India Drone Policy - Draft Policy Seeks To Open New Skies

11/13/2017 India drone policy - Draft Policy seeks to open new skies
India seeks to open new skies with draft drone policy

By Anusuya Datta - November 11, 2017
Photo courtesy The Indian Express
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) move to put out the draft policy for the use of
commercial drones in India last week has finally set in motion the process to clear the way for their
use in India.
Drones, variously known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or
remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS), are used in several parts of the world for surveying and
aerial mapping, disaster management work, monitoring crop production and infrastructure activities,
besides commercial photography and courier delivery.
Owing to safety concerns, flying drones even hobby ones without permission has far so been
illegal in India and one could land in jail if caught. Interestingly, toy UAVs are openly and widely
available in the market and e-commerce sites like Amazon. However, in the absence of a laid down
law, it was serious application areas which were suffering. Now all that looks to be over soon with the
new draft policy released for public consultation, before it is finalized after two months.
Not having a regulation was amounting to total ban of any activity and that doesnt make sense. A
lot of people were enquiring about it and wondered why we delayed it, Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi
Raju, Minister of Civil Aviation, said while releasing the draft last week.
https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/india-seeks-to-open-new-skies-with-draft-drone-policy/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=onesignal&utm_cam 1/7
Absence of clear-cut regulations made innovation and attracting investments very difficult in this
field, and the new rules come as a relief for the industry as it is expected to usher in an ease in
manufacturing and using drones in the country.
In a lot of ways, the draft looks similar to the circular brought out by DGCA in April last year, but a
closer look reveals that the new one is far better and borrows a lot from progressive drone laws in
developed countries, and that actually a lot of serious thoughts have gone behind its framing.
Naturally, the policy has been so far hailed as one of the most balanced and futuristic regulatory
policies in India.
This second draft looks far more encouraging than the earlier one, said Shinil Shekhar of Airpix,
an Indian drone manufacturer.
Lauding the government for its pro-development and pro-efficiency approach while structuring the
policy, Vignesh Santhanam of Quidich Aerial Solutions, said, the overall outline of the policy
has been futuristic and startup friendly. As a result, we hope to see a surge of drone service
adopters, hobbyists, pilots and users across the country.
The draft has been largely hailed by global players too. DJI, the world leader in civilian drones and
aerial imaging technology, welcomed the regulations, calling it positive and reflecting a strong
willingness to embrace this technology in the daily activities by opening the skies.
The neprint
The draft categorizes drones have been divided into five different classes based on their weight
Nano (Less than or equal to 250 grams); Micro (Greater than 250 grams and less than or equal to 2
kg); Mini (Greater than 2 kg and less than or equal to 25 kg); Small (Greater than 25 kg and less
than or equal to 150 kg); and Large (Greater than 150 kg).
Welcoming the classification into five categories, Aadesh Bumb of DJI said the draft gives
provisions for the drone industry to thrive by allowing drones to be used in agriculture, mapping,
logistics and delivery, hobbyists, wedding market etc.
However, Nikhil Kumar, Director Technical Marketing (SAARC Region) Trimble Navigation
India, a global player in professional drones, felt that the weight classification for a Micro RPA should
be changed to up to 3 kg instead of current 2 kg, including sensor/payload to allow for professional
grade UAS for surveying, construction and mining applications. This would ensure streamlining of
operational procedures for professional users who can leverage the full extent of the technology, use
appropriate high-resolution cameras for priority infrastructure and other projects. It would also
ensure that users dont have to compromise on the technology and they use the right solutions for
the national developmental activity, he added.
Categorisation on Drones How they stack up
The draft mandates that each drone needs to be registered before use. Accordingly, all UAVs
except for those in Nano category with an intent to fly up to 50 feet and those owned and operated
by Government security agencies require a unique identification number (UIN).
The draft also lists out a detailed operational procedure that drone owners will have to complete each
time a drone takes off.
Drones weighing 2 kg or less would have light touch regulation, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv
Nayan Choubey said, explaining that to eliminate delays, the government is working on Web-based
digital template for the operator. Once the systems are in place, it is envisioned that the UIN
registration for a Micro drone will take maximum two days.
For each flight, a drone owner needs to take separate permissions (unmanned aircraft operator
permit (UAOP). There are certain exemptions Nano UAV operating below 50 feet in uncontrolled
airspace and indoor operations; Micro drones operating below 200 feet above ground level (AGL) in
uncontrolled airspace and clear of prohibited; restricted and danger areas or Temporary Segregated
Areas (TSA) and Temporary Reserved Areas (TRA) as notified by AAI.
However, the user is required to intimate the local police authorities before conduct of actual
operations. As in the case with UIN, drones owned and operated by government security agencies
are also exempted from obtaining UAOP, but the agency is expected to intimate local police
authorities and concerned ATS Units before conduct of actual operations.
That Nano drones do not need to register if flying below 50 feet is a positive. So is the suggestion
that Micro drones need to register and acquire UIN if flying below 200 feet, said Bumb.
Shekhar felt that issue of UIN within two days and allowing operation under 200 feet using micro UAV
just by informing the local police station are the highlights of the draft.
The no-go areas
However, given that the international standard limit for UAV operations is 400 feet AGL or below
hence, Kumar thinks it would help to change all rules including the 200 feet should be changed to
400 feet. This would also be in alignment with the international (including ICAO) standards of UAV
operations below 400 feet. In addition, many countries in Asia Pacific and the Middle East have
implemented 400ft AGL rule as well, he pointed out.
The draft also specifies certain areas that will be out of bound for drones. For instance, they will not
be permitted to fly within the 5-km radius of an operational airport or within 50 km of an
international border. The 5-km radius around New Delhis Vijay Chowk where Parliament,
Presidents House and North and South Blocks are located is also off limits. Flying over densely
populated areas, over an area affecting public safety or where emergency operations are underway,
or over eco-sensitive areas like national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, are also not allowed.
Choubey also revealed that there would be punishment for violating the regulations and such drones
would be neutralized. We are working the neutralization procedure. Stringent action will also be
taken against the drone company, the owner and the ground base-station operator, he said, while
refusing to give further details since the matter was classified.
In the future if the drone space gets too crowded, there are also plans to deploy an air traffic control
(ATC) for drones which should help ease out drone congestion in the skies.
The concerns
The short time limit till December 1 to give suggestions on the draft has come up as one of the
primary concerns, others being weight classification and Use of RFID and GSM SIM Card slot for APP
based tracking.
Not sure how the SIM card facility is going to work; we would like to get more clarity on that and
how foolproof it is going to be, voiced Shekhar.
Kumar is against the requirement of SIM card slot for an app-based tracking for RPAs in micro and
mini category as most of the drones in this category do not provide for a SIM-based operation and
furthermore this actually increases the risk as a third party taking control of the drones, thus doing
nothing about improving safety and security of the UAS. Further, professional UAS solutions are
ideal for use for various engineering, mining irrigation, watershed and road construction projects.
Many of these areas of potential operations do not possess stable / reliable GSM connectivity and
hence in the absence of the same would make it impossible to operate the UAS if GSM connectivity is
mandatory. Also, a majority of products in this category uses license free 2.4GHz radio connectivity
between the UAS and the control unit, he added.
Further, SSR and ADS-B transponder are too expensive and too heavy for Micro and Mini class, and
thus it would be impractical to have a SSR or ADS-B transponder equipment due to weight, and if
they would then the cost will be go very high.
DJI, which has introduced its own system called the Aeroscope that can detect all DJI drones (soon
other manufacture drones will be included) in the vicinity of 5-km radius, is keen to work with
government organizations in India to safeguard its airports and other high security institutions.
There are also reservations regarding the weight classification, which Bumb feels could be better
defined. A 2.1 kg drone is more likely and closely related to the Micro category rather than the Mini
category. The differentiation in weight classes could have been from 2-10 kg rather than 25 kg.
He added that the 200-feet flying limit could be restricting for the model aircraft industry growth.
This is a serious concern that needs to be addressed as the technology will only grow if people start
showing interest in building and flying model aircraft early on.
Some sections also feel that the restrictions and no-gos should be very clearly defined in the policy.
For instance, in areas like aerial mapping or 3D mapping flying drones can breach a persons
privacy. It is very important to give details of the exact purpose of using drones, said a security
expert on the condition of anonymity.
While the draft makes it clear that the remote pilot for any drone must be at least 18 years old and
have gone through a prescribed training process (Remote pilot shall have attained 18 years of age
with thorough ground training equivalent to that undertaken by aircrew of manned aircraft or a PPL
holder (Aeroplanes/Helicopter) with FRTOL), Kumar thinks this does not seem very pragmatic for
micro and min categories of RPA.
However, the provision for minimum training of ground pilot is essential to avoid mishaps like a
drone crashing on a persons head or smashing the windscreens of a car or windows of house, which
brings in the issue of compulsory insurance. This also means linking with the insurance industry and
developing mechanisms because at the end of the day UAVs are a kind of vehicle.
Bumb hoped that the final policy doesnt restrict flying of drones to only Indian citizens, and is
inclusive towards foreigners too. In fact, as Kumar pointed out the draft guidelines are not clear or
preclude foreign trainers from the OEM from providing the requisite training to the buyers. A
provision should be made for the foreign trainers to impart training as well with possible time bound
clearance if so required. He also felt a further simplified guidelines should be created for
temporary/long term import of the UAV/UAS for demonstration purposes.
I think the UAV regulations will be complete only when there is proper control at the import and sale
of the UAVs too. Only genuine suppliers should be allowed to sell, there should be compliances for
them too and the government should be aware of every UAV in the market (including micro), said
Shekhar.
The road ahead

