SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure | SDG 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Institutions: Ministry of Civil Aviation | Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has introduced a major digital reform in its Pariksha portal—the online system used for pilot and aircraft maintenance engineer examinations and licensing. Starting 16 October 2025, the portal now auto-generates Computer Numbers for Flight Crew (FC) candidates once their educational credentials are verified directly through DigiLocker.
A Computer Number is the unique ID required by every trainee pilot or maintenance engineer to register for DGCA examinations and licensing. Earlier, this number was issued manually after physical verification of 10th and 12th mark-sheets. The new system eliminates that step: if a candidate’s certificates (currently CBSE-issued) are available in DigiLocker, the portal instantly verifies them and allocates the number.
In Phase I, the facility covers CBSE board students; later phases will extend to other boards integrated with DigiLocker. The reform, rolled out under the eGCA modernisation project, is part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s broader digitisation drive led by Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu, aimed at improving transparency, speed, and user convenience in regulatory workflows.
By embedding real-time verification into the licensing process, DGCA reduces administrative friction, shortens turnaround time for pilot certification, and strengthens the digital backbone of India’s aviation ecosystem—an essential step for a rapidly expanding civil aviation market.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
What further integrations, medical fitness, training logs, flight simulator data, can be linked to the Pariksha portal to build a fully paperless, end-to-end licensing pipeline?
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DGCA Automates Pilot Licensing Workflow Through DigiLocker Integration