P1, P2, P3, P4, SIV, Guided Flying — Paragliding Training, Uttarakhand

What is the P1, P2, P3, P4, SIV and Guided Flying scheme?

P1, P2, P3, P4, SIV and Guided Flying is a paragliding pilot training scheme of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB), run under the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand. Its purpose is to train and develop skilled youth of Uttarakhand, aged 18 to 30 years, as certified paragliding pilots, so that the state's fast-growing adventure-tourism industry is staffed by trained local people rather than depending on pilots from outside.

Uttarakhand has been positioning itself as a leading paragliding destination. The state promotes Tehri in particular as a paragliding hub, and UTDB has held SIV safety training over Tehri Lake and hosted acro-flying events there. Behind the events sits a workforce need: safe commercial paragliding requires pilots trained through recognised, graded courses. This scheme is UTDB's answer, giving selected local youth the graded pilot training they would otherwise have to pay for privately.

The name lists the grades of paragliding certification: P1 (beginner ground handling and first flights), P2 (novice), P3 (intermediate, able to fly solo cross-country), P4 (advanced), SIV (Simulation d'Incident en Vol, a safety course teaching pilots to recognise and recover from collapses and other in-flight incidents, usually flown over water), and guided flying (supervised flying to build hours and experience). Together they take a beginner towards the standard needed for professional work.

This is a training / skilling scheme, not a cash benefit. What a beneficiary receives is funded pilot training and certification, not a monthly payment.

Who is eligible for the paragliding training scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a youth of Uttarakhand, ordinarily a domicile/resident of the state.
• You are between 18 and 30 years of age.
• You are medically fit to undergo paragliding training, with a doctor's fitness certificate.
• You can attend the full training batch at the notified flying site.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are under 18 or over 30 at the time of the batch.
• You are not a resident/domicile of Uttarakhand, the scheme is aimed at local youth so that trained pilots stay and work in the state.
• You are not medically fit for the physical demands of paragliding.
• You cannot attend the in-person training, which is practical and attendance-based.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the paragliding training scheme

1. Watch for a batch announcement from the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board on uttarakhandtourism.gov.in, or ask your District Tourism Development Officer when the next paragliding training programme opens.
2. Check the eligibility for that batch: age 18 to 30, Uttarakhand residence, medical fitness, and the number of seats.
3. Fill the application form for the batch and attach your age proof, domicile proof and medical fitness certificate.
4. Submit the form before the closing date, online or at the office named in the announcement.
5. Attend the selection step if the batch is oversubscribed, then complete the graded training (P1 upward, with SIV and guided flying as the batch provides).
6. Collect your certification on successful completion, and use the logged hours towards the separate commercial pilot-licensing requirements.

Because the scheme runs in batches with limited seats, there is no single year-round deadline. Keeping your age, domicile and medical documents ready lets you apply quickly when a batch opens.

How much does it cost?

The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board has run paragliding pilot training for local youth free of cost or with a major subsidy, because the state wants to build its own pool of certified pilots. Private paragliding courses across these grades otherwise cost tens of thousands of rupees, so the waiver is the core benefit. The exact cost, if any, for a given batch is set in the announcement, always confirm it there rather than assuming, as terms can change from one batch to the next.

What happens after the training — and the important limit

Completing the graded training helps a candidate build towards professional work, but it does not by itself authorise commercial tandem flying. Under Uttarakhand's paragliding rules, running commercial paragliding: especially tandem flying with a paying passenger; carries its own separate conditions. According to the state's paragliding operation rules, a tandem pilot must typically have a minimum number of logged flying hours and air distance covered, a valid medical fitness certificate with annual examination, valid first-aid and CPR certification, completion of an SIV tandem safety course, and must pass a technical committee evaluation. Firms that operate paragliding must themselves be registered, and operator applications are made offline to UTDB within an annual window. This training scheme is the entry step that helps youth reach those standards.

Why Uttarakhand runs its own pilot training

Paragliding in Uttarakhand has grown from a niche activity into an organised, promoted industry, and the state has consciously built around Tehri as its flagship site. UTDB has run SIV training over Tehri Lake, flying over water is the safest place to practise deliberate wing collapses and recoveries, and has staged acro-flying events to raise Tehri's profile. Events, though, are only the shop window. Behind them the state needs a steady supply of locally trained, certified pilots, both to keep visitors safe and to make sure the incomes from adventure tourism reach Uttarakhand's own young people rather than flowing to pilots brought in from elsewhere.

That is the logic of training local youth through the full grade ladder rather than leaving them to fund private courses. A candidate who enters at P1 with no experience and progresses through P2 and P3 to P4, adds an SIV safety course, and builds supervised guided-flying hours, ends up with the skills and the logged experience that professional flying demands. The graded structure also lets the state target its funding: it can sponsor beginners to get started, and support promising pilots to reach the advanced and safety levels that commercial tandem work specifically requires. For a young person in a hill district with few formal job options, a funded route to becoming a certified paragliding pilot is a genuine livelihood pathway.

How to check status, common rejection reasons and grievances

Applicants are informed of selection by UTDB or the District Tourism office for the batch they applied to, so follow up through the contact in the announcement. Common reasons for rejection are being outside the 18–30 age band, lacking Uttarakhand domicile proof, failing the medical fitness requirement, incomplete documents, or simply more applicants than seats, in which case unsuccessful candidates can apply for the next batch.

Grievances and queries can be raised with the District Tourism Development Officer or the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board at Dehradun; the tourism helpline (0135-2559898) can direct you to the right office. Readers searching for this scheme by phrases like "UTDB paragliding training" or "free paragliding course Uttarakhand" are looking at the same programme described here.