The government on Wednesday issued draft regulations on civil use of drones in the country. The move will now enable commercial use of drones for photography, doorstep delivery, among other uses.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will place the draft rules on its website this week and seek comments from the public.
The draft regulations were finalised after discussions with stakeholders and will be in the public domain for a month, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said.
“By December 31, we will be in a position to come up with the final regulatory framework for the use of drones,” Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey added.
Under the draft rules issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), drones have been classified into five categories based on maximum take-off weight: nano (up to 250 gm), micro (251 gm to two kg), mini (2 kg to 25 kg), small (25 kg to 150 kg) and large (over 150 kg).
“Except for nano category and those operated by government security agencies, all other commercial categories of drones will be registered by the DGCA, which will issue it a Unique Identification Number,” Choubey said.
Drones would require unique identification numbers while nano drones, those weighing below 250 grams, would be exempt from seeking one-time approval, including the unique number requirement, as per the final draft rules prepared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Various restrictions have been proposed to ensure that drones are used only for valid purposes and there would be ‘no drone zones’.
“All drones are proposed to be operated in visual line of sight, during day time only and below 200 feet,” the ministry said in a release.
