Aryan · Founder, Ready Aviator · 5 June 2026

The hidden line items in pilot training: medicals, DGCA fees, ground school, type rating

The flying-school sticker isn't the whole bill. We priced every cross-cutting cost so you can sanity-check any quote, starting with the one that surprises people: the DGCA exam costs ₹2,500.

Pilot training in IndiaThe bill, line by line

Line items

One theory paper₹2,500
Both medicals₹8,000 to ₹25,000
Jet type rating₹10 to 35 lakh
Statutory fees are tinyThe type rating is notGST on top
₹2,500 a paperSix papers come to ₹15,000.
₹8,000 to ₹25,000Both medical certificates, paid once.
₹1.5 to 3.5 lakhGround school coaching, if you take it.
₹10 to 35 lakhThe type rating, separate from the CPL.
Statutory fees

The government barely charges

WhatCost
One DGCA theory paper₹2,500
Six papers₹15,000
Radio licence examA few hundred rupees
Both medical certificates₹8,000 to ₹25,000

Fees as published by DGCA and the medical centres, read September 2026. The exam fees are the only fixed numbers on this road, set by the government, and non-refundable.

On one scale

Where the money actually goes

What each piece of the journey costs, on one scale₹ lakh. The government fees you stress about are the thin bars at the top.
RTR(A) + FRTOL exam fees₹500–5,500
DGCA exams (6 papers @ ₹2,500)₹15,000
Class 1 + Class 2 medicals₹8,000–25,000
Ground-school coaching₹1.5–3.5 lakh
Foreign-licence conversion₹3.5–9 lakh
Jet type rating (A320 / B737)₹10–35 lakh
The thin navy bars are the small statutory fees; the orange bars are where the money actually goes.
The big line

The type rating moves the bill

A jet type rating runs ₹10 to 35 lakh on its own, separate from your CPL, and it is what makes you employable on an A320 or a 737. One provider publishes a clean figure, around ₹31 lakh through the IndiGo cadet channel. The open-market range is wide, so shop it carefully.

Before you sign

Four questions for any quote

01Is GST inside?On a ₹90 lakh fee it is another ₹16 lakh.
02Is the type rating inside?Usually not, at ₹10 to 35 lakh.
03Are living costs inside?Two years of rent, wherever you train.
04Why is it on enquiry?A price that will not print is a price to ask for.
Practise the real papers

The ₹2,500 paper is the cheap part

Passing it first time is the valuable part. Five per chapter, open.

Question 5 of 20Answer shown

What is the highest latitude listed below at which the sun will reach an altitude of 90⁰ above the horizon at some time during the year?
a23⁰b45⁰c66⁰

How the answer is reached

  1. The sun is overhead somewhere on the earth every day, and that point moves north and south with the seasons.
  2. Because the axis is tilted 23½°, the point stops at 23½° north in June and 23½° south in December. It never goes past either.
  3. 45⁰ and 66⁰ are both outside that band, so the sun never stands at 90⁰ over them.

Answer 23⁰the only latitude in the list inside the band

Open the question bank
Keep reading
What pilot training costs, all inType rating cost in IndiaThe Class 1 medicalCPL course fees, school by school