The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is a statutory body of the Government of India to regulate civil aviation in India. It became a statutory body under the Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020. The DGCA investigates aviation accidents and incidents, maintains all regulations related to aviation and is responsible for issuance of licenses pertaining to aviation like PPL's, SPL's and CPL's in India. It is headquartered along Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite Safdarjung Airport, in New Delhi. The Government of India is planning to replace the organisation with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), modelled on the lines of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Vision

Endeavour to promote safe and efficient Air Transportation through regulation and proactive safety oversight system.

Functions

Departments

These are classified and divided into the following:

Regional offices

DGCA has fourteen Regional Airworthiness Offices (RAO) at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Kanpur, Guwahati and Patiala. It has also five Regional Air Safety offices located at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. It has a Regional Research and Development Office located at Bangalore and a Gliding Centre at Pune.

Civil Aviation Authority

The CAA has been envisaged as an autonomous regulatory body which will replace the DGCA and will meet standards set by the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The CAA will have separate departments to deal with safety, economic regulation and grievance resolution, as well as a full-fledged environment department. It will also have an independent accident investigation bureau. The Authority will also have the autonomy to recruit staff. Currently, the DGCA is understaffed and does not have any recruitment powers. The CAA will have administrative and financial powers similar to those of the American FAA. These powers will redefine the regulator's role and better equip it to face the challenges of the growing Aviation sector in the country. Employees working with DGCA will be transferred to the CAA. The estimated cost of establishing the new Authority would be around Rs 11.2 million. The CAA would be self-financing and have a separate fund called the 'Civil Aviation Authority of India Fund' that would finance its entire expenses. It would have a Chairperson, a Director General and 7-9 members appointed by the Central Government. These members will be qualified in the fields of aviation safety, aircraft engineering, flight standard operations, aerodromes, air navigation systems and air space management.

Air accident investigation

Previously the DGCA conducted investigations and gave information to the investigations established by the Court of Inquiry and the Committee Inquiry. A separate investigative agency was established to comply with the Standards And Recommended Practices (SARPs) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Therefore, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was established in 2011.

Aviation security

In January 1978, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) was established as a department of the DGCA. As a result of the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, on 1 April 1987 the BCAS became an independent agency of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Aircraft projects

FOI resignation

13 Flight Operations Inspectors working with the DGCA have tendered their resignation in a week of May 2015 in protest against the aviation regulator's decision to post them away from their homes Delhi to Mumbai and Chennai.