STATE SAFETY

PROGRAMME
INDIA

SECOND EDITION
JUNE 2021
STATE SAFETY PROGRAMME
INDIA

EDITION 2

JUNE 2021

Directorate General of Civil Aviation

Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi,
India
State Safety Programme – India

Records of Issue

Edition 1 SSP 2010 November, 2010

Edition 2 SSP 2021 June, 2021

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 State Safety Programme – India

Table of Contents
Abbreviations v
Foreword vii
Safety Policy ix

1. Introduction 1
1.1 Purpose 2
1.2 Definitions 2
1.3 Document control 3
2. Safety Policy, Objectives and Resources 5
2.1 Indian Aviation Legislative
Framework 5
2.2 State System and Functions 9
2.3 Qualified Technical Personnel 16
2.4 Technical guidance, Tools and
provision of Safety Critical
Information 17
2.5 State Emergency Response Plan 17

3. Safety Risk Management 19

3.1 Licensing, Certification,
Authorization and
Approval Obligations 20
3.2 Safety Management System
Obligations 21
3.3 Accident and Incident
Investigation 24
3.4 Hazard Identification and Safety Risk
Assessment 25
3.5 Management of Safety Risks 29

4. State Safety Assurance 31

4.1 Surveillance Obligations 31
4.2 State Safety Performance 33

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5. State Safety Promotion 37

5.1 Internal communication and dissemination
of Safety Information 37
5.2 External communication and dissemination
of Safety Information 38

List of Appendices

Appendix A - Indian State Safety Programme Constituent

Organizations Chart and relation to ICAO 40
Appendix B - SSP Steering Committee 41
Appendix C - List of References 42
Appendix D - List of Figures 43

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Abbreviations
AAI Airports Authority of India
AAIB Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
AIC Aeronautical Information Circular
AIP Aeronautical Information Publication
ACs Advisory Circulars
ALoSP Acceptable Level of Safety Performance
AMOs Aeronautical Meteorological offices
AMSs Aeronautical Meteorological Stations
ANSP Air Navigation Service Provider
APRAST Asia Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Team
AP-RASP Asia Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Plan
ARAP Aviation Regulatory Advisory Panel
ATO Approved Training Organization
BFAS Board for Aviation Safety
CAPs Civil Aviation Procedures
CAR Civil Aviation Requirements
COSCAP-SA Co-operative Development of Operational Safety
and Continuing Airworthiness Programme – South
Asia
DGCA Directorate General of Civil Aviation
ECCAIRS European Co-ordination Centre for Accident and
Incident Reporting Systems
FDAP Flight Data Analysis Programme
FIR Flight Information Region
FUA Flexible Use of Airspace
GANP Global Air Navigation Plan
GASP Global Aviation Safety Plan
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
IMD India Metrological Department
ISRR Indian Search and Rescue Region
MoCA Ministry of Civil Aviation
MoES Ministry of Earth Sciences
MSRs Mandatory Safety Reports
MSRS Mandatory Safety Reporting System

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MWOs Meteorological Watch Office

NASAR Plan National Aeronautical Search and Rescue Plan
NASARCC National Aeronautical Search and Rescue
Coordination Committee
NASP National Aviation Safety Plan
NAST National Aviation Safety Team
NMSARCA National Maritime SAR Coordinating Authority
NOTAM Notice to Airmen
RASG-APAC Regional Aviation Safety Group-Asia Pacific
RCC Rescue Co-ordination Centers
SAR Search and Rescue
SAAQ State Aviation Activity Questionnaire
SARAST South Asia Regional Aviation Safety Team
SARPs Standards and Recommended Practices
SDCPS Safety Data Collection and Processing System
SEIs Safety Enhancement Initiatives
SMS Safety Management System
SOFA Surveillance of Foreign Aircraft
SPI Safety Performance Indicator
SPT Safety Performance Target
SRBS Safety Risk Based Surveillance
SRM Safety Risk Management
SSP State Safety Programme
VSRs Voluntary Safety Reports
VSRS Voluntary Safety Reporting System

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Foreword
Aviation in India is on high growth trajectory and encompasses all
areas of operations, design and manufacturing of aviation products.
The goal of “Make in India” and to provide connectivity to tier-2 & 3
cities in the country under “UDAN scheme” has assumed priority.
UDAN is a regional airport development and "Regional Connectivity
Scheme" of Government of India, with the objective of "letting the
common citizen of the country fly. These goals are likely to further
increase the complexity of aviation activity in India.
In compliance with the SSP/SMS related Standards and Recommended
Practices (SARPs) spread over various ICAO Annexes, DGCA initiated
the process for adopting a risk based management of safety in the
year 2010. This is when the first edition of SSP India came into
existence and necessary rules/regulations and organization structure
for the management of SSP was put in place.
This document remained a guide for the DGCA, other aviation entities
and industry at large to move forward in the risk based approach for
managing safety and building up State Aviation System.
To capture the changes in Civil Aviation System in India, primary
aviation legislation, specific operating regulations, SARPs contained in
ICAO Annex 19 and to maintain constant thrust in the direction of risk
based management of safety, DGCA is bringing out Edition II of SSP
India.
This document identifies Acceptable Level of Safety Performance
(ALoSP) in India. It mandates establishment of National Aviation
Safety Plan containing safety priorities, safety performance indicators,
targets and measurement of safety performance.
State Safety Programme requires a cohesive approach by all stake
holders to identify safety hazards and apply suitable mitigation
measures to achieve the State Acceptable Level of Safety
Performance.

(Arun Kumar)
Director General of Civil Aviation

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India Safety Policy

Government of India ensures highest level of safety in its aviation
system by incorporating ICAO SARPs, best international practices and
outcome of Safety Risk Management in its regulatory framework.

India implements reactive, proactive and as far as possible predictive

strategies for ensuring that India has safe, efficient, competitive
aviation industry. It encourages all stakeholders / service providers to
understand the benefits of a safety culture and a reporting culture free
from fear.

India will foster and assist stakeholders / service providers in

developing comprehensive Safety Management Systems (SMS) based
on the principle of hazard identification and risk management.

Government of India is committed to:

• Promote positive safety culture across aviation industry that

recognizes the importance and value of effective aviation safety
management system;

• Develop general rulemaking and specific operational policies that

build upon safety management principles;

• Ensure that the organizations entrusted with safety responsibilities

have sufficient resources including financial and human resources for
implementation, establishment and maintenance of SSP and that
personnel have appropriate skills and are trained for discharging their
safety oversight and management responsibilities effectively;

• Conduct both performance-based and compliance-oriented

activities, supported by analyses and prioritized resource allocation
based on safety risks levels;

• Ensure that an Acceptable Level of Safety Performance is established

and safety performance is measured in terms of state’s and service
provider’s safety performance indicators with respect to set safety
performance targets;

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• Ensure that aviation agencies and service providers interact

effectively and work closely for the mitigation of identified safety
hazards and their associated risk;

• Ensure that operators and service providers establish and maintain

the Safety Management System (SMS) in their operation;

 Support the management of safety through an effective safety

reporting and communication system;

• Establish provisions for the protection of safety data, collection and

processing systems, so that people are encouraged to provide
essential safety-related information on hazards, and there is a
continuous flow and exchange of safety management data between
DGCA and service providers;

• Promulgate an enforcement policy that ensures that no information

derived from any safety data, collection and processing systems,
established under the SMS will be used as the basis for enforcement
action, except in the case of gross negligence or wilful deviation; and

• Achieve the highest levels of safety standards and performance in

aviation operations.

This policy must be understood, implemented and observed by all staff

involved in activities related to the State Safety Programme.

