Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi is India's national flying academy, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation based at Fursatganj airfield in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. It was established to set the country's benchmark for ab-initio pilot training, and it remains the reference point against which India's private flying schools are measured — heavily subsidised, state-run, and admitting by national competitive examination rather than by ability to pay.

Training at IGRUA

The academy's flagship is an ab-initio to CPL course with multi-engine endorsement and instrument rating, running around 36 months for an intake of 125 cadets, admitted in two batches a year. Eligibility is tightly defined: 10+2 with English, mathematics and physics at a minimum of 50% for general candidates, an age band from 17 to 28 for the general category with relaxations for reserved categories, unmarried status, and a Class 1 medical. Seats are allocated under India's reservation framework, and a commitment fee of ₹50,000 is adjustable against training costs.

Admission is by the IGRUA entrance examination, held annually with a fixed calendar — applications for the 2026 cycle closed on 13 April with the online exam on 3 May, and successful candidates joining batches from July 2026 and January 2027. The exam has three parts: a written paper of objective questions in mathematics, physics and English, a pilot aptitude and psychometric test, and a viva or interview. With 125 places against a national field, the aptitude and psychometric component is where comparable academic profiles are separated, and it is the part of the exam most candidates walk into untrained.