Pilots’ Body Urges PM Narendra Modi To Replace DGCA With An Autonomous Civil Aviation Authority

Mumbai: The Indian pilots’ body has urged the union government to replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with an autonomous statutory body – the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of India. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has written to prime minister Narendra Modi for the replacement to push structural reforms in India's fast-expanding aviation sector.

FIP Cites Need For Independent Safety Regulator

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In a letter dated August 6, the pilots' representative body highlighted that the DGCA’s current status as an attached office under the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) severely restricts its administrative flexibility, financial powers and ability to recruit technical specialists. The FIP asserted that international aviation conventions require India to possess an independent, financially self-sustaining safety regulator with greater statutory authority.

Copies of the representation have also been marked to the union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu, civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, cabinet secretary Dr. T. V. Somanathan and the principal secretary to the PM.

CAA Proposal Remained Pending For Over A Decade

The demand to establish a CAA is not new. The FIP letter pointed out that the initiative originated following deficiencies flagged during the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) ‘Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme’ (USOAP) in October 2006. At India's request, ICAO conducted a feasibility study between 2009 and 2010 regarding the creation of an autonomous regulator.

The proposal gained significant traction in the subsequent years as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) endorsed setting up a CAA in July 2010 in line with ICAO policy during its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) review. Between 2011 and 2013, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publicly backed an autonomous regulatory framework for India.

DGCA Faces Challenges Amid Aviation Expansion

In August 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority of India Bill, 2013, was introduced in the Lok Sabha and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture recommended the bill's passage while suggesting governance refinements in January 2014. However, the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in May 2014 caused the Bill to lapse and the legislation has remained in limbo for over a decade.

The pilots' union underscored that while the DGCA structure – established under the Aircraft Act of 1934 – served a smaller industry adequately, it struggles to cope with modern aviation realities. Major limitations cited in the representation include a lack of institutional independence as routine administrative, financial and operational decisions require lengthy ministry approvals. Moreover, fixed government pay scales make it difficult to recruit and retain experienced personnel while the scale and complexity of regulatory oversight have outstripped the DGCA's internal capacity.

The representation highlighted a striking contrast between India and its regional neighbours, noting that India remains one of the few major aviation markets where the principal safety regulator is still a government department rather than a statutory authority. It highlighted that aviation regulators in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan also have an independent CAA.

Highlighting that the DGCA has to be dependent on annual government budgetary allocations as the fees collected for licensing, aircraft registration and operator certifications are deposited into the Consolidated Funds of India, the FIP suggested that establishment of a dedicated CAA can make the body a self-financing entity. According to the pilots’ association, the autonomous body could directly retain user fees, enabling continuous investment in technology, safety surveillance and market-competitive salaries.

According to the letter, written by FIP president Capt CS Randhawa, the justification relies on the explosive growth of India's civil aviation market over the past decade, which has seen an increase in total passengers from 131 million in 2015 to over 239 million in 2025-26 while commercial fleet size expanded to over 850 aircraft and operational airstrips have grown to over 160. Moreover, there is also a rapid addition of over 35,000 registered drones, more than 100 remote pilot training organisations and new MRO facilities.

According to FIP estimates, while current DGCA fee collections yield approximately Rs 120 to Rs 150 crore annually, a full cost-recovery fee structure under a CAA could generate Rs 500 to Rs 700 crore annually, virtually eliminating the need for government grants after the initial transition.

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The FIP also argued that the transition to a CAA would deliver crucial operational benefits for frontline aviation personnel with enhanced enforcement and monitoring of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) and fatigue risk management as well as accelerated processing of pilot licensing, ratings and medical certifications. It also claimed that it will help with transparent grievance redressal mechanisms and improved oversight of approved training organisations and provide higher frequency and depth of safety audits for airlines, airports and air navigation service providers.

The proposed structure for the CAA includes a Chairperson, a Chief Executive Officer (Director General) and nine domain experts covering flight safety, airworthiness, air navigation, consumer affairs, environment, finance, HR and aviation management. Appointments would feature fixed tenures rather than routine administrative transfers.

The FIP urged the Prime Minister to treat the restructuring not merely as an administrative shift, but as a crucial strategic investment to guarantee long-term safety, consumer protection and global competitiveness as India cements its position as the world's third-largest domestic aviation market.

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