India’s aviation security regulator is demanding larger autonomy from authorities recruitment processes, citing inside projections that present solely 294 new appointments are potential within the subsequent six months on account of bureaucratic delays, at a time when the sector faces mounting security issues.
The Directorate Common of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has advised the federal government that even after these additions, it’s going to function with solely 847 officers in opposition to 1,063 sanctioned posts, utilizing this projection as proof that conventional recruitment strategies are failing to maintain tempo with the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
Inside paperwork accessed by HT present the DGCA has proposed sweeping reforms together with the power to rent instantly from premier technical institutes like IITs and NITs for as much as 5 years, autonomy in technical recruitment, and sustaining a pool of retired aviation officers as consultants.
“The DGCA flagged that it takes multiple yr to be recruited by the UPSC. The scarcity results in restricted availability of eligible officers on deputation posts for the sector,” a ministry official mentioned, describing how the regulator is leveraging recruitment failures to argue for independence from the Union Public Service Fee’s hiring processes.
The demand comes as India’s aviation sector handles 376 million passengers yearly whereas working with important regulatory gaps. As of July 1, 2025, the DGCA had 553 posts stuffed, leaving 48% of technical positions vacant, with projections exhibiting 216 positions will stay unfilled even after the anticipated recruitment.
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Of the entire sanctioned power, 961 Group A technical officer posts are to be stuffed via UPSC and 102 Flight Operations Inspector posts on contract.
Citing these numbers, the regulator has argued for “administrative autonomy in creation or switch of posts, recruitment from open market, and monetary powers for fixation of remuneration charge for consultants” in current conferences with authorities officers, in keeping with a second particular person conscious of the matter.
The DGCA additionally cited “restricted purposeful and monetary autonomy for DGCA as an connected workplace” as a significant obstruction, in keeping with the particular person cited above
The regulator’s recruitment information underscores its case: solely three officers have been added in 2023, 72 in 2024, and 13 to this point this yr – a glacial tempo that the regulator says justifies breaking free from standard authorities hiring constraints.
The autonomy proposal consists of specialised home and international coaching for officers, contractual hiring flexibility, particular allowances to draw expert manpower, and powers to create and switch posts – reforms the DGCA says are important given present systemic limitations.
The regulator has particularly highlighted the absence of monetary incentives for officers on deputation and no particular allowances to draw expert manpower, elements that compound recruitment challenges in a sector the place technical experience instructions premium non-public sector salaries.
The problem of employees scarcity was first reported by HT on July 20, after which the matter was taken up in parliament. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu has acknowledged the problem whereas defending present efforts: “We recruited for 103 posts which was the best quantity within the historical past of DGCA. This yr we plan to recruit 190. By the top of October, we’re going to recruit 190 posts for DGCA,” he mentioned on the time
Some quick reduction is predicted with 54 officers set to affix, together with 43 Airworthiness Officers, the second officer cited above mentioned. A proposal to recruit 190 individuals instantly via UPSC has been accepted, with becoming a member of anticipated by October.
Officers mentioned the regulator has offered these staffing projections to the parliamentary Standing Committee, utilizing the information to emphasize that present recruitment programs are hampering its skill to conduct airline operations oversight, plane certification, and security audits.
“The DGCA urged for full freedom to rent its personal technical employees,” the official concluded, because the regulator leverages the recruitment disaster to push for broader operational independence.
The staffing scarcity impacts oversight of airports, with every of the 553 present officers successfully answerable for monitoring 680,000 passengers – a workload disparity the DGCA argues demonstrates the pressing want for hiring autonomy.
