DGCA’s Audit Framework Means Indian Aviation

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (“DGCA”) has introduced a significant reform to India’s aviation safety oversight framework through General Safety Circular No. 01 of 2025 dated 19 June 2025 (the “Circular”), which establishes the Comprehensive Special Audit (“CSA”). The Circular marks a departure from the traditional inspection-based approach by introducing a more integrated method of assessing aviation organisations.

Historically, regulatory inspections have concentrated on specific operational functions such as flight operations, airworthiness or aerodrome standards. While this approach ensured technical compliance within individual domains, it often failed to capture organisational issues that cut across multiple functions. The CSA seeks to address this gap by enabling the DGCA to assess an organisation’s governance, safety management systems and operational processes as an interconnected whole.