Flying drones to be legal in India from 1st December

From the 1st December, it will be legal to use flying drones in the country. The commercial use of drones across different sectors like health and disaster and agriculture will be possible from this year. However, the delivery of payload and food items will not be allowed as yet. 

The operation of all the civil drones will remain restricted only during the daytime and the flying will also be restricted within the visual line of sight that is 450 meters. All drones will be registered and issued with a Unique Identification Number except the nano drones and the drones owned by the National Technical Research Organization. The regulation by the Government will prevent the flying of drones near the airports, near a coastline, near an international border and state secretariat complexes. The drones also cannot operate in strategic locations which are vital for the military installations and at the Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. The Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu mentioned that these regulations will help build a Made in India drone industry. Further, he mentioned that the relief operations in Kerala floods would have been effective had this regulation been in place. The drone market is expected to reach $1 trillion in the coming years.

The registration of the drone and the permission to fly will be given digitally through a digital sky platform which is connected to the local police. It will implement the “No permission, no take off”.  All the users with a drone which weighs less than 250 gram and can fly up to 50 feet will not require a permit from the local police. However, microdrones that fly up to 200 feet and small drones that fly more than 450 feet and above will need a police permit.

Drone users will have to do a one-time registration of the drone and the owner. In every flight, the users will have to seek permission to fly on a mobile app and there will be an automated process which will permit or deny the request instantly. In order to prevent unauthorized flights and to ensure public safety, no drones with a digital permit will be able to take off. You Might Also Like To Read, The World’s Most Powerful Gaming Laptop

Currently, the use of drones for delivery is prohibited but it could allow the same based on the outcome of the tests. Drones can be used for agriculture purpose but cannot be used for the purpose of spraying pesticides until specifically cleared. Further, the carriage of explosives, animals and the human payload is also not allowed. The regulation includes details about the suspension and the cancellation of the license besides various sections of the Indian Penal Code for the violation and falsification of the documents.

There are 23 sites identified by the government where the drone technology will be put to use in order to evaluate the possibility of further usage. There is a drone task force which will provide draft recommendations for another set of regulations on the usage of drones.