DGCA CPL Technical General

It is the technical ground examination within the DGCA CPL written series, covering aircraft structures, systems, engines, instruments, electrical and electronics, and maintenance practices. It is normally taken alongside the other CPL ground papers and must be cleared, together with flying training and medical requirements, before a Commercial Pilot Licence is issued through DGCA's eGCA platform.

Five technical areas: airframes, structures and aircraft systems; engines and propellers; instruments; aircraft electrical and electronics systems; and materials, hardware and maintenance practices. Expect integrated questions rather than isolated definitions - for example an electrical fault producing a misleading instrument reading, or a system defect traced to hardware selection or a maintenance practice.

The DGCA homepage (last updated 31 October 2026) does not publish the question count, duration, passing score, fee or retake rules for this paper. Those details belong to the DGCA examination portal, which also posts the tentative schedule and results. Treat any figure quoted on a forum or coaching site as unverified until you see it there.

It is understood to be a computer-based multiple-choice examination, but confirm the current delivery mode when you book, since DGCA runs examinations through its examination portal and the Central Examination Organisation and formats can change between sessions. Anything you read elsewhere about paper-based sittings or negative marking should be checked against the portal before you rely on it.

Most candidates find it broader rather than deeper: nothing is mathematically hard, but the syllabus is wide and heavily systems-oriented. The usual difficulty is volume plus integration - remembering what a component does and predicting the downstream effect of its failure. Candidates with genuine systems understanding tend to pass comfortably; pure rote learners tend to struggle on applied questions.

Start with airframes, structures and aircraft systems to build the airframe map, then engines and propellers, then electrical and electronics, then instruments - instruments sit naturally on top of electrical knowledge. Leave materials, hardware and maintenance practices until later; it is memory-heavy and decays fastest, so revise it closest to the examination date.

Learning component names without understanding function, so applied questions about failure effects defeat the candidate. Other frequent causes: treating electrical and instrument systems as unrelated, weak handling of units and ranges, skipping maintenance practices as 'easy marks', and never practising under time pressure. Doing worked reasoning on system diagrams fixes more of this than re-reading notes.

DGCA publishes the tentative examination schedule and results through its examination portal, and licence-related services run through eGCA. The DGCA homepage also lists an eGCA support number, 1800-11-3422, for eGCA-related assistance. Always confirm examination logistics on the official DGCA sources rather than third-party sites before committing to dates or payments.

DGCA's homepage carries a notice that registration of Non-Type Certified (non-TC) UAS has been temporarily suspended until further notice. That notice concerns drone registration and does not affect the CPL Technical General examination. Check the homepage and examination portal periodically so you are not caught out by unrelated notices that look applicable at first glance.