(Pradeep Singh Kharola)

Secretary
Ministry of Civil Aviation

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1. Introduction
ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) contained in
Annex 19 to the Convention requires States to establish and maintain
a State Safety Programme (SSP) commensurate with the size and
complexity of the State’s civil aviation system. ICAO describes SSP as
"an integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at improving
safety."

India SSP is broad in scope & includes many safety activities aimed at
fulfilling the programme's objectives of civil aviation.

The requirement for SSP recognizes that States as well as service

providers have safety responsibilities, and provides a framework
within which service providers are required to establish SMS.

The SARPs contained in ICAO Annex 19 require the following service

providers to implement Safety Management System:

 Approved Training Organizations that are exposed to safety

risks related to aircraft operations during the provision of
their services
 Operators of aeroplanes or helicopters
 Approved maintenance organizations
 Organizations responsible for the type design or manufacture
of aircraft, engines or propellers
 Air Traffic Services providers
 Operators of certified aerodromes.

ICAO Standards explicitly require States to establish the Acceptable

Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP) to be achieved through their SSP.

The first edition of SSP was issued in the year 2010. This edition has
been developed using the ICAO framework and guidance material,
including the ICAO SSP gap analysis document, ICAO’s Global Aviation
Safety Plan (GASP), Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and
international best practices.

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1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this document is to communicate the SSP for Civil

Aviation in India to all stakeholders. It focuses on roles and
responsibilities of all stakeholders, as well as actions taken by the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as the responsible
organization for Safety in Civil Aviation.

1.2 Definitions

Acceptable Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP): The level of

safety performance agreed by State authorities to be achieved for the
civil aviation system in a State, as defined in its State Safety
Programme, expressed in terms of safety performance targets and
safety performance indicators.

Hazard: A condition or an object with the potential to cause or

contribute to an aircraft incident or accident.

Risk Mitigation: Measures or controls put in place to either eradicate

the hazard, or to reduce the severity or likelihood of the assessed
risks.

Safety: The state in which risks associated with aviation activities,

related to, or in direct support of the operation of aircraft, are reduced
and controlled to an acceptable level.

Safety Data: A defined set of facts or set of safety values collected

from various aviation-related sources, which is used to maintain or
improve safety.

Safety Information: Safety data processed, organized or analyzed

in a given context so as to make it useful for safety management
purposes.

Safety Management System (SMS): A systematic approach to

managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures,
accountability, responsibilities, policies and procedures.

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Safety oversight: A function performed by a State to ensure that

individuals and organizations performing an aviation activity comply
with safety-related national laws and regulations.

Safety Performance: A State or a service provider’s safety

achievement as defined by its safety performance targets and safety
performance indicators.

Safety Performance Indicator: A data-based parameter used for

monitoring and assessing safety performance.

Safety Performance Target: The State or service provider’s

planned or intended target for a safety performance indicator over a
given period that aligns with the safety objectives.

Safety Risk: The predicted probability and severity of the

consequences or outcomes of a hazard.

State Safety Programme (SSP): An integrated set of regulations

and activities aimed at improving safety.

Surveillance: The State activities through which the State proactively

verifies through inspections and audits that aviation licence,
certificate, authorization or approval holders continue to meet the
established requirements and function at the level of competency and
safety required by the State.

1.3 Document Control

The SSP document will be made available to all the organizations

responsible for the management of SSP and to all the directorates of
DGCA having safety oversight responsibilities. The document shall also
be placed on DGCA website (http://dgca.gov.in/).

Changes to this document will be achieved by a re-issue of the entire

document rather than by the amendment of individual pages.

The SSP document will be reviewed and updated at least every five
years by the Director General, Civil Aviation in consultation with
stakeholders.

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2. Safety Policy, Objectives and Resources

2.1 Indian Aviation Legislative Framework

The Parliament of India has enacted laws for aviation safety. All
aviation legislations and regulations are available on DGCA website.

India ratified the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the

Chicago Convention, 1944) on 1st March, 1947.

For carrying out the ICAO Convention, 1944 (including any Annex
thereto relating to international standards and recommended
practices) and for the management of aviation safety in India, a
comprehensive regulatory framework has been laid down. This legal
structure assigns responsibilities and gives the authority to Central
Government, DGCA and AAIB to ensure implementation of ICAO
safety standards and recommended practices. Each of these
organizations are accountable for the effective implementation of
these responsibilities.

2.1.1 Primary Aviation Legislation

The Aircraft Act, 1934 (the Act) is the primary aviation legislation that
empowers and provides authority to Central Government, DGCA, BCAS
and AAIB, to implement the provisions of said Act and Rules made
thereunder. It contains provision for the control of the manufacture,
possession, use, operation, sale, import and export of aircraft and for
securing the safety of aircraft operations in India.

Section 4 of the Act empowers Central Government to make rules to

implement the Chicago Convention, 1944. Section 4A of the Act
empowers the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to carry out safety
oversight and regulatory functions in respect of matter specified in the
Act or the Rules made thereunder.

Section 4C of the Act empowers the Aircraft Accidents Investigation

Bureau (AAIB) to carry out the functions in respect of matters relating
to investigation of aircraft accidents or incidents and Section 7 of the
Act empowers Central Government to make Rules for investigation of
any accident or incident.

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Section 5 of the Aircraft Act, 1934 empowers Central Government to

make Rules for enabling person performing safety oversight function
to have access to the aircraft, operations, facilities, personnel and
associated records, as applicable, of individuals and organizations
involved in aviation activity. Accordingly, Rule 156 of the Aircraft
Rules, 1937 has been made under this section for such purposes.

The Aircraft Act, 1934 provides provisions for enforcement actions

under sections 10, 10A, 10B, 11, 11A, 11B and 12 of the Act. DGCA,
by virtue of these provisions, is empowered to impose financial
penalties as well as suspend or cancel the licence, certificate or
approval issued to such person and to initiate judicial action in case of
contraventions of the provisions of Act and rules made thereunder.

2.1.2 Specific Operating Regulations

The Aircraft Rules, 1937, the Aircraft (Demolition of Obstruction

caused by Buildings and Trees etc.) Rules, 1994, the Aircraft (Carriage
of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2003, the Aircraft (Investigation of
Accident and Incidents) Rules, 2017 and Unmanned Aircraft System
Rules, 2021 are the specific operating regulations.

The Indian Aviation legislative system also includes specific operating

regulations in the form of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR),
Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) and Aeronautical Information
Publication (AIP). These are supported by guidance and advisory
material.

For carrying out the Chicago Convention, 1944 (including any Annex
thereto relating to international standards and recommended
practices), India has three layers of legislation, refer Figure 1.

The Central Government has also promulgated Rule 29C of the Aircraft
Rules, 1937, regarding “Adoption of the Convention and Annexes”
which states that the Director General may lay down standards,
procedures and regulatory provisions not inconsistent with the Aircraft
Act, 1934 and the rules made there under to carry out the Convention
and any Annex thereto. Rule 133A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937
empowers DGCA to issue Civil Aviation Requirements for adopting
ICAO SARPs as required.

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Section 4, empowers Central

The Aircraft Government (MoCA) to make Rules
Act, 1934 to carry out the ICAO convention

Rule 133A and Rule 29C empower

The Aircraft DGCA to make CARs to adopt SARPs
Rules as required.

Civil Aviation DGCA has promulgated many CARs

Requirements in line with the ICAO Convention
(CARs)

Figure 1: The Regulatory Legislative Framework in India

The CARs provide the detailed requirements to be met that form a

means of compliance with ICAO SARPs and is consistent with the
legislation in force. Although CARs provide the comprehensive
requirements, there is a need to promulgate adequate information
which may not be appropriate for inclusion in the CARs. Such
information and guidance material for compliance with Rules and
Regulations is included in Advisory Circulars (ACs).

