Revised Drone Policy Allows Use for Commercial Purposes

In an era of remarkable technological advances, one of the technological innovations ready to take the world by the storm is Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has predicted an explosive growth in the drone industry with greater sales for commercial use in the coming years. According to a TIME report, more than 3 million drones were sold in 2017. Recently, the Government of India (GoI) released the revised Drone policy which allows drones to be allowed for commercial purposes as well.

India Tops UAV Imports

The drone industry in India has also caught up with the global trend. Given the scale of UAV imports, India has become the top UAV importer in the world. The data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) corroborates this fact saying that of all the world's UAV imports, India imports the largest chunk at 22.5%.

Revised Drone Policy

The Government of India (GoI) recently released the Drone 2.0 policy which will come into effect in March 2019. As a result, drones will now be allowed for commercial purposes as well. These will include air taxis, delivery vehicles, and so on. It may be noted that earlier there was a blanket ban on the commercial use of drones due to security reasons. The only functions allowed earlier were aerial photography, filmmaking, disaster relief, and recreation.

The security concerns have been addressed in the revised drone policy through segregation of airspace into drone corridors that have been color-coded. For instance, drones are barred from flying in the red zone that include high-security areas Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, military areas, and so forth. To fly in the Yellow zone, operators will need to be NPNT-compliant (No Permission, No Takeoff). Green Zones will be relatively easier to use as the permissions will be easier to come through. Also, except for nano-drones, all the other drone types will need registration to operate.

To ensure that the drones do not stray into prohibited or other zones, air traffic controller will control the drone throughout its journey and help it land safely or return to the base.

The article has been written by Neetu Katyal, Content and Marketing Consultant

She can be reached here.