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THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF Civil Aviation (DGCA) is a Delhi-based regulatory body, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. Apart from the regulatory functions the DGCA is tasked with, it is also responsible for investigation into accidents and incidents involving aircraft with civil registration. The vision statement of the organisation is “Endeavour to promote safe and efficient air transportation through regulation and proactive safety oversight system”. The issue of replacing the DGCA with a far more empowered and autonomous body designated as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been doing the rounds in official circles for the last five years or so. This new body which has been described as being a ‘Super Regulator’, is proposed to be modelled on the lines of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States. The CAA will be structured to meet standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a body under the United Nations. It will also have an independent accident investigation bureau which is not so under the present dispensation. The powers conferred on the new organisation will significantly redefine the regulator’s role and better equip it to face the challenges of the growing Indian civil aviation sector.

The need for having an experienced professional from the field of aviation to head DGCA has been felt for a long time. But for some reason, most of the individuals who have headed the organisation as the Director General have been from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). In March 2011, an advertisement had been issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation that had laid down a number of mandatory requirements in respect of qualifications and experience that applicants aspiring for the post of DGCA must possess. It stated that the applicant must have a minimum of 12 years of experience in aviation, flying, aircraft engineering or airworthiness in addition to five years of experience in administrative or financial disciplines. The advertisement had stated that officers serving in the IAF holding the rank of Air Marshal were also eligible to apply for the post of Director General of the aviation regulatory body.

The job requirement at the level of the Director General is essentially technical in nature. Kanu Gohain, who had risen from a junior position within the DGCA to reach the top echelons and finally head the organisation, was the last technically qualified and experienced hand to hold the post of the Director General. Since then, the regulatory body has been headed by officers from the IAS cadre. S.N.A. Zaidi, who took over the post from Kanu Gohain, was not technically qualified, but had been India’s representative at the ICAO. His successor was E.K. Bharat Bhushan, also from the IAS cadre. He in turn was succeeded on January 1, 2014, by Prabhat Kumar, a gold medalist in medicine who joined the IAS cadre. He was replaced somewhat prematurely by Ms M. Sathiyavathy, the second lady to hold this post, who assumed charge on January 1, 2015. By this time, the safety rating of Indian civil aviation was downgraded to Category II by the FAA. Fortunately the safety rating of Category I has been restored.

One of the major challenges before the DGCA is proper coordination between the operations undertaken by the IAF and civil aviation. The aviation wings of the Indian armed forces have control over 66 per cent of the airspace over Indian territory and possess more than four times the number of aircraft available with the Indian civil aviation industry. The Indian armed forces not only undertake combat training exercises but operations of transport aircraft that are quite similar to operations by civil registered aircraft. It is also a fact that civil aircraft frequently operate though airspace as also land and take-off from airfields under control of the military. It stands to reason therefore that this disposition necessitates the requirement that the person appointed as the DGCA has wide knowledge, experience and in-depth understanding of air operations, both civil and military. Incidentally, it has been reported that appointment of bureaucrats without the necessary experience in the field of aviation was one of the concerns raised by the ICAO and the FAA when the rating of Indian aviation sector was downgraded to Category II in January 2014 over the issue of safety oversight.

Kanu Gohain, former DGCA, as also other experts have been of the view that a senior serving officer particularly from the flying branch of the IAF will have an edge over others who may have an administrative background, but may not have experience and in-depth knowledge of aviation.