India mulls forming global drone alliance

India is looking at forming a global drone alliance on the lines of the International Solar Alliance wherein the member countries will accept regulations made collectively for drones, a senior government official said Friday. On December 1, the Civil Aviation Ministry started the registration process for drone operators in the country and it is done through ‘Digital Sky’ portal. “We are looking to form a drone alliance, something like the solar alliance, wherein all the member countries will accept regulations made collectively,” Shefali Juneja, who is a Joint Secretary at the ministry, said.

She said that India is approaching countries, including Israel and the European Union, for their support to form this global alliance. Speaking at the Global Venture Capital Summit here, she said that harmonisation of the rules and regulations would help push the growth of the drone sector.

“Drones are here to stay. They will be feeding the start ups. By December, mapping of the country will be done. Nano and micro drones will be up in the sky at 400 feet,” Juneja said. The ministry, she said, would use the upcoming Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai to brainstorm further on the idea of having a global drone alliance. The summit is scheduled for January 15-16 next year.

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On December 1, the ministry started the registration process for drone operators in the country and it is done through ‘Digital Sky’ portal. In August, the ministry put in place regulations for operations of remotely piloted aircraft. Under these norms, drone users would be required to do one-time registration of their drones. They would also need to register the pilots of drones as well as their owners.

Drones have been classified into Nano, Micro, Small, Medium, and Large categories. The ministry has constituted a task-force on the recommendation of Drone Policy 2.0. The framework for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) or drones is expected to include regulatory architecture for autonomous flying, delivery via drones and beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights.