Flying Drone To Be Legal In India From December

Good news for entertainment industry of the North East,. The use of drone is about to become legal in India. The drone, most popular mode of shooting in the hilly North Eastern region], has been a bone of contention and its needs proper permission and often the local authorities are clueless leaving the production team in lurks.

But that is not going to happen from December. Government has identified 23 sites across where the drone technology will be put to extensive use

The commercial use of drones (unmanned aircraft) across sectors such as agriculture, health and disaster relief under new regulations will come into force from December 1, but delivery of payload, including food items, would not be allowed as of now, the government said today.

All civilian drone operations will be restricted only during day time and flying will be restricted within visual line of sight which usually would be 450 metres, the regulation says.

Except nano drones and those owned by National Technical Research Organisation and central intelligence agencies, the rest  would be registered and issued Unique Identification Number (UIN).

The regulation prevents the drones from flying around airports, near international border, near coast line, state secretariat complexes. Besides, they cannot operate in strategic locations, vital and military installations and Vijay Chowk in the capital or be used for wedding photography.

Unveiling the regulations, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said, "Our progressive regulations will encourage a vast Made in India drone industry."

He said the relief efforts in Kerala would have been much more effective had the regulation been in place by now. He said drone market is expected to touch $ 1 trillion in the coming years.

"We are likely to go from travelling in auto rickshaws to air rickshaws. There is a wide range of application of drones, from disaster relief, surveillance, security monitoring, precision agriculture, precision logistics," said Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.