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When you collect the boarding pass before flying off from any Indian city, your concerns are almost limited to punctuality and seat location of the flight. Having full confidence on the <keyword id="1411" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="captain">captain</keyword> is always a good thing. But corruption having flown in each and every vein of India, it’s high time you raise question about the credential of the pilot flying you off. 
 
Just the way, Bachelors and Post Graduation certificates are available without sitting for the exams, so are the flying certificates of pilots that confirms the flying hours. 
 To believe a news report by <keyword id="29740" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bloomberg">Bloomberg</keyword>, one <keyword id="2232857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anupam-Verma">Anupam Verma</keyword> has managed to obtain a certificate of 360 hours by sitting in the co pilot’s seat for just 35 minutes. 
 As per the news report, the son of a <keyword id="166238" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="poor-farmer">poor farmer</keyword>, Verma was given a 2.8 million-rupee ($44,000) subsidy by the <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> to learn to fly a commercial jet. "What if I was flying and had an emergency? I wouldn't even know how or where to land," Verma, 25, said in an interview. "We'd kill not only the passengers, but we might crash in a village and kill even more people." 
 
Concern about the quality of India's pilots has been building over the past decade as a proliferation of budget airlines created demand for hundreds of new pilots. In 2011, the government reviewed the licences of all 4,000-plus airline pilots in the country, as police investigated at least 18 people suspected of using forged documents to win promotions or certification. The findings of the review were not made public. "The fudging of log books is rampant both in airlines and in flying clubs," said <keyword id="295046" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mohan-Ranganathan">Mohan Ranganathan</keyword>, a former <keyword id="2881717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="commercial-pilot-and-aviation-safety-consultant">commercial pilot and aviation safety consultant</keyword> based in Chennai. He said the 2011 audit found violations in most flying clubs in the country. "Hours were logged with aircraft not even in airworthy condition. One aircraft had no engines but several hundred hours were logged." Asked about the continued use of fake certificates, India's <keyword id="123228" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Director-General">Director General</keyword> of Civil Aviation, M Sathiyavathy, said on April 24 the directorate would be conducting a new audit that would require the "recertification of all the flying schools." 
 After the German Wings devastation in last March and <keyword id="2881716" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Malayasian-Airlines">Malayasian Airlines</keyword> mishap last year, it’s high time, the government take some drastic measures to ascertain the lives of the passengers. 
 
(Image: Wikimedia)

​Did you check the pilot’s credential before you grabbed that aisle seat? ​

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A photo shared on social media showed an uncovered cup of coffee perched on a plane's cockpit controls.</li><li>The photo outraged India's aviation community, with one retired pilot calling it "inexplicable" behavior.</li></ul>Two pilots in India have been grounded following the circulation of a photo that showed them drinking coffee and eating pastries mid-flight in the cockpit of a SpiceJet plane, according to reports.<a href="https://twitter.com/Mohan_Rngnathan/status/1635560522161737729?s=20">The photo,</a> which was shared widely on social media, does not show the pilots' faces. It does, however, show gujiyas, a fried dessert pastry that is typically eaten during the Hindu festival of Holi, and a dangerously placed cup of coffee.The coffee, which has no lid and shows the Indian budget airline SpiceJet's logo, is perched on the plane's thrust lever controls in the photo, causing outrage in the aviation community.Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation-safety expert who initially shared the photo, <a href="https://twitter.com/Mohan_Rngnathan/status/1635564186129534976?s=20">said on Twitter:</a> "The Central pedestal is not a table. Even the slightest turbulence and coffee/ spills on to the electronics, it will foul the systems. This is s CRIMINAL act."A retired pilot and former head of operations for an Indian airline, Shakti Lumba, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/india-spicejet-airlines-pilots-coffee-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN</a> that the "feel-good" photo opp was "totally inexplicable" behavior. "All pilots are aware of the dangers of spilled liquids in the cockpit," he said, per the media outlet.SpiceJet did not respond to Insider's request for comment, but the airline told <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/photo-of-coffee-cup-placed-dangerously-inside-cockpit-raises-eyebrows/article66620108.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hindu</a> that it is trying to learn more details about the incident.A spokesperson for SpiceJet said in a statement provided to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/holi-celebration-goes-wrong-two-spicejet-pilots-grounded-for-keeping-beverage-on-centre-console-while-having-gujhiyas/articleshow/98667668.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times of India</a> that both pilots have been taken off their roster pending an investigation."SpiceJet has a strict policy for consumption of food inside the cockpit which is adhered to by all flight crew," the spokesperson said, adding that disciplinary action would be taken after the investigation had concluded.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India's regulatory body that oversees aviation safety, is also looking into the incident, The Hindu reported.Indian aviation rules allow pilots to have food and drink in the cockpit but under strict guidelines, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-64948054">per BBC News</a>. For example, cups need to have lids to prevent potentially catastrophic spillages.According to CNN, spilling a hot drink on the central pedestal could cause technical equipment to overheat or, worse, trigger the entire system to shut down.

