Pilots' union urges PM Modi to replace DGCA with autonomous Civil Aviation Authority

The FIP said major decisions, procurement and recruitment of technical staff remain subject to civil service rules and government pay structures. Representational Pic/iStock/File

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with an autonomous statutory body to oversee India's rapidly expanding aviation sector.

In a detailed proposal submitted to the Prime Minister, FIP president Captain C.S. Randhawa called for the creation of a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), arguing that India's aviation safety regulator needs greater administrative and financial independence.

According to the pilots' body, the DGCA was established in 1946 as an attached office under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and continues to operate within government administrative and financial procedures.

The FIP said major decisions, procurement and recruitment of technical staff remain subject to civil service rules and government pay structures.

The union argued that these restrictions have contributed to shortages of specialised personnel, including experienced airline pilots, flight operations inspectors, airworthiness engineers and experts in fatigue risk management.

The proposal said India's commercial aviation fleet and passenger traffic have grown significantly over the past decade, but regulatory capacity has not expanded at the same pace.

India lags behind regional peers: FIP

The FIP also compared India's regulatory structure with those of other South Asian countries.

The pilots' body pointed out that Pakistan established an autonomous Civil Aviation Authority in 1982, while Bangladesh created a statutory aviation authority in 1985.

Nepal and Sri Lanka established independent aviation authorities in 1998 and 2002 respectively, while the Maldives and Bhutan also operate under autonomous regulatory frameworks, according to the proposal.

The FIP said India remains an outlier despite handling substantially higher passenger volumes and a complex aviation network.

Proposed authority to be financially self-sustaining

Under the FIP's proposal, the proposed Civil Aviation Authority would have its own dedicated fund and would retain and reinvest regulatory fees generated from activities such as licensing, certification and drone registrations.

The proposal also includes revenue from air navigation-related charges.

The FIP estimates that the proposed authority could generate between Rs 500 crore and Rs 700 crore annually, allowing it to operate without depending on annual allocations from the central budget.

The pilots' body said an autonomous regulator would help improve the efficiency of regulatory processes and strengthen aviation safety oversight.

For pilots and other crew members, the FIP said the proposed system could result in faster licence processing and more transparent medical evaluations.

It also called for stricter enforcement of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) and Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS), which are intended to address fatigue-related safety risks among aviation personnel.

Proposal follows earlier legislative efforts

The FIP said its proposal builds on efforts to establish an independent civil aviation regulatory structure, including a parliamentary Bill introduced in 2013 that subsequently lapsed.

The proposal has also been sent to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Civil Aviation Secretary S.K. Sinha and Cabinet Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan for consideration.

The pilots' body has urged the government to examine the proposal as India continues to expand its commercial aviation sector.