IAF officers likely to head HAL, DGCA

We may soon see serving Indian Air Force (IAF) officers heading the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to improve coordination and working efficiency between the IAF and these agencies for better military aviation products in future.

The IAF has suggested Assistant Chief of Air Staff (operations & space), Air Vice Marshal M Matheswaran, to head HAL. HAL has critical upcoming projects — the Light Combat Aircraft, Light Combat Helicopter, Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft and Multi-Role Transport Aircraft. The Intermediate Jet Trainer is in the prototype stage. It is learnt that the IAF wants one of its men to head HAL to ensure the above projects are completed in time to maintain air superiority.

The present DGCA head, Bharat Bushan, and his predecessor, Naseem Zaidi, currently the civil aviation secretary, are both IAS  officers.

Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (retd) FH Major, said the DGCA should be headed by aviation professionals and the examiners should have considerable flying experience. “What you have now is a bureaucrat who is in charge of agriculture today; tomorrow he is asked to head aviation; and then the railways. This should change,” he said. The civil aviation ministry in its advertisement for the post of DGCA head has said that IAF officers of the rank of Air Marshal are eligible to apply as the
body’s head.

The IAF has proposed Air Vice Marshal Matheswaran to head HAL as present chairman and MD Ashok Nayak retires on October 31.