DGCA releases draft regulations for use of drones in India

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier this week issued draft regulation on civil use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drone) in India. This will enable commercial use of drones for tasks such as photography, doorstep delivery, medical uses and even passenger transport. The usage of drones will also help sectors such as agriculture, oil and gas.

The draft regulation will be placed on DGCA's public domain for a month to seek comments and suggestions, including for commercial purposes after which the rules will be finalized. That said, various restrictions have been proposed as well to ensure that the drones are used only for valid and legal purposes, and not be a security threat.

The highlights of the draft issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are mentioned below:

1. Drones have been classified into five categories based on maximum take-off weight: nano (up to 250g), micro (251g to two kg), mini (2kg to 25kg), small (25kg to 150kg) and large (over 150kg).
2. Drones under 250g (nano) won't need security clearance
3. Micro category (251g to 2kg) will get approvals in two day
4. Except for nano category and those operated by government security agencies, all other commercial categories of drones will be registered by the DGCA, which will issue it a Unique Identification Number
5. Whenever you operate a drone, you will need different approval. Apart from nano drones, all other categories will need an air defence clearance so that aviation as well as security authorities are aware of the flight path.
6. Remote pilots of the drones will have to undergo requisite training, except in case of nano and micro categories
7. There will be no-drone zones such as above operational aerodromes and within 5 km of Vijay Chowk in Delhi, within 500 metres from strategic locations, from mobile platforms such as car, ship or air craft, over eco-sensitive zones like national parks and wildlife sanctuaries (unless approved by Environment Ministry).
8. Drones less than 2kg and operating under 200 feet of height, once registered, can be flown without nods.
9. Drones could be used for tasks like wildlife photography, delivering medical supplies, e-commerce deliveries, inspection of pipelines, and even passenger transport

The final regulatory framework for the use of drones is expected by December 31.

Source 1 | IANS

Ajedux Bey

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