Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 77th Independence Day today, greeted his 140 crore ‘Pariwarjan’ (Family Members) and noted the trust in the country is at an all time high. Addressing the nation, the PM acknowledged the contribution of women in the country’s development and progress. He also shared that the goal is to continue women-led development.
Women flying high
PM Modi during his address said that to move forward in the country, the potential of one additional power is going to take India forward and that is women-led development. He said, “Today India can proudly say that if any country has the maximum number of women pilots in civil aviation in the world, then it is India.”
For the Indian women pilots, sky is not the limit! India tops the list of most female commercial pilots in the world.
15% of total pilot strength in the country is women, while other countries have only 5% strength. According to Government data dated December 6, 2021, out of 17,726 registered pilots in India, 2,764 pilots are women.
Indian Women Soaring High
https://twitter.com/mygovindia/status/1691286762146996225?s=20
According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, in terms of gender equality in the flight deck, India (12.4%) is far ahead of countries like Ireland (9.9%), South Africa (9.8%), Canada (7%), Germany (6.9%), Australia (7.5%), USA (5.5%), UK (4.7%) among others. As per the same survey, smaller regional airlines are the biggest employer of female pilots with a 13.9% gender ratio, while cargo airlines have the least ratio at 8.5% in India.
Initiatives to boost pilot training
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and its associated organizations have taken a series of initiatives to boost pilot training in the country. Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU), India’s sole aviation university, works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It was established in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in 2013 under the RGNAU Act.
Ranked among the top 200 universities of the world, it has been helping in creating excellence in the field of aviation.
In addition to this, to promote the training of pilots in the country award letters for nine new Flying Training Organizations (FTO) at five Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports (Belagavi, Jalgaon, Kalaburagi, Khajuraho, and Lilabari) with rationalized land charges and other improvements, digitization of approval processes at the regulator DGCA, and greater empowerment of flying instructors, have been undertaken among others. Furthermore, these actions have benefitted all aspiring pilots, including women pilots, due to the increase in the number of hours flown at FTOs and the number of commercial pilot licenses given each year.