Paragliding in Maharashtra

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Eastern Herald — Bir Billing paragliding and India's aero sports policy (2026), NewsBytes — India's draft National Aerosports Policy (2022), News on Air — 2024 World Paragliding Competition results, Tribune India — Zorinmawia Inter-services Paragliding Championship, no-WC-in-2021 coverage, Sportskeeda — 2015 Paragliding World Cup coverage. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: 1980s
Category: Adventure
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: Aero Club of India
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Paragliding is listed on SportSupport in the adventure category. Its recorded origin is 1980s. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list Aero Club of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Paragliding has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through Aero Club of India may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for paragliding athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to paragliding.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given paragliding event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which paragliding events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

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Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for paragliding yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

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Rules

Competitive paragliding is mostly cross-country racing: pilots launch from a hill or ridge, then fly a task defined by GPS turnpoints and a goal, using thermals and ridge lift to stay airborne. Scoring under FAI/PWCA rules rewards distance flown along the task and speed to goal, with leading points for pilots out front; tracklogs are verified from each pilot's GPS instrument. Airspace limits, start gates, stop-task rules for deteriorating weather, and mandatory safety kit are strictly enforced, and infringing restricted airspace or launching outside the window brings penalties. Accuracy (spot-landing) and hike-and-fly formats use their own scoring, and all pilots must hold the certification level required by the organizers.

Authoritative rulebook: Aero Club of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across adventure sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced paragliding squad list.

Lead / boulder / speed (climbing)
The three Olympic sport-climbing disciplines with different scoring.
Pilot & tandem pilot (air disciplines)
Competitive and instructional pilot roles.
Expedition & alpine roles
Lead climber, guide, high-altitude porter and base-camp manager.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in paragliding at a federation-recognised event.

Certified paraglider wing (EN/LTF rated; competition classes use higher-performance wings)
Harness with integrated back protection and reserve parachute
Helmet, gloves, boots and windproof flying suit
GPS flight instrument/vario for task tracking, plus radio
Variometer, altimeter and airspeed data; tandem pilots need a certified tandem wing and passenger harness

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Aero Club of India

Aero Club of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Paragliding, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement of current recognition — recognition is granted year by year.

Origin: 1980s
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Adventure

All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in paragliding.

Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh
Known as 'the Paragliding Capital of India,' Bir Billing has hosted paragliding competitions since local farmers first allowed pilots to use the site in 1993. The event has been organized at various times by the private Billing Paragliding Association and, after a 2017 change, by the state Tourism Department and Special Area Development Authority.
Zorinmawia Inter-services Paragliding X-Country Championship
The Indian Army organized its first-ever paragliding championship in 2024, named after Sep Zorinmawia, an army paragliding pilot who died during training — 25 pilots from the Army and Navy competed.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in paragliding.

FAI Paragliding World Cup
Bir Billing hosted the full World Cup in 2015 (Airports Authority of India as title sponsor, 130 pilots from 40+ countries including several of the world's top 5), and has hosted pre-World Cup and PWCA Asian Tour events in most years since — the full World Cup was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
2024 World Paragliding Competition
Held at Bir Billing, India's Ranjit Singh finished second overall, behind only the USA's Austin Cox and ahead of Poland's Dominik Kapica.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for paragliding. The national championship under Aero Club of India remains the top domestic competition.

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International Players

Globally recognised paragliding athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for paragliding maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in paragliding — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

India's draft National Aerosports Policy (NASP, unveiled 2022) aims to make India one of the world's leading air sports nations by 2030, covering paragliding alongside hang gliding, skydiving, ballooning and other disciplines, and proposes establishing the Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) as an apex body with designated 'control zones' at sites including Bir-Billing, Gangtok, Hadapsar and Vagamon
Playing pathway through P1/P2/P3 certification courses at schools based in Bir Billing
Coaching, tandem-piloting and adventure-tourism operation are genuine full-time careers at India's major paragliding sites, though rapid growth has also raised real safety and regulatory concerns that the sector is still working through

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Related academies

0 listed

No paragliding academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

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FAQs

Common questions about paragliding in India.

Who governs Paragliding in India?▾

We list Aero Club of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Paragliding, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Paragliding an Olympic sport?▾

No, Paragliding is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Paragliding in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Aero Club of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Paragliding athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Paragliding is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Paragliding does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Paragliding in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Paragliding in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.