The regulatory legislative framework enables the fulfilment of the

obligations of India under the Chicago Convention, 1944, within the
State.

The regulatory legislative framework provides consistency and

compliance with the Annexes to the Convention, 1944, wherever
practicable. Differences, if any, to Standards and Recommended
Practices (SARPs) of the Annexes, are filed to ICAO as per Article 38
of the Convention.

2.1.3 Enforcement Policy

The India enforcement policy outlines the obligations of the

stakeholders, the enforcement actions to be used, the impartiality of

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enforcement actions, proportionality of responses, natural justice and

accountability. The Aircraft Rules confers on the DGCA and its officers
the power of enforcement. Breach of the regulations is an offence
carrying a penalty which depends on the nature and circumstances of
the breach.

Board for Aviation Safety (BFAS) has been set up to resolve Level I
surveillance findings and their monitoring. Level I findings in the de-
identified form are displayed on the DGCA website to promote safety
information exchange.

DGCA is vested with the powers to take administrative action under

rules 19, 19A, 30, 39A, 49D, 55, 61, 83, 95, 109, 132, 133B, 133BA,
134A, 134B, 155A etc. of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. Nevertheless,
judicial action may be taken under the provisions of the Aircraft Act,
1934 and Rule 161 read with Schedule VIA of the Aircraft Rules, 1937
in cases where the violations are of such a serious nature as to warrant
initiation of judicial action. In addition, monetary penalty may be
imposed by the designated officers under Rule 162 read with Schedule
VIB of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 where there is no other punishment
provided under the Aircraft Act, 1934 and the Aircraft Rules, 1937.

The Enforcement Policy and Procedures Manual provides details and

guidance to DGCA officers/inspectors about the statutory provisions
to be complied with by the industry and the procedure to be followed
for their enforcement. In this connection, it is vital to keep in mind the
difference between compliance and enforcement. Compliance consists
of all regulations and safety standards being met. When compliance
exists, there is no need for enforcement. Enforcement is the action
necessary when compliance is not present. Enforcement requires legal
or administrative action.

The DGCA promulgates an Enforcement Policy which establishes the

conditions that:

a) allow DGCA to define the conditions (events involving gross

negligence and wilful deviations) under which it can deal with
safety deviations through established enforcement procedures;
b) allow service providers to deal with and resolve, events involving
certain safety deviations internally, within the context of the
service provider SMS and to the satisfaction of the DGCA.

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2.1.4 Monitoring and review of Legislative Framework and

Specific Operating Regulations

India continues to review, develop and promulgate a legislative

framework and specific operating regulations in compliance with
international standards. Changes required in legislation to ensure the
effectiveness of the oversight system are determined through ongoing
safety analysis:

a) The oversight of the regulatory framework: The regulatory

framework is monitored continuously by DGCA in the course of its
usual regulatory business.
b) Maintenance of the regulatory framework: The DGCA is
responsible for the administration necessary to maintain the
regulatory framework. The DGCA has suitable procedures and is
adequately resourced (staffed, funded etc.) for the longer term
to fulfil this task.
c) The system of monitoring release of amendments to ICAO
Annexes has been institutionalized wherein these are monitored
on a continuous basis for timely inclusion in the regulations.
d) The DGCA has set up standing Aviation Regulatory Advisory Panel
(ARAP) for the review of current regulations in light of best
international practices and globally harmonized standards to keep
the regulations current and dynamic.
e) DGCA will work closely with the international aviation community
to help develop future global and regional regulatory priorities.

2.2 State System and Functions

2.2.1 Responsibilities, Obligations and Functions

The responsibility of managing Civil Aviation safety in India has been

entrusted to

a) Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)

b) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
c) Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)
d) Airports Authority of India (AAI)
e) India Metrological Department (IMD)

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The organizations mentioned from (b) to (d) are part of the Ministry
of Civil Aviation and IMD is a part of Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Indian State Safety Programme constituent organizations Chart and

relation to ICAO is given at Appendix-A.

An overview of the responsibilities, obligations and functions of the

organizations is given below:

a) Ministry of Civil Aviation

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India, is

responsible for civil aviation in India and for upholding India’s
compliance with the Chicago Convention. The Ministry of Civil Aviation
(MoCA) is the nodal Ministry responsible for policy formulation and
regulation of civil aviation in India. The Ministry also overlooks the
planning and implementation of schemes for the growth and
expansion of civil air transport, airport facilities, air traffic services and
carriage of passengers and goods by air.

The Minister of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is responsible for the overall

policy direction in the field of civil aviation and the executive head of
the MoCA is responsible to the Parliament for all civil aviation matters.

The MoCA is responsible for developing and amending primary

aviation legislation (The Aircraft Act, 1934). MoCA after consultation
with the other concerned Ministries and Ministry of Law, puts up the
proposal to the Cabinet for approval. After a Cabinet approval, a Bill
is moved in Parliament and is passed in both Houses. The Bill becomes
an Act after the President gives his assent to it. In the event of
Parliament not being in session and the amendment is considered
urgent, the Government can get an Ordinance issued by the President,
which has the same force of law as an Act.

The MoCA is responsible for allocation of resources to DGCA and AAIB.

Provisions contained in sections 4, 5, and 7 of the Aircraft Act, 1934

empower Central Government to make Rules to implement the
Chicago Convention, 1944 (including any annex thereto relating to
international standards and recommended practices and amended
from time to time) by notification in the Official Gazette.

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b) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been constituted under

Section 4A (1) of the Aircraft Act, 1934. The DGCA is responsible for
carrying out safety oversight and regulatory functions in respect of
matters specified in the Aircraft Act, 1934 or Rules made thereunder.

The Director-General has special powers vested under Section 5A of

the Act to issue directions for securing the safety of aircraft operations.

The Aircraft Rules, 1937 along with statuary orders provides a number
of functions to DGCA relating to the issuance of licences, certificates,
approvals, authorization and permits. The detailed requirements for
grant of licences, certificates, approval or permission are contained in
regulations termed as the Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) issued
by DGCA under Rule 133A. Rule 29C of the Aircraft Rules, 1937,
provides the power to the Director General to lay down standards and
procedures to carry out the Convention and any Annex thereto.

Rule 156 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 empowers persons authorized by

DGCA to enter, inspect and search any aircraft or any aviation facility,
including air navigation services, and also inspect any personnel,
document and records for the purpose of securing compliance with
any of the rules or the provisions of the Aircraft Act, 1934.

The DGCA is also responsible for the safety oversight of foreign aircraft
while operating in India.

Rule 13(1) of Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules

2017 empowers the DGCA to institute investigation into incidents and
incase of serious incidents wherein the aircraft AUW is below 2250 kg
and is not a turbo-jet aircraft, and appoint a competent and duly
qualified person as investigator in-charge for the purpose of carrying
out such investigation.

Primary responsibility for the India SSP rests with the DGCA. The
Director General is responsible for overseeing the implementation of
SSP and to coordinate as appropriate, the activities of the various state
aviation organizations encompassed under SSP. DGCA is responsible
to promote positive safety culture within DGCA and among the service
providers. DGCA will foster and assist stakeholders / service providers

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in developing comprehensive Safety Management Systems (SMS)

based on the principle of hazard identification and risk management.

The DGCA shall make the endeavor to ensure that it’s financial and
human resources are adequate for implementation, establishment and
maintenance of SSP. The requirement of qualified personnel is
determined on routine basic taking into consideration the guidance
provided by ICAO.

