Ministry of Civil Aviation grants drone use permission to 10 organisations

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 to 10 organizations in different parts of the country.

New Delhi:Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 to 10 organizations in different parts of the country. As per an official release, MoCA granted permission for drone use to the government of Karnataka for the drone-based aerial survey for creating urban property ownership records in Bengaluru.

It also granted permission to the National Health Mission, Mumbai for conducting experimental BVLOS drone flights to deliver essential healthcare items in tribal areas of Jawhar in Palghar district of Maharashtra. Further, Gangtok Smart City Development is also given permission for drone-based aerial survey for Smart City Project, and Steel Authority of India, IISCO Steel Plant, Burnpur, West Bengal is allowed to use drones for conducting perimeter surveillance of the plant.

Apart from that, Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy, Hyderabad, Telangana is allowed to use drones for conducting remote pilot training using drones, Blue Ray Aviation, in Gujarat is permitted to use drones for conducting remote pilot training using drones and Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited in Chennai is granted permission for drone use for conducting drone-based aerial spraying to assess crop health and prevent crop disease.

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The Minister also gave permission to Mahindra and Mahindra, Mumbai, Maharashtra to use drones for conducting drone-based agricultural trials and precision spraying on paddy and hot pepper crops in the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh respectively. Bayer Crop Science, Mumbai, Maharashtra is also permitted by the Ministry to use drones for conducting drone-based agricultural research activities and agricultural spraying.

Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune is allowed drone use for atmospheric research at five locations--IITM Bhopal; NDA, Pune; Karad Airport; Osmanabad Airport; Mohammed Airfield, Farrukhabad. "These exemptions are valid for a period of one year from the date of approval or until further orders, whichever is earlier and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the SOP issued by DGCA," the release said.

(ANI)