India begins online registration for flying drones

World
Europe

Nano drones can start flying legally, but for micro and above categories of drones, the operators and pilots would be required to register on the portal, Indian Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu has said at the launch of the "Digital Sky Platform."

Payments for Unmanned Aerial Operator's Permit (UAOP) and Unique Identification Numbers (UIN) will be accepted through the bharat kosh portal, said an official statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday.

"Drones are an industry of the future. It is a matter of great pride for India that we are now at the cutting edge of the rule making in this industry. India will be taking lead in this sector and will be working with countries around the world to develop common, scaleable standards. This industry has a large potential for Make in India and also to export drones and services from India," said Prabhu.

Flying in the "green zones" will require only intimation of the time and location of the flights via the portal or the app, the ministry said.

Permissions will be required for flying in "yellow zones" and flights will not be allowed in the "red zones." The location of these zones will be announced soon.

In order to get permissions to fly the drones, the operators or remote pilots will have to file a flight plan.

Permission, if granted, will be available digitally on the portal.

If an operator does not have permission to fly, it will not be allowed to take-off under the policy of No-Permission-No-Takeoff (NPNT). This aspect of the portal is expected to be live soon.

Existing drone operators are requested to contact their manufacturers for NPNT-compliant firmware upgrades and Equipment Type Approvals (ETA).

Potential drone owners are required to buy NPNT-compliant Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS).

According to an official statement, the civil aviation minister has constituted a task-force on the recommendation of "Drone Policy 2.0". This task-force is expected to release their final report by the end of this year.

Drone 2.0 framework is expected to include regulatory architecture for autonomous flying, delivery via drones and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights.

(Cover: VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency