Shops to use drones for home deliveries? Government issues draft rules

The aviation ministry hopes to frame rules on the usage of drones by the end of December in India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will place the draft rules on its website and seek feedback from the public. Civil Aviation Secretary, RN Choubey said that once the rules are finalised, it would permit commercial use of drones in the country. Choubey also mentioned that they are making the rules very user-friendly.

The ministry also said, "All drones are proposed to be operated in visual line of sight, during day time only and below 200 feet". Government agencies would be able to use drones according to their own guidelines. Keeping safety and security in mind, DGCA has proposed some rules, including identifying numbers for the drones, no-fly zones and the 5 types of drones.
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5 types of drones
According to DGCA, the kinds of drones are: nano drones that weigh 250 gm and under, micro drones, that weigh 250 gm to 2 kg, mini drones that are from 2 kg to 25 kg in weight, small drones that weigh something between 25 kg to 150 kg and finally the large drones that weigh 150 kg or above.

Types of permission
Nano drones are not capable of flying more than 50 ft from the ground and would need no permission. Drones up to 2 kg that cannot fly more than 200 ft would need police permission, while anything more than 2 kg will need to apply for permission, a licence and a flight plan.

Reports also mention that drones would be issed unique identification numbers and the ones that fall in the mini category would need to comply with remote pilot approval requirement. Drones should also have return-to-home option and anti-collision lights, except for nano drones.

No-drone zone

Drones would be barred from use within 5 km of an airport, restricted from being flown within 50 km of an international border and 500 m into sea along the coastline. Drones would also not be allowed within 5 km radius of Vijay Chowk, along with mobile platforms such as a moving vehicle, ship and aircraft and over eco-sensitive zones such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Flying a drone over a densely populated area or areas where emergency operations are underway would also not be allowed, reports mention.

Commercial purposes
Reports mention that RN Choubey believes that drones can be used for commercial purposes. "These rules allow companies to deliver goods at doorstep provided they follow the rules prescribed under the rules. Both the aviation ministers wanted it to be open for all to use, including businesses," a Times of India report quotes Choubey.

Once the final rules are formulated, drones could be used for tasks like wildlife photography, delivering medical supplies, e-commerce deliveries, inspection of pipelines, and even passenger transport, reports quote Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.

(With agency inputs)