Understanding the Regulatory Landscape in India: A Comprehensive Look At Safety in the Aviation Sector

India’s civil aviation sector stands at a critical juncture of rapid growth and regulatory modernisation. This working paper by the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) offers a comprehensive examination of the regulatory landscape governing Indian aviation. It traces the sector’s strategic contribution to GDP, employment, tourism, and supply-chain resilience amid post-COVID recovery and technological shifts such as drones, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and AI integration.

The study maps the institutional architecture of safety regulations in India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airport Authority of India (AAI), Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) work under Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). While the DGCA is the primary regulatory body responsible for overseeing civil aviation safety, AAI and AAIB play a strong complimentary role. The legislative foundation of Indian aviation safety consists of the Aircraft Act 1934 (and its 2024 successor, Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam), Aircraft Rules 1937, and the full suite of Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs). Detailed analysis of DGCA’s safety regulations—covering airworthiness, flight crew standards, operations, incident investigation, and emerging domains—forms the core.

Through detailed analysis of existing data and literature, the paper identifies institutional capacity gaps, enforcement challenges, safety risks, and jurisdictional overlaps. It concludes with evidence-based recommendations for balanced regulation, deregulation, and re-regulation to foster safe, sustainable, and globally competitive aviation growth in India.