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Indian Drone Regulations 1.0 to be in effect from 01 Dec 2018

The Director General of Civil Aviation has released a set of rules and regulations for remotely piloted and unmanned aircrafts. The rules will be in force from December 01, 2018.

At present, there are no set of defined policies regarding the usage of drones in India. Drones have a variety of applications likes aerial monitoring, surveying and photography. The new rules will make it possible to use such remotely piloted aircrafts in certain conditions as per the guidelines.

The rules classify five categories of drones ranging from nano (250g or less), micro (250g -2 kg), small (2-25 kg), medium (25-150 kg) and large (150 kg or more). Each drone will be allowed to fly at an altitude of up to 400 feet based on its class. Except for the nano category, all others will require a security clearance each time the drone is deployed. The rules also mandate daytime flying time only along with a ‘line of sight’ operation. Restricted airspaces have been specified and operation of drones in such spaces will be illegal.

The drone operators would require to be trained from a DGCA approved organization and should be aware of basic radio communication, flight planning and ATC procedures, various regulations in the operating area, basic knowledge of aircrafts and the principles of flight, restricted areas and basic aviation meteorology. All drones, except the nano category, will be required a unique identification number, ability to terminate flight / return to home automatically, flashing anti-collision lights, RFID and GSM compliance for real-time App based tracking, fire resistant identification plate and a flight controller with data logging capacity. Drones flying up to 400 ft are also required to be equipped with a transponder, barometric equipment, ability to geofence and Detect and Avoid capability. The drone operator should be able to communicate with the Air Traffic Services (ATS) unit concerned.

The authorities are already working on the next iteration of these rules.

 
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