The DGCA has developed and is responsible for implementation of

State Safety Policy.

c) Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has been constituted

under Section 4C (1) of the Aircraft Act 1934. The Aircraft
(Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules 2012 were
promulgated in May, 2012 and AAIB was established. The Rules have
since been revised and notified as the Aircraft (Investigation of
Accidents and Incidents) Rules 2017.

AAIB processes the obligation of the Indian Government under Annex

13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation as mandated in
the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules 2017,
which includes following functions: -

i) Classification of “safety occurrences” involving aircraft

operating in the Indian airspace into accidents, serious
incidents and incidents.
ii) Institute investigation in all accidents occurring to aircraft in
Indian airspace and Indian registered aircraft in any
state/place where no state has jurisdiction.
iii) Institute investigation in serious incidents involving aircraft
with AUW more than 2250 Kgs occurring to aircraft in Indian
airspace and Indian registered aircraft in any state/place
where no state has jurisdiction.
iv) In addition to para (iii), AAIB may institute investigation in
any serious incident where it deems fit.
v) Participate in investigation instituted by other states.

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d) Airports Authority of India (AAI)

AAI is responsible for providing Air Navigation Services over entire

Indian airspace and related airside services to the Indian aviation
industry. The airspace under the jurisdiction of AAI has been divided
into four FIRs and five Regions.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been established by an Act of

Parliament in 1995. AAI, an organization under the Ministry of Civil
Aviation, operates under the Airport Authority of India Act 1994. The
top management of AAI consists of Chairman and five whole time
Board Members.

e) India Metrological Department (IMD)

IMD under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is the designated

authority for providing the aeronautical meteorological services at
national and international civil airports in India. IMD has established
17 Aeronautical Meteorological Offices (AMOs) including 4
Meteorological Watch Offices (MWOs) and 72 Aeronautical
Meteorological Stations (AMSs). Meteorological Offices provides the
meteorological information to ATS personnel in ICAO format.

2.2.2 Coordination within Indian Aviation System

There are a number of coordination committee/groups which involve

various agencies responsible for aviation policy, regulation and service
provision. These groups ensure cooperation and coordination across
the agencies on aviation safety, efficiency and capacity issues.

a) SSP Steering Committee

India has setup the SSP steering committee which is the highest level
body with following functions:

i) Formulation of SSP and oversee its implementation.

ii) Periodic review of state safety policy and objectives to ensure
they remain appropriate.
iii) Strategic safety decisions on national safety risks.
iv) Responsibility for promotion of SSP in applicable service
providers

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v) Responsibility to promote SSP and communicate SSP related

issues within the respective organization constituting SSP
Steering Committee.
vi) Supporting resolution of issues related to SSP.

The composition of SSP Steering Committee is given at Appendix B.

b) Civil Military Cooperation

In India, the model of side-by-side operations is being used as the

airspace is demarcated between the civil and military authorities and
the Air Traffic Services are provided separately by the civil and military
authorities in their respective airspaces. The military authorities have
been exclusively using the airspace specially allocated to them for
carrying out their own flying activities.

In the flexible use of airspace (FUA), the airspace available with both
military and civil users is effectively utilized on sharing basis to gain
optimum usage thereby enhancing its capacity and derive economic
benefits to flights operating within a nation's airspace. In this model a
co-ordination procedure between the civil and the military authorities
is required for sharing of the airspace for meeting the operational
requirement of the military as well as demand of the civil aircraft
operation.

c) Coordination within the DGCA

In order to manage the SSP and ensure implementation of

requirements of SMS by stakeholders, India has established a
SSP/SMS Division which is attached to the Air Safety Directorate. The
SSP/SMS Division is under overall Chairmanship of the Director
General and for carrying out its functions/responsibilities is headed by
Joint Director General in-charge of Air Safety.

The SSP/SMS Division has the following functions and responsibilities:

i) To assist the Steering Committee in the preparation and

implementation of SSP,
ii) Coordination, monitoring and review of implementation of
SSP,

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iii) Coordination, monitoring and review of implementation of

SMS,
iv) Any other work relating to SSP/SMS as assigned by Director
General and Steering Committee.

d) National Aviation Safety Team

To take appropriate implementation action on Safety Enhancement

Initiatives (SEIs) developed by RASG-APAC/APRAST/SARAST and
resolve national safety issues, National Aviation Safety Team (NAST)
has been constituted in line with the COSCAP-SA Steering Committee
decision. The NAST comprises of officials from DGCA and aviation
industry.

2.2.3 India’s Aviation Safety Policy and Safety Objectives

The vision of DGCA is to “Endeavour to promote safe and efficient air

transportation through regulation and proactive safety oversight
system”. The objective of India’s State Safety Programme (SSP) is to
achieve the vision and set out an approach to be followed for achieving
aviation safety and lower the risks so as to keep the aviation system
of India safest in the world.

a) The India’s Aviation Safety Policy imbibes this vision and is

placed at page vi-vii. The Safety Policy is also placed on the
website of SSP constituent organizations.

To achieve this, India is committed to:

i) Continuously improving aviation safety through collaborative

working, including with international partners.
ii) Achieving the State Safety Objectives.

b) Safety Objectives

Safety objective shall be a mix of both process-oriented and outcome-

oriented objectives to provide enough coverage and direction for the
SPIs and SPTs.

Quantitative data and information shall be used periodically to identify

highest safety risks or the key safety priorities. Based on the analysis

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of the safety data, identified highest safety risks, safety trend

information, regional and global safety objectives; safety objectives
shall be defined for each aviation sector. This would also involve
participation by the service providers. The analysis will also support
the identification of emerging issues.

Necessary resources would be made available for obtaining the

desired outcome of safety objectives. To meet the safety objectives,
State’s SPIs and SPTs shall be established and will form part of the
National Aviation Safety Plan. An approach consisting of using a
combination of quantitative and qualitative SPIs will be adopted.
Safety objectives work together as a package with SPIs and SPTs shall
enable India to monitor and measure its safety performance.

2.3 Qualified Technical Personnel

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as the safety regulatory

body has established minimum qualification requirements for the
technical personnel performing safety related functions to ensure the
competency of its workforce.

DGCA is committed to provide training or take other actions to reach

the established level of competency, and evaluate the effectiveness of
these actions. DGCA has laid down its Training Policy which provides
an overview of various training requirements of DGCA officers at all
levels. The training as envisaged enables the officers to understand
the context, duties and responsibilities, relevant regulatory
provisions and make them familiar with the relevant ICAO documents
including oversight of SMS. DGCA ensures that SSP and SMS training
is provided to its officers and briefings familiarization training on SSP,
SMS, Safety Policy, objectives and ALoSP for its senior management.

There is a procedure in place to determine the required strength of

technical personnel to cater for the regulatory work requirements as
per the ICAO guidance.

The qualification, experience, training requirements and procedure for

maintenance of training records of personnel in each technical domain
is laid down in the procedure manual of respective technical
Directorate. It also contains procedure for determining the required
number of technical personnel.

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2.4 Technical Guidance, tools and provision of safety

critical information

Maintaining and enhancing aviation safety performance is of

paramount importance to Indian aviation organizations. To achieve
this objective, necessary technical guidance material is developed and
published to assist technical experts in implementing national
regulations, procedures and practices for issue of licence, rating,
certificate or approval and surveillance. This technical guidance
material is provided in the Departmental Procedure Manuals, Technical
Circulars, CAPs covering certification and other procedures and is
available on DGCA website. The Departmental Procedure Manuals
also provide guidance to personnel performing safety oversight
functions on addressing ethics, personal conduct and the avoidance
of actual or perceived conflicts of interest in the performance of official
duties.

