India’s digital transformation of civil aviation reached a new milestone as Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu launched an Electronic Personnel License (EPL) for pilots on Thursday. This initiative helps to improve the sector in terms of safety, security and efficiency. This launch puts India in the ranks of the second country in the world to do so, after China, which has rolled out EPL for flight crew.
In his speech, Minister Naidu stated that the introduction of EPL by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is not only a significant development for the aviation industry but also an important one towards the digitalisation of other services across several sectors in India. The system is designed to help pilots become more transparent, more efficient, and more convenient in handling their licensing and qualifications.
The minister also referred to India’s growing aviation industry and the rising demand for skilled pilots as factors. The country will need at least 20,000 new pilots in the years to come to meet the sector’s growing demand in terms of air travel, he said. In the context of such rapid growth, technological advancements are essential for India to be a part of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world today.
In addition, the government is charting plans for a spike in aviation infrastructure. In the next 5 years, a further 50 airports are due for development, and domestic connectivity will significantly increase. With new regional connectivity and economic development on the agenda, the release of the flight route plan for the next decade will add more than 120 new destinations.
India’s commitment and efforts to modernize civil aviation with time and to be competitive at the global level are reflected through the launch of EPL.
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