New Delhi, INDIA: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has officially approved a proposal that will allow Class 12 students from Arts and Commerce streams to pursue Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) training in India. The proposal has been forwarded to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and will be notified after final approval from the Ministry of Law.
At present, only students who have completed Class 12 with Physics and Mathematics are eligible for CPL training. With the proposed change, this restriction will be removed, making pilot training accessible to students from all academic streams, subject to fulfilling other existing requirements such as medical fitness and DGCA examinations.
Once the notification is issued, flight training organizations across the country will be able to admit eligible candidates from Arts and Commerce backgrounds. Students will still be required to pass DGCA Class 2 and Class 1 medical assessments, complete the required theoretical training, and clear DGCA examinations before progressing to flight training.
This change is expected to widen the pool of potential candidates entering pilot training and help meet the increasing demand for commercial pilots in the Indian aviation sector. Training institutes are reportedly preparing to introduce foundational courses to support non-science students in understanding aviation-related subjects.
In a separate directive, the DGCA has mandated all flying training organizations (FTOs) in India to maintain transparent and regularly updated websites. FTOs must now clearly display the number of aircraft available for training, number of instructors, simulator availability, training capacity, batch timelines, and course completion rates. This measure aims to help aspiring pilots and their families make informed decisions while selecting a flying school.
The Ministry is expected to issue the final notification soon. Once implemented, students from any stream — Science, Commerce, or Arts will be eligible to apply for commercial pilot training in India, marking a significant shift in pilot training regulations after nearly three decades.
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