India retains Category I status under FAA's international aviation safety programme

India has retained the Category I status under the Federal Aviation Administration's international aviation safety programme, regulator DGCA said on Wednesday.

FAA under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme determines whether a country's oversight of its air carriers that operate or seek to operate, into the US or codeshare with a US air carrier complies with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that based on the positive outcomes of the assessment and follow-ups, India continues to retain FAA IASA Category 1 status, which was last assessed in July 2018.

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"FAA has stated that DGCA has demonstrated a commitment towards ensuring an effective safety oversight of India's aviation system and appreciated the positive manner in which DGCA has worked with them," the statement said.

According to DGCA, the country's Category 1 determination has come at a time when Indian aviation is on a high growth trajectory and air carriers in India have major capacity induction and expansion plans.

"Air carriers of Category 1 countries are permitted to operate/ expand their services to destinations in the US and codeshare with US air carriers," it added.

Last year, in the ICAO audit, India's global ranking climbed significantly. The country scored an Effective Implementation (EI) of 85.65 per cent from the previous EI of 69.95 per cent.