DGCA to launch Digital Aviation Incident Reporting System on eGCA portal; govt reiterates market-based airfare policy

DGCA digital incident reporting system

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is developing a digital platform for aviation incident reporting that will allow electronic submission and processing of mandatory occurrence reports, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The move is aimed at improving both the speed and efficiency of the country's safety reporting system.

What the digital platform will do

Speaking in a written reply, Naidu said the DGCA is in the process of introducing the occurrence reporting system on its eGCA portal, which stands for e-Governance of Civil Aviation. The platform will enable electronic submission and processing of mandatory occurrence reports, replacing what is currently a more manual process. The minister said the change is expected to improve the timeliness and efficiency of incident reporting across the aviation sector.

Naidu also outlined DGCA's existing safety oversight framework, noting that it covers all aircraft and airport operators through a mechanism that includes regulatory audits, night surveillance, ramp inspections, spot checks and special audits. The digital reporting platform will sit alongside these oversight functions as part of a broader effort to strengthen the country's civil aviation safety architecture.

Government's position on airfare regulation

In a separate written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol addressed questions on airline ticket pricing, defending the government's general policy of not regulating airfares while outlining the conditions under which it would intervene.

Mohol said airfare pricing is governed by dynamic market forces, with determinants including current seat occupancy, fuel costs, aircraft capacity, seasonal fluctuations and other operational factors. "The government generally refrains from regulating airfares to maintain market competitiveness," he said, but added that it retains an oversight role and is prepared to intervene in exceptional circumstances.

Past interventions cited by the minister include the redistribution of capacity across sectors and the imposition of temporary fare caps during the Covid pandemic, the Maha Kumbh festival, the Pahalgam incident and the IndiGo flight disruptions. The framing suggests the government views fare regulation as an emergency tool rather than a routine instrument of aviation policy.

The two replies together reflect the government's dual approach to the aviation sector: strengthening systemic safety infrastructure through technology while leaving commercial pricing to market dynamics except in cases of genuine disruption or crisis.

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