Technical officers are provided with adequate tools to enable them for
effective accomplishment of their tasks. The specific tools including
checklist, job aids required for technical areas are documented in the
respective Procedure Manual.

The technical officers can access safety critical information such as

NOTAM, AIP, Airworthiness Directives, etc. from DGCA and AAI
website.

These documents are also available for guidance and use by the
service providers and aviation personnel for ensuring compliance of
national regulations.

2.5 State Emergency Response Plan

Search and Rescue services, over entire Indian Territory including

territorial waters, are provided on 24-hour basis, to ensure that
assistance is rendered to aircraft and persons in distress. Assistance
to aircraft in distress and assistance to survivors of aircraft accidents
is provided regardless of the nationality of such aircraft or survivors.

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The National Aeronautical Search and Rescue Coordination Committee

(NASARCC) is responsible for Aeronautical Search and Rescue services
in the Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR) over land area.

NASARCC is responsible for formulation and promulgation of National

Aeronautical Search and Rescue Plan (NASAR Plan). The NASAR Plan
enumerates the policies and actions required by the various National
Agencies and State Authorities expected to provide SAR operations
during exigencies. This plan provides, by inter-ministerial agreement,
for the effective use of all available facilities in all types of SAR
missions.

The National Aeronautical SAR Response Committee (NASARRC) is the

functional arm of NASARCC and is responsible for implementing the
NASAR Plan and as well as various policies and procedures approved
by NASARCC.

Search and Rescue Services over Indian Airspace excluding the

oceanic areas are coordinated by Rescue Co-ordination Centers (RCC)
of Airports Authority of India with the resource agencies like Indian
Armed Forces, State Administration and other resource agencies.

Search and Rescue services over oceanic areas which form part of
Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai FIRs are provided by Indian Coast
Guard. Indian Coast Guard is responsible for executing/coordinating
Search and Rescue (SAR) missions in the Indian Maritime Search and
Rescue Region (ISSR). Director General Indian Coast Guard is the
National Maritime SAR Coordinating Authority (NMSARCA). To
discharge their responsibilities, the Airports Authority of India has
established four Rescue Coordination Centers at Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata and Chennai, and Indian Coast Guard has established three
Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers at Mumbai, Chennai and Port
Blair.

The effectiveness of NASAR Plan is reviewed through exercises

conducted on regular basis.

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3. Safety Risk Management

This section sets out the proactive measures to be implemented in the
Indian aviation, intended to identify and mitigate risks prior to their
effects. Specifically, it includes the elements of rulemaking and
prioritization of surveillance activities based on risk assessment; the
policy of hazard identification, risk mitigation and interface risk
management contained within the Civil Aviation Requirements on
Safety Management System.

It aims to move to a performance-based safety management process

in India, with each applicable service provider taking proactive
responsibility for the management of safety, with the DGCA providing
oversight and regulatory control.

The relationships between the State SSP and the service providers
SMS and ongoing operations are shown in the figure 2. Both
compliance and performance measurement have been put in place.

Figure 2: The relationships between the State SSP and the Service Providers
SMS

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The identification and management of aviation safety risk across the

aviation industry is carried out based on analysis of aggregate safety
data drawn from the data bases maintained by DGCA and
stakeholders. From this process, DGCA develops the National Aviation
Safety Plan (NASP) with guidance provided in Global Aviation Safety
Plan (GASP) and the Asia Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Plan (AP-
RASP). The plan contains National safety goals, targets, operation
safety risks expressed in terms of key safety priorities & Safety
Performance Indicators (SPIs), other safety issues and safety action
plans. The key safety priorities cover all the aviation sectors. The plan
is regularly reviewed to ensure that current safety risks are captured.
Further the risk management process shall cover the following:

 Sector profile risk management

 Industry profile risk management

3.1 Licensing, certification, authorization and approval

obligations

Licensing, certification, authorization and approval obligations are

important contents of State Safety Risk Management. The rules,
regulations, procedures and organization structure are in place for
meeting these obligations.
a) In compliance with ICAO Annex 1 and relevant Rules, licensing of
Pilots, Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers,
Flight Engineers including approval of Flight Dispatchers and
Training Organizations is carried out. The standards for licensing
of Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers are contained in Schedule-II
and Schedule-III of the Aircraft Rules 1937 respectively. Detailed
procedures for licensing of flight crew and approval of flight
dispatchers are provided in Section 7 of Civil Aviation
Requirements. CAR 66 and CAR Section 2 contains standards for
licensing of Aircraft Maintenance personnel and Flight Engineers
respectively. Figure 3 gives the organization set up for personnel
licensing.

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Figure 3: Personnel Licensing Organization

b) In compliance with ICAO Annex 6, certification of Air Operator is

carried out. The detailed procedures are available in relevant
CARs and guidance is available in CAPs.
In compliance with ICAO Annex 8, approval of Design
organization, Manufacturing organization and Maintenance Repair
Organizations including issuance of type certificate is carried out.
The detailed procedures are available in relevant CARs and
guidance is available in CAPs.
c) In compliance with ICAO Annex 14 and DOC 9774, certification of
Aerodromes is carried out. The licensing and renewal
requirements are contained in Part XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
Detailed procedures for design and operations are provided in
Section 4 of Civil Aviation Requirements.

3.2 Safety Management System Obligations

Rule 29D of the Aircraft Rules 1937 requires that each applicable
service provider including International General Aviation operators
conducting operations of large or turbojet aeroplanes as required in
ICAO Annex 19 shall establish and maintain a Safety Management
System. Rule 29D exceeds ICAO Annex 19 requirements and also
includes service providers involved in domestic operations. Civil
Aviation Requirements Section 1 Series C Part I issued under Rule

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133A and Rule 29D of the Aircraft Rule 1937, sets out operational
regulations and implementation policies for the applicable service
providers to implement their SMS as part of their certification process.
It lays down the safety-related processes, procedures and activities
for the establishment of an SMS acceptable to the DGCA. Specifically,
it lays out the phased approach for the development and acceptance
of service provider’s SMS. Detailed guidance for SMS implementation
in Air Operators under General Aviation and acceptance is provided in
SSP Circular 03 of 2017.

In addition, the Civil Aviation Requirements governing each technical

area has requirement for the implementation of Safety Management
System in accordance with CAR Section 1 Series C Part I. The
applicable regulations in various technical areas are in Table 1.

The DGCA oversee the implementation of the SMS through review of

organization’s SMS Manual and oversight visits. The responsibility for
the implementation of SMS remains with the organization. As part of
their SMS service providers, based on analysis of the safety data are
required to establish Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) and
expected level of performance to be achieved. Oversight would include
agreement between DGCA and service provider on these SPIs,
expected level of performance to be achieved and their periodic
review.