While it has picked up as a hobby in India, the enterprise drone space in India has also gained the
attention of venture capitalists. In addition to defense forces, mining industry, government
departments like land and railways, and local law and order authorities have been partnering or
developing drones with Indian startups for various activities like monitoring assets, keeping a check
on unmanned areas, illegal deforestation activities, maintaining law and order etc.
The new draft policy certainly come as a relief for e-commerce companies such as Flipkart and
Amazon who have been lobbying for some time now to allow drone deliveries.
The industry hopes that formalized regulations will now give a great fillip to usage in India. We now
have a clearer view of where things stand in terms of policy. Given how drones are hugely beneficial
across a host of domains such as mining, railways, smart cities, roads, agriculture and telecom, we
hope there will be a low resistance to drone technology in rural and urban India, said Santhanam.
DJI, which sees immense growth and potential in the Indian market in the near future, seeks to work
closely with all the state governments and help them integrate drone technology in all their
government departments giving a holistic end-to-end solution.
As Choubey said after the release of the policy draft, there is an immense possibility in the realm of
drones and the only boundary and constraint is human imagination.
Anusuya Datta
Executive Editor, Geospatial Media & Communications

India Drone Policy - Draft Policy Seeks To Open New Skies

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

India Drone Policy - Draft Policy Seeks To Open New Skies

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

11/13/2017 India drone policy - Draft Policy seeks to open new skies

India seeks to open new skies with draft drone policy

Photo courtesy The Indian Express

Categorisation on Drones How they stack up

The no-go areas

The road ahead

Potrebbero piacerti anche