TravTalk India Online Magazine
eGCA, an online portal aimed at automation of the processes and functions of DGCA, has been implemented in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India. The platform will provide a strong basis for IT infrastructure and service delivery frameworks.
Janice Alyosius
The DGCA has implemented its e-governance platform, eGCA, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for Digital India. The project has been implemented with TCS as the service provider and PWC as the project management consultant. The platform, which is aimed at automating DGCA operations and tasks, will serve as a solid foundation for IT infrastructure and service delivery frameworks. It will also give an end-to-end solution, which will include a variety of software applications, as well as communication with all regional offices.
In 2019, TCS was selected as the service provider and 30 million pages were digitized. Various challenges in setting up the logistics were faced by DGCA and, despite the challenges, in 2021 the DCGA project was completed and eGCA was launched. The launch of eGCA will ease the way of doing business in India and give focus to working on the e-governance model. It will make sure the regulatory processes are much more efficient and much more customer-driven as now propounded in the eGCA initiative. “India is at the cusp of a major change in the world. In times of adversity, one must look for opportunity.
One must look for challenges and problems that can be solved,” Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister, Civil Aviation said. About 298 services have been moved to the e-GCA platform, 99 in the first two phases and 198 in the next two phases. The first 99 cover almost 70 per cent of what the DGCA does, including pilot licensing, medical examinations, flying training, and connecting regional offices to the headquarters. The balance two phase will cater to the balance 30 per cent services.
The launch was attended by Secretary of Civil Aviation Rajiv Bansal, Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar, and other prominent civil aviation figures. The Union Minister of Civil Aviation also launched a case study titled “DGCA Takes Off on a Digital Flight,” which details the DGCA’s journey through the eGCA’s deployment. This case study includes the difficulties the DGCA experienced and the strategies they took to address them using the eGCA platform.
Pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers, air operators, airport operators, flying instruction organisations, maintenance and design organisations, and other stakeholders can access eGCA online services. Applicants can apply for a various services and upload their documentation. DGCA officials, will process the applications, and approvals and licences will be issued online. Pilots and aviation maintenance professionals may now access their profiles and update their data on the go, thanks to the new mobile app.
The eGCA initiative is a milestone in the digital transformation journey of DGCA and would enrich the experience of its stakeholders. It is a step in the direction of ‘ease of doing business’. This change would value add to the safety regulatory framework of DGCA.
