Aircraft Amendment Bill, 2020 GS: 2 "EMPOWER IAS"

In news:

• Recently, the Lok Sabha has passed the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which seeks to amend the Aircraft Act, 1934. The Act regulates the manufacture, possession, use, operation, sale, import and export of civil aircrafts and licensing of aerodromes.

 

More from the news:

• The amendments would fulfill the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• This will enable the three regulatory bodies in the Civil Aviation sector in India, namely Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to become more effective.
• This will lead to enhancement in the level of safety and security of aircraft operations in the country. 

 

Key proposals:

• The fine amount for violations will be hiked from Rs 10 lakh to up to Rs 1 crore.
• The amendment bill also provides for Keeping “aircraft belonging to any armed forces of the Union, other than naval, from military or air force outside the purview” of the Aircraft Act, 1934.
• A few other provisions would also be made part of the law that will also help in complying with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) requirements.
• Other proposals include empowering BCAS or any authorised officer to issue directions, having designated officers for adjudging penalties and introducing a provision for compounding of offences.
• The bill seeks to empower the central government to constitute DGCA, BCAS and AAIB under the Act as well as specify their responsibilities.
• The bill also seeks to bring regulations of all areas of air navigation services under the Act. The Act has provisions for securing the safety of aircraft operations in India and carrying out civil aviation operations as per standards, procedures and practices laid down by ICAO.

 

Key Features

• The Bill will provide statutory status to regulatory institutions like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
• DGCA will carry out oversight and regulatory functions with respect to matters under the Bill.
• BCAS carries out regulatory oversight functions related to civil aviation security.
• AAIB carries out investigations related to aircraft accidents and incidents.
• The statutory status to these regulatory institutions would improve India’s aviation safety ranking as suggested by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• The Bill proposes to increase the fine amount for violations of rules from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for aviation industry players.
• Under the Bill, the central government may cancel the licences, certificates or approvals granted to a person under the Act if the person contravenes any provision of the Act.
• The Act exempted aircrafts belonging to the naval, military, or air forces of the Union.
• The Bill expands this exemption to include aircrafts belonging to any other armed forces other than these three.

 

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION (ICAO)

• ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• It changes the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
• Its headquarters is located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

 

DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIATION (DGCA)

• DGCA is the Indian governmental regulatory body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, headquartered in New Delhi.
• This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents.

 

 BUREAU OF CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY (BCAS)

• BCAS is an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India).
• It is headed by an officer of the rank of Director General of police and is designated as Director-General of Security (Civil Aviation).
• It is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India.
• Director-General of security (DG BCAS) is the appropriate authority for the implementation of Annexure 17(Security: Safeguarding International Civil Aviation Against Acts of Unlawful Interference) to the Chicago convention of International Civil Aviation Organization.

 

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BUREAU (AAIB)

• The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India which investigates aircraft accidents and incidents in India.

 

Why the news Amendment?

• Spike in the number of air safety violations or breaches in the Recent Past:
  • Recently, Airbus A320neo planes fitted with Pratt and Whitney engines, could have had catastrophic consequences as many such aircraft have faced mid-air glitches.
  • DGCA had asked IndiGo and Go Air, who still use this version of the aircraft, to install modified engines or replace the entire fleet of such planes
  • There have also been many reports of planes facing other technical snags and could ultimately result in creating a sense of fear among passengers.
• Creating an Enabling Environment:
  • The bill seeks to empower the central government to constitute DGCA, BCAS and AAIB under the Act as well as specify their responsibilities.
  • It would also bring regulations of all areas of air navigation services under the Act.
  • This bill would enable the three regulatory bodies in the civil aviation sector in India, namely DGCA, BCAS and AAIB to become more effective.
• Adopting the International Standards:
  • The bill has provisions for securing the safety of aircraft operations in India and carrying out civil aviation operations as per standards, procedures and practices laid down by ICAO.
  • As per the statement of ICAO audits, conducted in 2012 and 2015, have indicated a need to amend the Act to give proper recognition to the regulators under the Act.
  • The amendments would fulfil the requirements of ICAO.

 

Indian Civil Aviation Sector:

• Indian civil aviation sector has a high growth potential and at present, scheduled domestic carriers together have nearly 680 planes.
• The Economic Survey 2019-20, pointed out that, to continue with the high growth trajectory, the government has been providing a congenial environment so that the Indian carriers double their fleet from about 680 aircraft at the close of November 2019 to over 1,200 by FY 2023-24.
• ICAO had carried out the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme for India in November 2017 and in February 2018. The audit result showed that the country’s score declined to 57.44% from 65.82% earlier, placing India below Pakistan and Nepal.
• An ICAO team had visited India in November 2018 as well, and assessed the action taken on issues related to three areas that were audited by the ICAO in November 2015.
• Those pertained to aerodromes and ground aids, air navigation services (ANS) and aircraft accident and incident investigation.
• Currently, India’s score is lower than the world average of 65% on the ICAO’s board.

 

Challenges

• The civil aviation sector had been deregulated with little role for the government to set air fare.
• There has been a drop in demand and airline companies are under stress due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Air India is having huge losses (₹26 crore daily) due to its disinvestment and it is likely to get worse in the wake of the pandemic
• The aviation sector faces the shortage of Air-Traffic Controllers(ATCs).
• The cases of “near miss” in the skies have increased.

 

Way ahead:

• Airfares need to remain affordable and airlines also need to remain viable.
• The strength of ATCs needs to be increased to avoid any possibility of mid-air collisions.
• India has 3,500 ATCs and 250 more will be hired next year.