CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu plans to establish special commercial drone corridors in 10 districts where activities such as drone-based goods delivery, agricultural spraying, construction monitoring, and disaster management operations would be permitted without prior police clearance.
The initiative, outlined in the Higher Education department’s vision document of the TVK government, aims to expand the commercial use of drones while creating a market for locally manufactured products.
Higher Education Secretary Dheeraj Kumar said that the programme would be implemented with support from the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco), which comes under the Industries department.
Within the proposed corridors, drone operators will be able to freely undertake activities such as delivering goods, spraying fertilisers and pesticides on agricultural fields, monitoring construction projects, and carrying out disaster management operations.
A key feature of the proposal is the mandatory use of locally manufactured drones for police surveillance and agricultural purposes. By setting up designated corridors and easing procedural requirements for specified commercial operations, the state aims to encourage the adoption of drone technology across sectors.
6K drone pilots trained on MIT campus so far
The proposed drone corridors are expected to open up new business opportunities for companies involved in drone manufacturing and related technologies, said K Senthil Kumar, director-in-charge, Centre for Aerospace Research (CASR), Anna University.
TN already has an ecosystem in place to support the initiative. The drone pilot training centre functioning on the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) campus of Anna University has trained around 6,000 pilots so far.
The state drone corporation, functioning under the Higher Education department, has also been working towards popularising the use of drones across various sectors. In another major step towards strengthening drone technology and testing capabilities, Anna University is preparing to commence drone trials at the Chettinad Aeronautical Aviation Hub in Kanadukathan, following in-principle approval from Tidco to use the airfield.
The trials are expected to focus on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, in which drones fly beyond the pilot’s direct field of vision and are controlled through communication, navigation, and surveillance systems.
“The corridors will help local drone startups move beyond developing prototypes and explore commercial applications,” said Senthil Kumar.