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INDIA's government has pulled up the country's aviation safety regulator over its handling of conflict-of-interest cases involving officials whose relatives work in the aviation sector, according to government documents reviewed by Reuters.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has repeatedly questioned the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) since mid-2025 over whether it had properly managed cases involving officials' family members working at airlines, including one involving Air India, the documents showed.
The scrutiny comes as the DGCA oversees one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets while dealing with staff shortages after a year that included the Air India Dreamliner crash, safety lapses at the airline and disruption at the country's largest carrier, IndiGo.
The regulator is also facing a federal police investigation after one of its officers was accused of taking a bribe. It is also due to undergo a routine US Federal Aviation Administration safety audit within months.
A January DGCA document reviewed by Reuters summarised the ministry's concerns over the regulator's handling of conflict-of-interest cases.
"(The) DGCA has not been able to effectively prevent or manage the possible influence exercised by its officials in the recruitment or placement of their relatives, family members, or dependents," it said.
The documents did not indicate whether the ministry planned any further action.
As of January 31 this year, 51 DGCA officials had disclosed 59 relatives working in the aviation sector, up from 33 officials disclosing 41 relatives a year earlier, one of the documents showed.
Those relatives were employed by companies including IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air, Airbus India, as well as some flying schools and airport operators.
The ministry, the DGCA and the companies employing the relatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Indian rules bar federal employees from using their position or influence to help family members secure jobs and require disclosures and approvals. Conflict-of-interest concerns have surfaced before across India's public sector, including at the DGCA, where four officers were censured in 2013.
The civil aviation ministry remains concerned there is "potential for regulatory influence" because DGCA officers could fail to disclose relatives' employment at airlines they regulate and soften regulatory scrutiny, a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, cited one case in which a DGCA official was found to have around 12 relatives employed in the aviation sector, but the ministry became aware of it only after the officer retired.
Then-DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai last year sought greater powers over several administrative matters, including authority to deal with potential conflict-of-interest cases internally. In a July 2025 letter, he argued that the ministry's approval process caused "administrative delays" and that decision-making should be streamlined.
The ministry rejected the request, saying the DGCA's "continued expression of inability to fix responsibility for delays or lack of approval has been alarming," the January document said.
Kidwai, who is now posted to India's Department of Personnel & Training, did not respond to a request for comment.
A DGCA assistant director of engineering was questioned last year over a possible conflict of interest after his sister joined Air India's quality department while he was involved in granting regulatory approvals affecting the airline, the documents showed.
The DGCA told the ministry that his sister was an independent widow and that the rule requiring prior approval applied only to dependents such as sons and daughters. It also said he would no longer deal with Air India matters as a precaution.
"Sister comes under the purview of family," the aviation ministry said in an August 2025 document, rejecting the DGCA's proposal to approve the case.
"Influence/involvement of officer can't be ruled out ... There remains ambiguity about the transparency and legitimacy of the appointment process."
US ethics rules generally require officials to recuse themselves from matters where family relationships could reasonably raise questions about their impartiality. Europe's aviation regulator also requires declarations of interest and may restrict staff duties to manage conflicts.
Harsh Vardhan Pratap Singh, president of the Association of Flying Training Organisations, said the DGCA should publish a list of officers whose relatives work in the aviation sector it regulates.
"The fundamental methods to ensure the ultimate goal of safety are transparency in declarations by officers," he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
