Cabinet approves introduction of Aircraft (Amendment) Bill in Parliament - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Cabinet approves introduction of Aircraft (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

• The Bill enhances the maximum limit of fine from the existing ₹10 lakhs to ₹one crore.
• The Bill will lead to enhancement in the level of safety and security of aircraft operations in the country, the government said.

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the introduction of the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Parliament. The Bill is intended to carry out amendments to the Aircraft Act, 1934 (XXII of 1934).
“The Bill enhances the maximum limit of fine from the existing ₹10 lakhs to ₹one crore. It also enlarges the scope of the Act to include regulation of all areas of air navigation," according to a government press release.
The proposed amendments would fulfill the safety requirements of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This will also enable the three regulatory bodies in the civil aviation sector in India—Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to become more effective, the release said.
“This (the Bill) will lead to enhancement in the level of safety and security of aircraft operations in the country," it added.
According to a PTI report, ICAO, which is the United Nation’s global aviation watchdog, 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. (Source: livemint)


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Cabinet approves introduction of Aircraft (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

India, Israel bilateral talks may give wing to the stuck aircraft deal - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India, Israel bilateral talks may give wing to the stuck aircraft deal

AWACS aircraft deal has been stuck for a over a year due to Israel quoting higher price than the permissible level.

India and Israel are likely to discuss the deal to supply two new Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) 'eyes in the sky', worth Rs 7,000 crore. The deal has been stuck for over a year now due to steep price hike.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting India on January 13, 2018.In the previous deal signed in 2003-04, India had acquired three AWACS systems in which the Russian Ilyushin-76 aircraft were equipped with Israel-made sophisticated radars at the cost of $1.1 billion (over Rs 7,035 crore) to carry out surveillance of enemy aircraft, drones and cruise missiles at ranges up to 400-500 km inside their territory.

"The price of the two new AWACS has been quoted to be over USD 1.25 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) by the vendors as they have asked for much more compared to the cost of the three planes bought earlier. It cannot be agreed to, and that is why the programme has been stalled," senior government sources told Mail Today.

"The main reason behind the steep jump in the price is the almost three-fold increase in the price of the IL-76 planes, on which the radars have to be mounted. The Israelis have also hiked their price much more than what is permitted due to inflation," official added.

The deal is now expected to be discussed during the meeting of the two Prime Ministers.On several past occasions, the issue of acquiring AWACs has been coming up at meeting of Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which is the apex body of the Defence ministry, to acquire new weapon systems for the armed forces.

With the deal stuck, both Pakistan and China have worked closely to get an edge over India in terms of the surveillance equipment as Beijing has more than 20 of such AWACS planes, both new and old.

Pakistan acquired four AEWC surveillance aircraft four to five years ago from Sweden, and has also started taking the Chinese AWACS planes in its force.

India also decided to develop its own AWACS as the DAC has given clearance to a proposal to acquire two Airbus-330 planes and build an AWACS, which can provide 360-degree surveillance like the Israeli radar.

The project would start with two planes, which are likely to take five to six years to be completed, and once successful, the DRDO would take sanction for six more aircrafts.The trials of DRDO developed Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) aircraft is nearing its completion in Bhatinda.

These are smaller in size and have 240-degree coverage. After undergoing trials, they would be used for operational flying by the services.

The Air Force needs 15 AWACS and smaller AEWC planes with radars of different capabilities.

(Source:India today)