Pune, Jun 24 (PTI) Union minister K Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday announced the establishment of a dedicated helicopter directorate under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to provide a single-window regulatory oversight, address chopper-specific safety and certification issues.
The Minister for Civil Aviation was addressing a keynote speech at the 7th Helicopter & Small Aircraft Summit in Pune, organised by his ministry in collaboration with the Maharashtra government, Pawan Hans and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
“Robust regional connectivity and logistics has laid the foundation for a high growth and a high opportunity. We are building a strong framework of regional connectivity through initiatives such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, National Logistics Policy, National Civil Aviation Policy and PM Gatishakti Master Plan and ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik’ (UDAAN) schemes for multimodal connectivity,” he said.
“And I would say that these efforts are not only enhancing connectivity but also reshaping our economic destiny,” he said.
Naidu added that for the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, viksit aviation is going to play a key and pivotal role.
“For that, we all have to strategically build a future aviation system for the country which promotes helicopters and small aircrafts and makes it a very critical component in our vision,” he added.
Announcing the establishment of a dedicated helicopter directorate under the DGCA, the minister said, “The directorate will serve as a single-window platform for providing oversight in regulatory and addressing helicopter specific safety and certification issues and assisting operators with procedural requirements.” “And I am so assured that this is going to be a significant step in the administrative bottlenecks that many of you used to face before,” he said.
He also emphasized building a robust safety culture.
“Safety of the pilgrims must remain our top priority. There can be no shortcuts, no room for communication errors and no margin for poor decision-making. We must build a culture of trust, dialogue and discipline which I feel is a shared responsibility between the Centre, the states and the operators,” he said.
Talking about Kedarnath, Chardham, he said the safety of pilgrims and operations can be challenging.
“While reviewing some of the incidents, you can see that it is quite challenging in the mountainous terrain,” he said.
Naidu added that operational difficulties should never be the excuse for anyone.
“So, that is something where we have to step up the game, create a much better safety system around the operations that we have today,” he added.
Naidu shared his vision to promote helicopters and small aircraft as essential components of a futuristic aviation ecosystem.
“I believe the next decade of aviation will be defined not just by large aircraft and mega airports but by modern and inclusive air solutions. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, helicopters and small aircraft are at the heart of our mission to democratise flying,” he added. PTI SPK NP
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