Two Indian pilots were grounded after a photo of coffee and snacks balanced dangerously on cockpit controls was shared on social media

The 21-day nationwide lockdown to combat COVID-19 will have its impact on those cultivating vegetables, fruits, tea, paddy, flowers, inland fisheries and livestock, farmers in <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword> said. "The lock down is impacting various farm operations ranging from cultivation to marketing. The summer cultivation of paddy has been affected for want of labour while harvested perishables like fruits, vegetables and fish in ponds can't be taken to the market for want of transportation in the state," P.R. Pandian, President, Tamil Nadu Federation of All Farmers' Association, told IANS. He said the major impact will be on farmers of fruits and vegetables and floriculturists, as these are highly perishable items which are not getting the required prices. "These are getting sold at half the rate,'' he added. According to Pandian, about 15 lakh acres of land in the state under paddy cultivation during the summer are facing losses as they are not able to find labour for various operations. He said farmers cultivating watermelons across the state are staring at losses as they are not able to harvest and market their produce due to the 21-day lockdown that is in place to prevent the spread of the coronanirus outbreak that has infected over 600 people across the country. Similarly, groundnuts cultivated in about 8 lakh acres are not being harvested for want of labour in several districts in the state. The farmers to whom IANS spoke were unanimous in their views that the government has not considered the ground-level situation of such farms before announcing the 21-day lockdown. Unlike sugarcane crop where harvest can be postponed, fruits, vegetables and tea leaves have to be harvested and sold on time, failing which they would rot. "Adequate cold storage facilities are not present so that the farmers can store their produce for some days. I have a fish farm but there is no market for now," Pandian said. "The area under summer paddy cultivation will be about 2 lakh acres in the Cauvery Delta region. Nurseries have been raised and transplantation should happen during the first week of April. Plantation and horticulture will be affected due to the lock down," S. Ranganathan, President, Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association, told IANS. The farmers told IANS that sales of vegetables and fruits have been affected in a major way as there is no market within Tamil Nadu or in the neighbouring states like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Pandian said each farmer's family should be paid a sum of Rs 10,000 for one month's sustenance. From the picturesque Theni district, A. Thiruppathi Vasagan, a farmer, told IANS over phone: "It is summer and watermelon consumption would normally be high. But owing to the lockdown and absence of transports, the farmers here are facing a grim situation." According to Vasagan, about 15,000 acres of land will be under vegetable farming in Theni district. He also added that banana farmers will be affected in a big way. "Banana has to be cut and sent to the market on time failing which it would rot, which in turn is also a health risk. Theni is also known for grape farming and the lockdown will also impact this," Vasagan said. According to him, the farm labourers have been advised to work maintaining a distance of about 1.5 metres between them. In the Nilgiris district, the tea and vegetable sectors are badly affected apart from the tourism sector. "The tea factories have been ordered to shut down. The factories in turn have asked us to stop plucking of tea leaves. Once the leaves are plucked, it has to be sent to the factories for processing," Manjai V Mohan, President, Federation of Tea Crop Cultivators' Association, told IANS over phone from Nilgiris. According to him, this is going to hit the business in a big way as about 50,000 tonnes of tea are bought by tourists to Ooty every year during the summer season. He said the tea factories are largely automated and the plucking of leaves could have been allowed maintaining sufficient distance between the workers. Apart from tea, the Nilgiris district also cultivates vegetables and flowers. "Owing to the lockdown and absence of labour, vegetables are not being harvested. Further, Bengaluru is the major market for the flowers and in the absence of transportation, flowers are not being sent there resulting in losses for the growers," Mohan added. According to Pandian, the Central government should pay the farmers Rs 6,000 in one instalment, rather than in three instalments as announced earlier and also write-off farm loans. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-kerala-news-and-updates/articleshow/74775194.cms">Coronavirus cases in Kerala news and updates</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-tamil-nadu-news-and-updates/articleshow/74785909.cms">Coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu news and updates</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coronavirus-cases-in-haryana-news-and-updates/articleshow/74771116.cms">Coronavirus cases in Haryana news and updates</a>

Almost 15 lakh acres of land in Tamil Nadu stands bare as lockdown grounds farmers

India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=civil+aviation+ministry&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Civil Aviation Ministry</a> is doing away with the method of naming <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=airport&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">airports</a> after famous personalities. 
 As per the new rules, the <keyword id="1090792" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-airports">new airports</keyword> will be names after cities in which they are located. However, the lounges and terminals inside the airport can be named after people. 
 
"We have prepared a Cabinet note, which is being sent for inter-ministerial consultations now. We expect the Cabinet to clear it in a month's time," a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified, told ET. 
 
There was a string of controversies that led the Indian government to decide on doing away with the policy, for instance <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=chandigarh+airport&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Chandigarh airport</a>. 
 
Since Chandigarh is capital of both Punjab and Haryana, these states have different names for the airport. 
 
But, later it was decided to name the international airport after Chandigarh only. 
 
"This is a welcome move but the government should also remove names from all airports in the country. Naming of airports is political and the government should totally do away with it," Mohan Ranganathan, a former pilot and an aviation expert, told ET.

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Did you check the pilot’s credential before you grabbed that aisle seat?

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Two Indian pilots were grounded after a photo of coffee and snacks balanced dangerously on cockpit controls was shared on social media

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Almost 15 lakh acres of land in Tamil Nadu stands bare as lockdown grounds farmers

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New airports won’t be named after famous personalities now

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You Searched For "Mohan Ranganathan" and got 4 results

​Did you check the pilot’s credential before you grabbed that aisle seat? ​

BI India Bureau

Two Indian pilots were grounded after a photo of coffee and snacks balanced dangerously on cockpit controls was shared on social media

Joshua Zitser

Almost 15 lakh acres of land in Tamil Nadu stands bare as lockdown grounds farmers

IANS

New airports won’t be named after famous personalities now

BI India Bureau

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Did you check the pilot’s credential before you grabbed that aisle seat?