Table 1

Purpose Reference

To require commercial air transport CAR Section 8 Series ‘O’

operators (Scheduled or Non- Part II – Operational of
Scheduled Operator’s Permit issued Commercial Air Transport
under rule 134 or 134A) to implement a – Aeroplanes
safety management system acceptable to the
CAR Section 8 Series ‘O’
DGCA
Part IV – Operational of
Commercial Air Transport
– Helicopters

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To require operators conducting CAR Section 8 Series ‘O’

operations of large or turbojet Part III – Operational of
aeroplanes for general aviation to General Aviation
implement a safety management system Aeroplanes
acceptable to the DGCA

To require air traffic service providers to CAR Section 9 Series ‘E’

implement a safety management system Part I – Air Traffic
acceptable to the DGCA Services

To require civil aerodromes to implement CAR Section 4 Series ‘B’

a safety management system acceptable to or F Part I – Aerodrome
the DGCA Design and Operations

Requirement for issue of

Aerodrome Licence

To require design organizations engaged Subpart JA of CAR 21 -

in type design of aircraft to implement a Design Organization
safety management system acceptable to the Approval- Products or
DGCA. Change to Products

To require organizations engaged in Subpart G of CAR 21 –

manufacture of aircraft to implement a Production Organization
safety management system acceptable to the Approval for Products,
DGCA Parts and Appliances

To require training organizations CAR Section 7 Series D

approved under Rule 41B to implement a Part I
safety management system acceptable to the
Approval, Renewal and
DGCA
Inspection/ Surveillance/
Audit of flying training
organization

To require maintenance organization CAR 145

approved under rule 133B to implement a
Approval of Maintenance
safety management system acceptable to the
Organizations
DGCA

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The SMS requirements and guidance material are periodically

reviewed taking into consideration ICAO SARPs and guidance material,
the industry feedback and state safety risk profile.

3.3 Accident and Incident Investigation

3.3.1 Compliance of ICAO Annex 13

In accordance with the ICAO SARPs contained in ICAO Annex 13 as

mandated in Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rule
2017, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) notifies safety
occurrences to ICAO and other applicable states. It carries out
independent investigation of accidents and serious incidents of civil
aircraft in India and participates in investigation of accidents and other
safety occurrence involving Indian aircrafts in other states. AAIB is the
member of AIG-Asia Pacific Working Group for providing mutual
assistance in the conduct of investigations, provision of investigator
expertise and technical facilities.

The sole objective of the investigation of an accident/serious incident

is prevention of accidents and incidents and not to apportion blame or
liability. The AAIB reports are made public and also shared with DGCA
and other applicable authorities for taking appropriate action on the
safety issues/hazards identified and safety recommendations made in
the investigation report. The AAIB accident investigation reports since
the year 2012 are available on its website (http://aaib.gov.in/).

3.3.2 Safety investigations of incidents

a) DGCA carries out investigation under the provision of Rule 13

(1) of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents)
Rule 2017 as they provide useful safety information to
support safety performance improvement. The investigation
reports are made public and hosted on DGCA website. DGCA
website also host accidents and serious incidents reports of
occurrences prior to year 2012.
b) The recommendations and hazards identified in the
investigation report are followed up with concerned
agency/service provider for appropriate remedial action.

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c) DGCA shares safety significant information arising out of

MSRs and investigation reports with the concerned state.

3.3.3 Service provider safety investigations

Service providers carry out safety investigations under the provisions

of CAR Section 5 Series C Part I to support hazard identification and
risk management process.

3.3.4 Statistical review of Accident/Incident Data

DGCA publishes the Annual Safety Review which besides other safety
information, contains statistical analysis of previous year accidents,
incidents occurring to Indian registered aircraft and worldwide
accident data. This report is available on the DGCA website.

3.4 Hazard Identification and Safety Risk Assessment

One of the most important element in the safety management system

is timely and accurate identification of hazards and emerging trends
across the aviation system. This is achieved by analysis of safety data
aggregated from multiple sources. An adequate knowledge about
emerging trends helps in resolutions of recurring issues and
measurement of risks within the system for appropriate response.

DGCA has established Safety Data Collection and Processing Systems

(SDCPS) to capture, store, aggregate, enable the analysis of safety
data and safety information to support its safety risk management,
safety performance measurement, safety assurance and safety
communication activities. There is a process in place for online
collection of the safety data. The information generated from SDCPS
also supports fine tuning of Safety Policy and Objectives. Figure 4
depicts this process. Detailed description of safety data and safety
information which are required to be maintained by responsible
stakeholders for future analysis and decision making either by State
or by organization to enhance aviation safety, are included in the Civil
Aviation Requirements, SSP Circular 2/2020 and SSP/SMS Division
Procedure Manual. The safety data contained in SDCPS enables the
comprehensive understanding and identification of potential hazard as
well as corresponding consequences, safety risks and measure safety

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performance. This helps in determining and prioritizing any actions

required to enhance safety at a State level. The process for hazard
identification from SDCPS and assessment of safety risk associated
with identified hazard is documented in SSP/SMS Division Procedure
Manual.
Necessary rules/regulations in compliance with ICAO Annex 19 are in
place for providing protection to safety data, safety information and
other related sources.

3.4.1 Data storage

In the context of safety data collection and analysis, the term safety
database may include the following type of data or information which
can be used to support safety data analysis:

 Accident and Serious Incidents investigation data

 Incident investigation data
 Voluntary reporting data
 Service provider operational data
 Safety risk assessment data
 Data from audit and surveillance findings
 Data from safety studies/ review
 Safety data from other States, Regional Safety Organizations

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Figure 4: SDCPS

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3.4.2 Rules/Regulations for Collection and Protection of

Safety Data

a) Rule 18 of Aircraft (Investigation of Accident and Incident)

Rules 2017 requires DGCA to establish a Mandatory Safety
Reporting System to facilitate collection of information on
actual or potential safety deficiencies. Civil Aviation
Requirement Section 5 Series C Part I is issued under the
provisions of Rule 133A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and Rule
4, Rule 5 (1) (c) & Rule 18 of Aircraft (Investigation of
Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. It prescribes the
manner in which the occurrences are to be reported and
investigated and the responsibilities of various organizations
like the operators and other departments/ agencies at the
airport etc. in providing assistance with regard to
investigation.
b) Rule 19 of Aircraft (Investigation of Accident and Incident)
Rules 2017 requires DGCA to establish a Voluntary Safety
Reporting System to facilitate collection of information on
actual or potential safety deficiencies that may not be
captured by the Mandatory Safety Reporting System
established under rule 18. The voluntary safety reporting
system established under Rule 19 is non- punitive and afford
protection to the sources of the information. The Rule also
provides that the information collected under Voluntary
Safety Reporting System is to be handled in a manner so as
to prevent its use for purposes other than safety. The
detailed process of Voluntary Safety Reporting System is
included in AIC on the subject, Air Safety Circular 2/2015. Air
Safety Procedure Manual contains the procedure for
receiving and processing of the voluntary reports in
accordance with Rule 19. These documents are available on
DGCA website.
c) Civil Aviation Requirement Section 5 Series F Part II,
prescribes requirements for Flight Data Analysis Programme
(FDAP) which exceeds the ICAO Annex-6 SARPs
requirements.

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3.4.3 Regulation/guidance for Hazard Identification and

Safety Risk Management

CAR Section 1 Series C Part I prescribes the requirements and

guidance for the hazard identification and safety risk management.
Detailed procedure for Safety Risk Management is contained in SSP
Circular 1/2012.

3.5 Management of Safety Risks

3.5.1 Resolution of Safety Issues

One of the requirement of DGCA under the Aircraft Act, 1934 is to

ensure compliance of operating regulations/instructions issued by
DGCA for the management of safety in civil aviation sphere by all the
relevant stakeholders, identification and resolution of safety issues.

The identification of deficiencies and safety issues is achieved by

means of an effective surveillance programme, accident and incident
investigation reports including safety recommendations made therein,
investigation of occurrences, analysis of reported safety events, trend
analysis of the safety data, reliability analysis, management of change,
risk assessments, etc. Guidance for collection, analysis, resolution of
identified safety issues and maintenance of database is provided in
the respective Departmental Procedure Manuals. In addition,
Surveillance Procedures Manual and Regulatory Audit Manual contains
the guidance for management of surveillance and regulatory audit
programme.

