This strengthens India’s position in the global aviation ecosystem, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said

India has been chosen to head the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO's) Air Transport Committee after a gap of 28 years. India's representative Shefali Juneja was unanimously elected as Chairperson of the committee by the ICAO Council on Tuesday.

Announcing the news on Twitter, India at ICAO's official handle wrote, "India wins coveted position in ICAO to become- Chairperson of Air Transport Committee, after 28years.Representative of India, Dr Shefali Juneja gets unanimously elected in Council today".

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said this strengthened the country's journey towards becoming the world's largest civil aviation market.

"Great News! This solidifies India’s position in the global #aviation ecosystem, and strengthens our journey towards becoming the largest #civilaviation market.

Congratulations, Dr. Shefali Juneja & @MoCA_GoI team for your commitment & hard work," he tweeted.

Since the beginning of 2019, Dr. Shefali Juneja has represented India on the ICAO council. Before joining the ICAO, Juneja, an Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre) officer from the 1992 batch, held the position of Joint Secretary.

ICAO is a specialised organisation of the United Nations that promotes the planning and development of international air transport in order to ensure its expansion is safe and orderly. It also coordinates the principles and methods of international air navigation.

The ICAO Council, which has its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, sets standards and suggests methods for international civil aviation's air navigation, infrastructure, flight inspection, avoidance of unauthorized intervention, and streamlining of border crossing processes.

India was elected to the organisation's 36 Member Governing Council for a three-year term during the 2019 ICAO Assembly from among ICAO’s 193 Member States. According to ICAO's official website, it was elected as one of the "States which make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for international civil air navigation".