In the wake of the recent pilot licence scam that shook the Indian civil aviation sector, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to launch the first ever online examination system for issue of pilot and aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) licences named “Vimanic”. The venture has been launched with the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The candidate appearing for the exam will have to login his “password” and “PIN” number on the screen. After the log in, the candidate will have to confirm his name, computer number, question paper reference code and subject. “Take a few deep breaths and select ‘start exam’,” the DGCA has stated.
The exam will comprise multiple choice questions.
“There is a facility to raise objections when the candidate finds any incorrect portion either in the question or its multiple choices in answer. However, the candidate can still choose to answer the most appropriate choice by clicking in the answer place. The candidate may ask for an “objection slip” from the Controller of Examination, fill in the required information and submit the same to the Controller of Examination on completion of exam,” the DGCA has stated.
“If you face any problem with your terminal, don’t panic. Just inform the invigilator and you will be given another terminal. The time lost on account of this will not be counted,” the DGCA has assured candidates.
The DGCA decided to launch online exams after the recent pilot scam when pilots were found to have obtained their licences by allegedly submitting forged marksheets to the DGCA. The genuine marksheets were obtained from one wing of the DGCA and then allegedly forged with the help of suspected touts before submitting it to another wing of the DGCA. The DGCA is now unifying its databases to ensure such a thing cannot occur again. The DGCA then decided that the online exam system would be an effective tool to fight corruption.