For effective resolution of safety issues, enforcement policy and

procedures are documented in Enforcement Procedure Manual.
DGCA’s enforcement policy determines the way it uses its powers
vested by relevant Rules to regulate the aviation industry. The key
focus is to address safety by consistent and appropriate enforcement
action. No information derived from safety data collection and
processing systems relating to report classified as confidential,
voluntary or equivalent category, is used as the basis for enforcement
action. The aim of the Enforcement Policy is to lead the aviation
community in India to provide a world-class air safety environment,
which has public trust and confidence. To achieve trust and confidence

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State Safety Programme- India

from the aviation industry and the members of the public including air
commuters, DGCA will take appropriate and timely action to curb the
intentional breach or neglect of the statutory provisions.

3.5.2 Resolutions of Safety Issues-Agreement on Service

Provider’s Safety Performance

The ALoSP established by DGCA has facilitated a top down Safety

Performance Indicators (SPIs) and Safety Performance Targets (SPTs)
setting for all applicable aviation service providers in India. This is a
reference by which the service providers and DGCA assesses the
ongoing safety performance, and initiate corrective actions as
required. The SPIs & SPTs are agreed between the DGCA and the
applicable service provider. The targeted safety performance is scaled
as appropriate dependent on the scope and complexity of operations
of the applicable service provider. The Safety Performance Indicators
(SPIs) developed by service provider are required to be measurable
and reviewable on an ongoing basis. Collected data from sources such
as safety studies, occurrence reporting, safety surveys, safety audits
and safety investigation will be used for monitoring and measuring the
safety performance. The DGCA identifies key risks from the data to
focus corrective actions. For a complete and realistic picture of the
safety performance, the service providers will progressively
encompass wide spectrum of indicators which includes (a) low
probability/high severity events, (b) high probability/low severity
events and (c) process performance. Indicators associated with (b)
and (c) along with their SPTs will be measurable on an operational
level (i.e. they will relate directly to the daily operations of the relevant
service provider).

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4. State Safety Assurance

4.1 Surveillance Obligations

Safety oversight function is a fundamental component of safety

assurance in aviation in India. DGCA oversight covers all the required
areas of civil aviation activities and caters to the extent and complexity
of aviation activities in India. The safety oversight ensures that
accepted safety practices and procedures that promotes safety in
operation are maintained.

The oversight activities include regular planned and unplanned audits

and inspections, Surveillance of Foreign Aircraft (SOFA), Night
Surveillance, Ramp Checks, Surveillance of foreign approved
maintenance organizations; data collection, data exchange, data
analysis and information management. The oversight activities are
carried out in accordance with Annual Surveillance Programme
available on the DGCA website and plans based on perceived area of
greater safety concern or need. The Surveillance Procedure Manual
and Regulatory Audit Procedure Manual both available on DGCA
website provide guidance for carrying out oversight activities. These
guidance takes into consideration the size and complexity of the
service provider and their safety performance. In addition,
documented procedures for surveillance are available in the Procedure
Manual of each technical area. This permits application of consistent
guidance by safety inspectors in each area of oversight activity.

DGCA's safety oversight has following elements:

a) Ensuring compliance with regulations, namely: compliance

with National and International Standards and Regulations;
b) Ensuring appropriate qualification and training with specific
training in relation to SMS;
c) Ensuring availability of documented procedures and
guidance – for approval, surveillance and associated safety
processes;
d) Licensing, certification, authorization and approval;
e) Oversight of service provider’s SMS for ensuring
implementation of SMS in accordance with DGCA
requirements

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Surveillance is the mechanism to monitor the ongoing safety status

and maturity of aviation industry. Surveillance assesses an
authorization holder’s ability to manage its safety risks and willingness
to comply with legislation including compliance with SMS. This
approach to surveillance aims to guide the aviation industry to better
understand its responsibility for safety management.

Surveillance is reinforced by the presence of a Surveillance Procedures

Manual and Enforcement Policy and Procedures Manual, together with
Surveillance and Enforcement Division. This Division maintains a
database of all findings detected, and monitors the same until closure
of the observation.

4.1.1 Oversight of service provider’s SMS

Oversight of service provider’s SMS is carried out periodically as part

of Annual Surveillance Programme. The guidance for the SMS
oversight is provided in SSP/SMS Procedure Manual and respective
Departmental Procedure Manual. The SMS oversight includes
following:

a) Appropriate integration of regulatory safety risk controls into

individual service provider’s SMS,
b) Effectiveness of the safety risk controls,
c) Appropriate resource allocation.
d) Periodic review of each service provider’s SPIs and SPTs to
assess their performance and effectiveness.
e) SPIs and SPTs are adjusted as required to support the
continuous safety improvement.

4.1.2 Safety Data Driven Approach

a) The oversight programme generates sufficient data to enable

the conduct of safety driven analysis, identification of major
safety concern and associated safety risks in order to set
DGCA safety priorities and focus of attention.
b) The safety data collected by the service providers is regularly
reviewed. The aggregate data is analyzed for identifying

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trends, emerging safety issues and developing safety

controls.
c) DGCA will establish safety risk-based surveillance (SRBS)
approach to enable prioritization and allocation of its safety
management resources commensurate with the safety risk
profile of each sector or individual service provider.

4.2 State Safety Performance

4.2.1 Acceptable Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP)

The ALoSP represents state’s expressed target of aviation safety

performance that its aviation system should deliver and demonstrates.
It takes into account the existing level of safety risk and the public
expectations in setting realistic and measurable goals for safety risk
management. The ALoSP for India will be established by the DGCA in
agreement with other constituent organization of SSP. The Acceptable
Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP) of India is defined in figure 5.

No fatal accidents in Commercial Aircraft Operation

Effective Implementation of SPIs and achievement of

SPTs

Enhancement of Safety Oversight capability to achieve at

least 85 % effective implementation

Figure 5: ALoSP

The DGCA National Aviation Safety Plan will be developed to ensure

that the ALoSP, as specified by specific safety priorities, objectives,
Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) and Safety Performance Targets
(SPTs) is delivered in a reasonable timeframe. The SSP/SMS Division
of the DGCA will be responsible for the production of the National
Aviation Safety Plan (NASP), and oversight of its implementation.

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The National Aviation Safety Plan takes account of the identified risks,
available resource and cost-benefit of any change to determine a
pragmatic series of actions to be taken by stakeholders in India and is
developed based on the data drawn from SDCPS.

The actions which can be included in the National Aviation Safety Plan
could use operational procedures, technology or training to help
achieve the ALoSP and SEIs developed by RASG-APAC and contained
in the Global Aviation Safety Plan.

The National Aviation Safety Plan will be subject to regular review by

the SSP/SMS Division of the DGCA, in particular by:

a) continuous hazard identification and proposal of appropriate

risk mitigations;
b) assessment of occurrence data, audits, inspections and
safety reporting to update and prioritize action upon
individual risk areas.

DGCA has developed State Safety Plan 2015-2016. The National

Aviation Safety plan 2018-2022 is currently in place. The performance
of each of the State Safety Priorities is analysed and captured in
Annual Safety Review hosted on DGCA website. This has provided
inputs for identification of new hazards.

4.2.2 Safety Performance Measurement and Monitoring

Safety performance measurement and monitoring are the means by

which the safety performance of the aviation system is described and
evaluated. Through analysis of safety data and information drawn
from SDCPS, areas of emerging risk can be highlighted and this
information used to inform decisions regarding making appropriate
safety interventions and the subsequent assessment of effectiveness
of those interventions.

