The Kerala government will pay the training costs of 20-year-old Adam Harry to help him become the country’s first transgender airline pilot.

The social justice department has sanctioned Rs 23.34 lakh to help Harry pursue a three-year course at the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology in Thiruvananthapuram and secure a commercial pilot’s licence. CNBCTV18.com has reviewed a copy of the government order that approved the money.

Harry, who holds a private pilot licence, had applied for government funding, saying he was unable to pursue higher training because his family expelled him from their home after coming to know of his transgender identity.

Adam Harry

A commercial licence is required to become an airline pilot. An applicant for such a licence must produce evidence of having not less than two hundred hours of flight time, according to aviation regulator DGCA’s rules.

Harry told CNBCTV18.com that he had no hope of getting the funding to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot after the several obstacles he faced from family and friends. “I am grateful to the Kerala government for this help.”

Harry, a resident of Kerala’s Thrissur district, is recognised as the country’s first transgender to secure a private pilot licence. He underwent training in Johannesburg and received that licence in 2017.