Government allows commercial operation of drones from December

Drones can be used for commercial purposes from December this year but within the line of sight of the person using it, the government announced today.

“The reason behind the policy is to ensure that these flying objects do not become unidentified flying objects. We have started with this and will be working continuously to ensure that the policy stays ," said aviation minister Jayant Sinha.

According to the announcement, drones can be used for a height up to 400 feet but within the line of sight of the operator.

“We will allow use of drones within the line of sight for now. We have a task force that would in the future works towards allowing use of drones for beyond the line of sight,” aviation minister Jayant Sinha added.

This would mean that companies like Amazon and Flipkart, which had plans to use drones for delivery of good, will have to wait for sometime till the government allows policy for it.

Under the policy, drones have been categorised in five different categories based on weight – starting at less than 250 gms and the largest ones weighing more than 150 kgs – and their end use.

Barring the smallest (nano category of drones), all other categories of drone - micro, small, medium and large- need to be registered.

Nano drones are small drones that are used by kids for recreational purposes and would not require any registration.

The government has also made a provision of remote pilot licence for drone users with an exemption for nano and micro (over 250 grams to 2 kg drones).

Users of all other categories of drones - small, medium and large - will have to register themselves as pilots. The age eligibility for piloting a drone is 18 years and educational qualification is of tenth pass with knowledge of English.

The government has also made a provision of digital platform for users to take permission before operations of drones.

“The Digital Sky Platform is the first-of-its-kind national unmanned traffic management (UTM) platform that ensure easier and faster permission, even from local police, for drones users,” said DG of DGCA B S Bhullar.

Aviation secretary R N Choubey added that the government is working with the home Ministry to ensure that all police stations at the district headquarters level are added to this digital platform for quicker and hassle free approvals.