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Indian govt's plan to legalise drone use stuck in regulatory maze
The home ministry has asked the DGCA to regulate the use of drones, but the civil aviation regulator said it will be difficult with its current resources.
The home ministry has asked the DGCA to regulate the use of drones, but the civil aviation regulator said it will be difficult with its current resources.
The government's plan to legalise the use of drones has hit a hurdle, with uncertainty over who will regulate these unmanned aerial vehicles that promise big commercial potential but are also seen as a threat to security and privacy by many.
The home ministry has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to regulate the use of drones, but the civil aviation regulator said it will be difficult with its current resources, and unless states and police pitch in with help.
"With our current strength and reach, it will not be possible for us to regulate it (drone activity) across the country," said a DGCA official, who did not want to be named.
DGCA had circulated among ministries a draft policy on commercial operations of drones and the home ministry's suggestion, received by the regulator in the third week of this month, came in response to that. All other ministries have supported the plan — while the defence ministry has given a go ahead, the IT ministry is pushing hard to legalise the use of drones.
The concept of delivery through drones has picked up in recent years, but the actual use of them is still in early stages. On Friday, US retailer 7-Eleven made aviation history by delivering a chicken sandwich, doughnuts and hot coffee on a drone in the state of Nevada. It was the first legal delivery of items using drones. US online retailer Amazon, which had been talking about delivery of goods through drones for some time, had said that it was looking to do so first in India.
The DGCA had banned the use of drones for commercial purposes in October 2014, since the International Civil Aviation Organisation did not have any standards for their operations. Subsequently, the DGCA came out with a draft policy for operations of drones in April 2016.
The DGCA official said the commercial use of drones can be allowed only if state governments and police take the responsibility of the regulation. "We will call a meeting soon to discuss the responses and discuss alternatives and solutions," said the official.
"All commercial aerial vehicles including unmanned aerial vehicles should logically come under DGCA's jurisdiction. DGCA should set up a separate department for smoother licensing and monitoring of UAVs. Care should be taken that inter-ministerial clearances especially from home and defence ministries should be time-bound and not get mired in red tape," said Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG.
He added that the operator will have to maintain the video in its archive just like companies do with financial records for tax authorities.
"There will be no-fly zones. If the drone enters that area, it will be tracked, maybe destroyed and the operator prosecuted," said Dubey.
An IT department official said the ministry has recommended that drones be allowed outside a 10km radius of the airport. "We have observed that they are having a huge impact in governance — we have seen that in Gurgaon — and could have significant usage for industry as well," said the official.
ET reported recently how Haryana is deploying drones in both urban as well as rural areas for land record management and city planning. After a pilot programme in Sohna and Manesar, the administration is soon planning to deploy drones in Gurgaon, which could have multiple usage for a host of cityplanning and management issues such as land dispute resolution, rain water management, identifying illegal colonies and for crop-damage assessment in rural areas. Drones are already being used in Gurgaon for mapping a 16 sq km area for a smart grid project.
The administration had to take multiple permissions for the deployment. The private sector is suffering due to the country's restricted stance on drones. For instance, Xiaomi, which recently launched a drone in China, may not be able to bring it to India due to the current regulations here.
