DGCA to conduct radio communication exam for pilots from November

The exam for testing the radio communication skills of aspirants to the aviation sector will be administered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) starting November, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
In the past, the examination has been plagued by malpractices and arbitrariness, forcing many to either pay hefty bribes or take the exam overseas.
The conducting of the exam — taken by pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and flight dispatchers for procuring a licence for Radio Telephony Restricted (Aeronautical) — will shift from the Wireless Planning and Coordination Cell (WPC) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) from November so that all the tests come under the administrative control of the DGCA.
'The move will ensure a single-window clearance for pilot aspirants and other personnel as well as streamline the exam taking process,' a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The exam has long been dreaded by the pilot community because of rampant corruption including alleged bribery as well as swapping of answer papers. This was partly fuelled by inconsistencies such as a lack of published syllabus, and trained personnel for conducting the exam.
One aspiring pilot recounted paying ₹2 lakh as a bribe, while another said he flew to Canada to appear for the RTR exam during the pandemic as it sees a large number of rejections in India. The cost of flight tickets was less than the bribe he may have had to pay, he said.
'The conduct of the exam is designed to foster opacity,' another pilot candidate said.
The Civil Aviation Ministry official agreed with these allegations and said there were complaints about candidates being asked questions unrelated to aviation or radio communication, such as what was the working principle of a tubelight. The Ministry has now appointed a committee to prescribe a syllabus for the RTR exam, like all other papers.
The DGCA will administer the written part of the exam at five centres across India: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai. The practical part will only be conducted in Delhi. 'As we build our infrastructure we plan to take it to other cities too,' the Ministry official said. Initially, it will be conducted once in three months, with the frequency later increased to once every two months.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Law have completed two rounds of consultation on rules governing the conduct of the exam. They are expected to be notified within a week. The rules will deal with the examination process, its fee structure, grievance redressal mechanism, as well have provisions of debarring a candidate in case of wrongdoing.
The decision to transfer the conduct of the exam follows the passage of the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam Bill 2024 in December that confers the power on the Central government to make rules 'for the issuance of Radio Telephone Operator (Restricted) Certificate and Licence to persons engaged in the operation and maintenance of aircraft, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the International Telecommunication Convention.'
'The DGCA must ensure that the transfer of the exam doesn't merely result in a shift from one corrupt control centre to another. It must follow the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Annexe 1 Standards and Recommendation for licensing of personnel as India is the only country that makes life miserable for aviation personnel by conducting multiple exams. There is an opportunity for India to ensure our pilots remain within the country and all experienced pilots overseas come back by simplifying processes and removing corruption,' said Mohan Ranganathan, a former examiner on Boeing 737s.

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