiative, now its strategic goal. “The eligibility criteria used for this recognition are objective and transparent and are based on the results of the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP CMA) activities,” a formal ICAO communication to Kidwai said.
The recognition follows the improvements made by DGCA after the country’s effective implementation (EI) score of 55.15% in 2017 indicated challenges in several critical areas, including legislation, organisation, licensing, operations, airworthiness, accident investigation, air navigation services, and aerodromes, people familiar with the matter said.
Recognising these challenges, DGCA initiated comprehensive reforms to address the deficiencies identified in the 2017 audit and improved its score in the ICAO audit in November 2022. India’s EI score rose to 85.65%, which positioned India ahead of several major aviation markets, including the United States and China, in key areas such as operations and airworthiness.
