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NEW DELHI: Facing a severe manpower crunch that causes delays in approvals, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun creating a “pool” of its retired technical officers “to provide advisory support in certification process”. Subject to an age limit of 70 years, a person will be applicable to apply for this position a year after “cooling off” post retirement. No remuneration will be paid to those selected for these advisory roles.“DGCA follows a five phase certificate process for various services offered by its different directorates. It has often been observed that applicants and entities face difficulties navigating the entire process, leading to delays and compliance challenges. To address this, the organisation proposes creating a pool of its retired officers who possess extensive institutional knowledge and hands-on experience,” the regulator says.“These officers may be engaged by entities in an advisory capacity to provide guidance, facilitate smoother navigation of the certification process, and ensure timely and efficient completion of all required phases. These retired technical officers shall provide advisory support in certification processes such as flying school licensing, aircraft maintenance organisation, Continuing airworthiness management organisation and other regulatory functions. The advisors shall uphold transparency, technical accuracy, and alignment with ICAO standards, without influencing DGCA’s decision-making,” it adds.The applicants “must have retired from DGCA, or concluded a short-term contractual engagement with DGCA, at the level of deputy director, flight operations inspector, or above. Minimum of five years of service in DGCA’s technical cadre (airworthiness, flight operations, aerodromes, etc.).”