The Centre may soon allow use of drones for commercial delivery of goods under an updated policy, unveiled by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.
The government had first unveiled its policy on drones in August last year, where a basic framework for regulating drones was laid out. That policy only allowed registered, NPNT (no permission no take-off)-compliant, drones to be issued a unique identication number. Drones with valid UINs were also permitted to fly up to a maximum ceiling of 400 feet and a pilot was required for every operation. Also, the drone could only operate within the line of sight of the pilot.
The updated policy looks to expand the scope of operations to include autonomous flying, without compromising safety, security or privacy of citizens.
“We are well poised to build the world’s largest and most affordable drone ecosystem. We will pioneer new ways of using drones, which are very affordable,” said Sinha.
The drone 2.0 policy recommends expansion of operational airspace for UAS (unmanned aerial system) beyond the visual line of sight and above the current limit of 400 feet and a segregated airspace defined by appropriate authorities to keep the commercial operations of drones out of the airspace in which manned aircrafts operate.
It also calls for improved and advanced pilot training and droneports, or designated areas dedicated to facilitate take-off and landing of drones.
“Commercial UAS operations will foster various new forms of air freight capabilities,” the policy document noted.
The policy envisages the use of commercial drone operations for medical products, critical organ transport, surveying landscapes, active monitoring of rail and road traffic and use in agriculture.
“No drone can fly in India unless it is certified with no permission no take-off. Nano drones less than 150 grams are free to be operated, anything of a higher weight has to be operated in a safe and a regulated manner. You don’t want to be in a situation like what happened in Gatwick,” said Sinha.
Drone sightings at Gatwick, UK’s second largest airport, in December led to a shutdown, flights were either cancelled or diverted, causing a massive travel chaos.
Under drone 2.0, there will be a digital sky policy, whereby a digital space will be carved out and red zones (no-fly area like around airports or important buildings), amber zones (where some operations are permitted) and green zones (all operations permitted) will be created.
There will also be drone corridors for different type of drones, so that they can fly safely. Each drone flying will have to be certified.
A drone traffic management system would also have to devised to provide hyper-local and real-time information for managing the traffic in the corridors.
By 2021, the UAS market in India is estimated to touch $886 million, while the global market is expected to reach $21.47 billion.
