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New Delhi : Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) was established by the Government of India in1986 at Fursatganj Airfield, presently in the district of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. IGRUA is an Autonomous Body established under the Societies Registration Act 1860, and is administered by a Governing Council under the Ex-officio Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
In line with the spirit of its establishment, IGRUA followed the philosophy of dominance through interminable betterment, disciplined training and modern training infrastructure. IGRUA offers a training environment, superior to any other flying training institution in the country. There is no congruence in matters relating to fleet, maintenance, safety standards, ground training, flight training, aerodrome & training aids, instructors, and last but not the least the trainees themselves.
An all India entrance examination, wombat aptitude test for the selection of trainees, is conducted with the help of specialised software to verify psychomotor skills and finally an interview. IGRUA with its high overall standards can boast to be the IIT of aviation. This explains the reason for IGRUA being the first choice for all wannabe pilots.
By way of preparedness for a likely boom after the slump in aviation industry due to pandemic and to promote the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative by the Central Government, IGRUA has made all plausible effort to increase the quantum of flying vis-à-vis number of graduates to cater for the requirements of aviation industry. During the year 2021, IGRUA piled up 19,000 hours of flying as against an average yearly flying output of 15,000 per year during the previous five years. It was 11,641 hours in 2020. IGRUA achieved this milestone of 19,000 hours despite continued effect of pandemic and inclement weather conditions due to Tauktae Cyclone in 2021. During the concurrent period, 66 cadets have graduated as against 43 during the previous year.
The achievement becomes more significant when it is done with a reduced fleet strength of 18 aircraft as against 24 during the previous years. IGRUA has already set foundation to hit a target of 25,000 flying hours in 2022 by inducting a record 121 cadets in 2021 and expanding the fleet strength in 2022, according to a PIB release.
IGRUA has incredible infrastructure, consisting of dedicated airfield and airspace, 6080 ft. runway, parallel taxi track, apron, navigation & landing aids, hangars, ATC and Fire Fighting, Aviation Fuel Station, hostels/mess for boarding and lodging of 300 cadets, residential campus, sports facilities, auditorium and all other facilities for the transition of an individual from a school pass level to a confident commercial pilot, eligible for joining any of the premier world class airlines.
Understanding its larger objective of promoting and developing the science of aeronautics, IGRUA has stretched its wings into a variety of other initiatives in aviation, such as drone training course to become professional RPAS pilots on micro & small category drones, ‘Train the Instructor’ course for drone instructors and English Language Proficiency (ELP) course. It is further expanding its portfolio by commencing Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) course and imparting ground training to prepare students for the DGCA examination for PPL/CPL & ATPL.