Based on the Global safety priorities, Regional safety priorities and

using our own experience, supported by data from SDCPS (State
Safety Database), the DGCA has identified key Safety Priorities. For
each key Safety Priority, DGCA has developed safety objectives;
proposed a desired safety outcome and developed a safety action plan
and a number of Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) on areas

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covering ANSP, aerodromes, operations and approved maintenance

organizations. Other areas would also be progressively covered.

Based on the data drawn from SDCPS, the performance of key safety
priorities and their associated SPIs is assessed annually with respect
to the set Safety Performance Targets (SPTs). The result of the
performance evaluation is published in the Annual Safety Review as
part of safety promotion. The performance evaluation helps in refining
Safety Objectives and Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs). The
process is depicted in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Safety Performance Management process

4.2.3 ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme-

Continuous Monitoring Approach

DGCA and AAIB continuously update their SAAQ, CCs/EFOD, CAPs and
PQ status (self-assessment) along with the relevant evidences.

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4.2.4 Internal Audit and Quality Assurance

DGCA would set up an Internal Audit and Quality Assurance Division

to audit aviation safety regulations and DGCA processes in relation to
the ICAO's eight Critical Elements of a safety oversight system. The
division would carry out regular internal quality assurance audits to
support corporate governance in DGCA.

4.2.5 Management of Change

Change Management procedures allows to proactively identify the

safety impact of change in the aviation system, plan and execute
proposed changes in a structured way. The process of change
management may include risk arising out of changes but not limited
to the following:

Reorganization of State aviation authorities (including downsizing);

Changes in the SSP processes, including changes in methodology such

as SRBS, SRM and safety assurance processes;

Changes in the regulatory environment, such as changes in existing

State safety policies, programmes, and regulations;

Changes in the operational environment, such as introduction of new

technologies, changes in infrastructure, equipment and services;

Rapidly changing industry (expanding, contracting, morphing) and its

potential impact on the State oversight and performance monitoring
capabilities.

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5. State Safety Promotion

For effective performance of a SSP, it is essential that all personnel
within national safety system embrace and understand their roles and
responsibilities towards safety performance and objective of Indian
SSP. Similarly, for a safety culture to be inherent amongst personnel
and organizations, effective communication of the principles and
policy for safety, national safety priorities, best practices, etc. is
essential. Safety management training and dissemination of safety
information is therefore a pre-requisite to support this. The content of
the training should be customized according to the role of the
individual concerned.

5.1 Internal communication and dissemination of safety

information

As required by ICAO, the DGCA would provide training, awareness,

and two-way communication of safety relevant information to support,
within the DGCA, the development of a positive organizational culture
that fosters the development of an effective and efficient State Safety
Programme. The DGCA as a body responsible for the SSP has
developed a safety training programme contained in SSP/SMS Division
Procedure Manual. The training programme should include National
Aviation Safety Plan and its relationship with ICAO Global Aviation
Safety Plan and APAC Regional Aviation Safety Plan. This ensures that
personnel are trained and competent to perform the SSP duties.

Each individual's development and training needs including SSP/SMS

is being assessed upon induction at DGCA by the concerned
Directorate. Both initial and recurrent training is provided to
officials/inspectors. The trainings are being conducted at regular
intervals as per the annual training programme developed by the
Training Directorate in consultation with the concerned directorates.

DGCA communicates and disseminates safety-relevant information

within the DGCA through Annual Safety Review, circulars, emails,
DGCA website, Safety alerts, workshops, etc.

The basic principle is to train the trainers in appropriate institutions

and then carry out in-house training. The records of safety training

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are kept in accordance with internal procedures by the respective

Directorates.

The key element of internal communication of safety-relevant

information is the process used to handle Mandatory Safety Reports
(MSRs) and Voluntary Safety Reports (VSRs) received by DGCA. These
are reported to Air Safety Directorate of DGCA for investigation or
information and, in many cases, are required to provide feedback on
action taken so that the MSRs, VSRs can be officially 'closed'. The
information of MSRs and VSRs is shared with other Directorates within
DGCA and external civil aviation entities as the case may be. This is
an important part of the DGCA safety risk management process.

5.2 External communication and dissemination of safety

information

ICAO Annex 19 requires that State to promote safety awareness by

sharing and exchange of safety information within the aviation
communities with the objective of maintenance and improvement of
safety and to support the development of positive safety culture. In
this respect, DGCA endeavors that:

 service provider personnel are fully aware of the SSP and its
relationship with the SMS.
 safety critical information is conveyed to service providers.
 service providers understand why particular safety actions
are taken.
 service provider and its personnel understand the importance
of reporting.

DGCA communicates with stakeholders in many different ways. At a

high level, safety is addressed in the MoCA's Annual Report. DGCA has
developed a National Aviation Safety Plan which describes in more
detail the high-level safety objectives and outline the DGCA's
programme of work to achieve continuous safety improvement and is
published on DGCA website. The ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan,
APAC Regional Aviation Safety Plan, Safety Enhancement Initiatives
(SEIs) developed by the APRAST/RASG-APAC are also communicated
to the stake holders through National Aviation Safety Team (NAST)
and in the form of circulars.

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In addition, DGCA publishes on its website documents such as public

notices, circulars containing safety information and guidance material
for the implementation of SMS, Air Safety Circulars, aircraft
accident/incident reports, accident summaries and air transport
related data. DGCA will also publish the lessons learnt from the
accidents.

The critical safety-relevant information is communicated and

disseminated nationally and internationally through Aeronautical
Information Publication (AIP), AIP supplements, Aeronautical
Information Circular (AIC) and Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). This keeps
aviation personnel updated with the current operational information.
India Meteorological Department under the Ministry of Earth Sciences
provides the Meteorological forecasting and climatological services for
civil aviation in India.

The DGCA promotes the implementation of SMS among applicable

service providers by organizing seminars/ workshops. The cultivation
of an active safety culture at all levels and in all functional areas in the
aviation industry is seen as a key area of development.

DGCA encourages the establishment of safety information sharing or

exchange networks among the aviation community.

The DGCA holds regular meetings with operators and service

providers, in order to apprise them of likely regulatory developments,
and develop the required safety culture.

DGCA shares the relevant occurrence data with the other states and
outcome of investigation relevant for the improvement of safety.

The safety system and procedures developed are also shared during
the multilateral meetings with other states.

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State Safety Programme- India

Appendix A

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 State Safety Programme- India

Appendix B

SSP Steering Committee

Composition:

Chairman: Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation

Members:

i) Director General of Civil Aviation, India

ii) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (Looking after
DGCA)
iii) Chairman, Airport Authority of India
iv) Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological
Department
v) Director General, AAIB
vi) All Joint Director Generals of DGCA
vii) Member (Air Navigation Services), AAI
viii) Representatives of Indian Air Force and Navy

Stakeholders/particular sector service providers may be invited as and

when required.

The Joint Director General looking after Air Safety Directorate will act
as Secretary to the Steering Committee.

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Appendix C

List of References
1. ICAO Annex 19, Ed. II
2. ICAO Doc 9859, Ed IV
3. ICAO Doc 9734 Part A, ED III
4. The Aircraft Act, 1934
5. The Aircraft Rules, 1937
6. Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules,
2017
7. ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan 2020-22
8. National Aeronautical Search and Rescue Manual

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Appendix D

List of Figures
Figure 1 The Regulatory Legislative Framework in India

Figure 2 The relationships between the State SSP and the

Service Providers SMS
Figure 3 Personnel Licensing Organization
Figure 4 ALoSP

Figure 5 SDCPS

Figure 6 Safety Performance Management process

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Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi,
India