Everything aspiring pilots need to know about the Commercial Pilot License entrance exam

Everyone, especially children, love to fly. Many of them dream of becoming a pilot just because to experience the feeling of flying. However, being a pilot doesn’t only fulfill the fantasy of an imaginative mind, this career path offers lucrative salary and the scope to travel the world.  

There are various commercial pilot training institutes all across the country that offer undergraduate programmes. One of them is Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA). It conducts a national level entrance exam once every year, for aspiring pilots. The entrance test, also known as IGRUA Commercial Pilot License (CPL) exam, examines a candidate’s flying aptitude, his overall orientation, judges his suitability for becoming a professional pilot. This exam is for admission into under graduate aviation programme (B. Sc.) of the institute.  

The next registration for this exam will begin in March 2022. Here is everything aspiring pilots need to know. 

Eligibility criteria 

• Candidates should be Indian nationals with valid identity proofs. 
• Candidates should have successfully passed their class XII board exams with compulsory English, Mathematics and Physics as part of their 10+2 curriculum. 
• Candidates should have secured minimum aggregate of 55% or above for general category and 50% or above for reserved categories.  
• Candidates should be 17 years or above during the time of admission. 

Exam pattern  
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi Commercial Pilot License exam, popularly called IGRUA CPL exam is conducted in three levels, namely: written test, viva or personal interview and finally Pilot Aptitude Test (Psychometric Test).  

The theory section is divided into five categories: English, Physics, Mathematics, General Awareness (current affairs) and Reasoning. It has 100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), 20 for each category. The syllabus follows any 10+2 curriculum.  

Students who qualify the written exam are called for the interview, similarly who excel at the viva are called for the Psychometric test.  

Marking scheme  
IGRUA CPL theory exam consists of 100. Each correct answer is rewarded with 1 mark. There is no negative marking for wrong answers or unattempted questions.  

Mode and duration  
IGRUA CPL exam is conducted online via computer-based mode. Candidates can answer their papers in English only. The duration of the exam is 2 hours.