Faculty shortage in IITs, IIMs and varsities upsets Parliamentary panel

February 19, 2017

New Delhi, Feb 19: Expressing anguish at the "acute shortage" of faculty members in IITs, IIMs and universities, a parliamentary panel has asked the government to take steps to fill up the vacancies and to make the teaching profession more attractive. In a report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (HRD), headed by BJP MP Satyanarayan Jatiya, has asked the Department of Higher Education to expedite the process of filling up the vacancies.

The committee was "anguished" to find that from well-established central universities to those set up recently, state or private varsities, IITs or IIMs were functioning with large vacancies. The shortage of faculty has been a big handicap in ensuring quality education. The availability of adequate and qualified faculty is a pre-requisite for quality education, the 31-member panel observed. The situation continues to be grim with no improvement seen in near future.

"There can be only two possibilities, either our young students are not attracted towards the teaching profession or the recruitment process is a prolonged one and involves too many procedural formalities," the committee pointed out. Referring to the Department of Higher Education under the HRD Ministry, the panel said that it is the nodal authority for the entire country for higher education sector and it should take a proactive role to expediting filling up of existing vacancies.

The panel also recommended that to make the teaching profession more attractive, the faculty should be encouraged to undertake consultancy and should also be given start-up financial support. The HRD Ministry had last December told Parliament that 1,310 posts of professors were vacant in various central universities.

In the recently concluded parliament session, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that a majority of vacancies for teachers in universities and colleges would be filled up this year. It is learnt that out of the total teaching posts of 17,006 in various UGC-funded central universities, 6,080 teaching posts are lying vacant as on October 1, 2016.

In its report, the panel has also expressed concern at the lack of employable skills of students passing out of technical students and has asked the government to take steps to address the issue.

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India’s Tougher Pilot Fatigue Rules: Why IndiGo’s Operations Crashed Into Turbulence

News Network

December 6,2025

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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