August 29, 2018 TnH Global

Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu announces India’s first drone policy

The Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu and his second-in-command Jayant Sinha announced India’s first national drone usage policy yesterday. The new policy is expected to open opportunities for several commercial sectors. Along with that, it can also create job opportunities. The policy would come into force from December this year.

One big restriction would, however, prevent the drones from flying around and over sensitive areas. The policy is expected to trigger a commercial production of different types of drones like large, small, medium and micro drones.

Usage of drones in India was hampered by a number of restrictions that prevented commercial use of drones from monitoring, under the notion that a drone is a potential spy vehicle. However, this dialogue has seen a shift as with the help of drones, a good governance is something that can be brought in with the new drone usage policy.

There are different ways drones can be used for commercial purposes. The drones can be used for agriculture, rescue operations and can even be used by the estate sector. Experts have suggested that drones shall be used for inspection and to monitor commercial activities.