Air Navigation — DGCA Commercial Pilot Licence Subject

What DGCA publishes about this paper

Checked on 15/09/2026. Every figure below comes from a DGCA document, listed at the end of this block.

A candidate who secures a minimum of 70% marks in the theoretical knowledge examination of a particular subject is declared PASS. The 70% applies to each subject on its own. There is no aggregate, and a strong paper does not carry a weak one. The threshold is set by Civil Aviation Requirement, Section 7, Series 'B', Part I, Rev. 2 dated 13 February 2019, para 5.6, and the five-year window by para 6.7. Clearing papers years before you finish your flying hours is not free. Count backwards from the licence application, not forwards from the first paper.

The published syllabus for this paper

These headings are DGCA’s own, from Civil Aviation Requirement, Section 7, Series 'B', Part VI, Issue III, dated 16 June 2011 — the syllabus for the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (Aeroplanes) examination. This subject also appears in the CPL paper list set out in Schedule II of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, so the ground covered overlaps closely — but the document below is the ATPL syllabus and is labelled as such, because DGCA’s topic-by-topic syllabus for the CPL could not be retrieved from a government server.

The study material DGCA names for this subject

DGCA publishes its own list of study material for the PPL, CPL and ATPL examinations. These are the titles it names for Air Navigation. DGCA advises candidates to refer to the relevant topics as per the prescribed syllabus in the CAR, covered in these reference books, for the category of pilot licence examination they intend to appear for. In other words: recommended reading aligned to the syllabus, not a required or exhaustive list. We do not sell any of these and have no interest in which one you choose.

Named across every subject as well: Aircraft Act 1934 (India), Aircraft Rules 1920, 1937, 1954 and 2003 (India), DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements (DGCA), ICAO Annexes (ICAO), ICAO Docs (ICAO), AIP India.

When you can sit it, and what it costs

Papers are booked on the DGCA Pariksha portal against a computer number, and no medical certificate is needed to sit one. A candidate may apply only once in a particular session. Once the examination form is submitted successfully, no change is entertained and the fee is neither adjusted nor refunded — including where the application is rejected.

DGCA publishes these dates as tentative and subject to change for gazetted holidays, festivals and similar reasons. Confirm against the public notice on the Pariksha portal before planning travel.

The full paper list, the honest note on what DGCA does and does not publish for the CPL, and the complete study material list are on our syllabus and study material page. The computer number that gates all of this is covered on our computer number guide.

Sources for this block

• –CAR Section 7, Series 'B', Part VI, Issue III, 16 June 2011 — syllabus for the ATPL (Aeroplanes) examination (DGCA)
• –List of Study Material for PPL, CPL and ATPL examinations conducted by DGCA (DGCA Pariksha)
• –Civil Aviation Requirement, Section 7, Series 'B', Part I, Rev. 2 dated 13 February 2019 — pass marks and the validity of a passed paper
• –Programme of Examinations 2026 (DGCA Pariksha) — examination fees and the 2026 session dates