The DGCA is under pressure to simplify the licence exams
MUMBAI: Dhruv Malkani, 24, a co-pilot with Indian Airlines, has been flying professionally for four years. He has a headstart over contemporaries who have been on the job for just a year, “because they chose to go to a flying school in India,” says Malkani, who attended the Aer Mistral Flying School in Dallas, Texas.
He is among the many aspiring pilots who travel overseas for flying qualifications. “In India, a flying course can take around 3 years, but in the UK, it takes 6 to 7 months. Also, the mode of training is better there,” says Ankosh Wadia, 25, student at the Bedfordshire School of Flying.
With the aviation boom underway, and an estimated shortage of 450 pilots, many feel the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) must facilitate an easier licensing process. The DGCA, however, insists that students must have maths and physics as subjects in Class 12; 200 hours of flying, including 25 hours of multi-engine flying; and strong theoretical knowledge of aircraft, aviation, and aerodynamics.
“The DGCA is not interested in helping students pass. But the situation is such that they must simplify the exam so that more students can pass,” says Captain Shafique Khan, an Air India pilot, who conducts a course for aspiring pilots.
The DGCA, however, says it is aware of the changing needs and is planning to phase out certain portions of the syllabus. “The profiles of commercial pilots are changing, and so is the business of aviation and the technology of aircraft: we are trying to update study material accordingly. But this won’t happen overnight. About the DGCA exams being the toughest to clear, well, that’s because we maintain quality.
The complaint that our course material is irrelevant is untrue and is a criticism levelled by those who haven’t passed the exams. We do maintain very high standards where we expect pilots to have in-depth knowledge about aircraft, flying, and other aspects of aviation,” says Kanu Gohain, Director General of Civil Aviation.
Air India has been recommending several changes to the DGCA - number one being the authority to conduct exams for candidates on behalf the regulatory body. “We have a massive training programme and also conduct refresher courses for other airlines. We can easily conduct the exams too and also help modify the exam papers as we are in tune with the changing technology. This way we can beat the backlog of students waiting to take the DGCA exams, which are conducted only twice or thrice a month,” says Harpreet A De Singh, additional general manager, training, Air India, who points out that Air India sees more overseas-trained candidates than those from India today.
Students feel that the DGCA theory exam is unnecessarily tough. “The DGCA course is more of an engineering course than a pilot training course. It is very technical, and in some cases redundant. I have had to learn about non-directional beacons, but this technology was last used in the 80s, and no aircraft in the world is equipped with it, but the DGCA insists that we must know everything about it. How pointless is that! Why not teach us about new technology and instruments that may enter India in the future?” asks Dhruv Malkani.
“The training in the US is 80:20 for practicals and theory,” says Sushant Verma, a pilot with Jet Airways, who was trained at the Wright Flyers Academy in San Antonio, Texas.
According to Shafique Khan, the DGCA still follows the 1954 Aircraft Act. “We need to throw it out, as most of the ideas in there are outdated. Technology has changed, ground realities have changed, and so has the mindset.”
But not all instructors are convinced that the DGCA must minimise the amount of theory in its courses. “We at Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) follow the syllabus laid down by DGCA. And honestly, there isn’t any harm in doing so. Most students these days want to take the easy way out. But the truth is, as a pilot, one needs to have a sound theoretical knowledge as it is essential in times of emergency for effective analysis,” says Wing Commander (Rtd), Sudesh Kumar, chief ground instructor, IGRUA. However, he doesn’t rule out the need to upgrade technology, and “get rid of redundant theory”.
Besides the theory-intensive training, learning to fly an aircraft in India faces other hurdles: not enough simulators; insufficient free airspace for practice flights; inadequate ground handling infrastructure; and vast amounts of paperwork. “Every time you want to fly, you have to fill out a whole set of forms. Plus there are restrictions on time and space,” says Sushant Verma. “The Instrument Landing System (ILS), which helps a pilot in his landing approach, and is used everywhere in the world, is not available at Mumbai flying schools,” adds Dhruv Malkani.
Despite the demand, the DGCA hasn’t yet approved the 37 flying institutes that have been sanctioned by the government, and many of those approved are non-functional. The only flying institute that has Indians clamouring for a seat is IGRUA, in Uttar Pradesh. Instituted in 1985, the institute is a clear indicator of India’s aviation needs. With only 45 seats to offer, IGRUA receives an average of 1000 applications every year from India and overseas, and it is also expected to keep a few seats reserved for military and paramilitary forces.
“In the last five years, we have seen a 100 per cent rise in the number of students approaching us. Looking at the demand, we are planning to increase the number of seats to 100 by next year,” says Wing Commander (Rtd), Sudesh Kumar. The demand means the entry process is rigorous: one must pass an all-India entrance exam; a pilot aptitude test; and an interview with senior pilots.
So it appears that not only does training need to be made more relevant, but more training facilities are also urgently required to meet India’s growing aviation needs it is time the DGCA changes its focus, to not only facilitate pilot training, but make that training relevant to the modern age.
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