National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP 2016) is government policy approved by Union
Cabinet on 15 June, 2016.[1] The NCAP 2016 covers the broad policy areas, such as Regional
connectivity, Safety, Air Transport Operations, 5/20 Requirement for International Operations,
Bilateral traffic rights, Fiscal Support, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, Air-cargo,
Aeronautical 'Make in India'.[2][3][4] The UDAN Scheme which was launched on April 27, 2017 by
PM Narendra Modi, is a key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP).
The policy aims to take flying to the masses by making it affordable and convenient,
establish an integrated eco-system which will lead to significant growth of the civil
aviation sector to promote tourism, employment and balanced regional growth,
enhance regional connectivity through fiscal support and infrastructure development
and enhance ease of doing business through deregulation, simplified procedures and
e-governance.
The broad key features of the NCAP are:
• Scrapping of the decade-old 5/20 rule and replacing it with 0/20
norm: Earlier, a domestic airline could start international operations only
after five years of domestic operations and having a fleet of at least 20
aircraft. As per new rules, they will be required to deploy 20 aircraft or 20%
of the total fleet size, whichever is higher on domestic routes to get
international flying rights.
• Regional Connectivity Scheme: Airlines will no longer be able to charge
more than Rs. 2500 for a 1-hour flight connecting two small cities. The
government will provide financial support to fund airlines’ losses on such
un-served routes. A 2% levy has been proposed on all domestic and
international flights on metro routes to boost regional connectivity. 50 No
frills Airports, also called low cost airports, will be revived in the next three
years. Airlines operating from these airports will get concessions on
landing, parking charges and other expenses.
• Private Security Agencies: Private security agencies comprising of
retired personnel from military and para-military forces will be encouraged
for non-core security functions at the airports.
• Code sharing agreements: Indian carriers will now be able to enter into
such agreements with foreign carriers for any destination within India on a
reciprocal basis.
• Open Sky Policy: India will have this policy for countries beyond the
5000 km radius from Delhi on a reciprocal basis. This means that airlines
from European or SAARC countries, will have unlimited access, in terms of
number of flights and seats, to Indian airports, leading to increased flight
frequencies with these countries.
• Growth of helicopters: This will be supported to provide connectivity to
remote and inaccessible areas. Separate regulations for helicopters will be
notified by DGCA.
• DGCA: Necessary administrative and financial flexibility will be provided
to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for an effective aviation
safety oversight system and for creating a transparent single-window
system for all aviation safety related issues.
Organisations attached to civil Aviation in India
• Directorate General of Civil Aviation: It is responsible for regulation of
air transport services to/from/within India and for enforcement of civil air
regulations, air safety, and airworthiness standards.
• Bureau of Civil Aviation Security: The main responsibilities of BCAS
include laying down standards and measures with respect to security of
civil flights at international and domestic airports in India.
• Air India: It is owned by Air India Limited, a Government of India
enterprise and operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving 84
domestic and international destinations.
• Airports Authority of India: It aims at accelerating the integrated
development, expansion, and modernization of the operational, terminal
and cargo facilities at the airports in the country conforming to international
standards.
• Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. : Its objective is to provide helicopter
support services to the Oil Sector for its off-shore exploration operations,
services in remote and hilly areas as well as charter services for promotion
of travel and tourism.
Vision
The cornerstones of the new policy are competition, consumers, connectivity and
investment (both domestic and foreign). Its vision is to make flying affordable and
convenient and pave for significant growth in the civil aviation sector. Further stated
aims are as follows:
To improve ease of doing business through simplified procedures, deregulation
and e-governance.
To achieve 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027. Similarly,
to increase the international ticketing to 20 crore by 2027 and cargo volumes to 10
million tonnes (MT) by 2027.
To increase the domestic passenger traffic by four-fold to 300 million by 2022.
