NEW DELHI: India is set to see commercial use of Drones starting December 1 this year as the government on Monday announced the Drone Policy.
Currently, flying of drones needs prior permission from the government authorities. Officials said that the users of drones will be required to do a one-time registration of their drones. They will also need to register the pilots of these drones as well as their owners.
After the registration, users will have to request for permission to fly it on a mobile application. An automated process will either permit or deny the request instantly.
Officials said that if the permission is denied, any drone without the digital permit will be unable to take off. If the permission is given, the drones will be allowed to fly during daytime-only. The maximum altitude allowed for drones to fly will be 400-ft.
While announcing the new policy, Union civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu said, “Today we start an exciting new chapter in India’s aviation history by allowing commercial use of drones. I am sure that many new and exciting applications will emerge that will propel India’s economy forward. Our progressive regulations will encourage a vast Made in India drone industry.”
Civil aviation minister, MoS, Jayant Sinha said, “There are opportunities for our aviation sector and for India's startup industry as India is set to become a global leader as far as drone ecosystem is concerned. It's important for us to have a policy roadmap and regulations that support growth of the drone ecosystem.”
The new policy has been named as Drone Regulations 1.0 and it provides guidelines and has provision for stricter penalties.
Officials said that the ministry is further working on Drone Regulations 2.0 which will examine the issues like certification of safe and controlled operation of drone hardware and software and Airspace management through automated operations linked into overall airspace management framework.
As per the guidelines, Airspace has been partitioned into Red Zone (flying not permitted), Yellow Zone (controlled airspace), and Green Zone (automatic permission).
For flying in controlled Airspace, filing of the flight plan and obtaining Air Defence Clearance (ADC) and Flight Information Centre (FIC) number will be necessary.
As per the regulation, “No Drone Zones” will be around airports; near the international border, Vijay Chowk in Delhi; State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations and vital and military installations.
Drones are a technology platform which has wide-ranging applications from photography to agriculture, from infrastructure asset maintenance to insurance. Drones range in size from very small and those that can carry multiple kilograms of payload.
Drone Regulations:
Drones could only fly during the day-time.
The upper height ceiling of flying drones is 400 feet.
Airspace has been partitioned into Red Zone (flying not permitted), Yellow Zone (controlled airspace), and Green Zone (automatic permission).
For flying in controlled Airspace, filing of flight plan and obtaining Air Defence Clearance (ADC) and Flight Information Centre (FIC) number will be necessary.
“No Drone Zones” will be around airports; near international border, Vijay Chowk in Delhi; State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations and vital and military installations.