Its the Time to Fly

 

Audio Version Given Below

 

You must have heard about drones being used for photography at weddings in India. It is gaining popularity now. Drones also help us get beautiful panoramic views of a location. One can find hundreds of videos featuring drone-shots on YouTube. Keeping the new craze about drones in mind, the Indian government has been in the process of framing rules to regulate and legalize flying of drones in India. These rules are framed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

What is a ‘Drone’?

The word ‘Drone’ is a common term used for an Unmanned Aircraft. There are three types of unmanned aircraft:

a)    Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPA): It is the common ‘drone’ that we generally see around us being used for recreational photography, for example in weddings and in regular photography etc.

b)    Autonomous Aircraft: These are used by defence forces.

c) Model Aircraft: It is a scaled-down version of a real aircraft that is used for hobby flying, generally in a controlled environment like a flying club. This is more common in the UK.

Now we understand that RPA is the Unmanned Aircraft used for general purposes. So in this article, we will focus our attention on discussing RPA only. This is the ‘Drone’ we all generally refer to. The Ministry has framed ‘Civil Aviation Requirements’ (CAR) for the RPA. These rules come into effect from 1st December 2018 in India. These are the rules that will regulate the flying of RPA for civil purposes. I have tried to explain the relevant provisions in this article. Here onwards, for the purpose of easy understanding only, I have used the word ‘Drone’ to mean the RPA used by the general public for civil purposes.

Categories of Drones

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has divided drones into the following categories as per their Maximum Take- Off Weight:

a)  Nano: Up to 250 grams

b)  Micro: More than 250 grams and up to 2 Kgs

c)   Small: More than 2 Kgs and up to 25 Kgs

d)  Medium: More than 25 Kgs and up to 150 Kgs

e)  Large: More than 150 Kgs

For example, DJI, a Chinese company sells drones like DJI Spark, DJI Mavic and DJI Phantom etc. All these have a Maximum Take Off Weight between 300 grams and 1.3 Kgs, thus falling under Micro category. These are used for recreational photography.

Requirements

•    Equipment Type Approval (ETA)

 ETA is required to be taken for every drone to be permitted to operate in de-licenced frequency bands in India. This approval is granted by WPC wing of Ministry of Telecommunications, GoI and is valid for specific make and model for which it is obtained.

 •    Unique Identification Number (UIN)

 UIN is issued by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) for each drone other than Nano. UIN serves as a registration of the drone in the records of DGCA. Nano drones require no registration. UIN must be marked on the required drone on a fire-resistant plate. The plate should remain fixed to the drone at all times. A fee of Rs.1000/- is to be paid for issuance of UIN.

•    Unmanned Aircraft Operators Permit (UAOP)

UAOP is a permit for flying Unmanned Aircraft. It is issued by DGCA. UAOP is mandatory for all the drones except the following:-
a)     Nano drone: If flown in uncontrolled airspace or enclosed premises up to 50ft Above Ground Level (AGL)

b)    Micro drone: If flown in uncontrolled airspace or enclosed premises up to 200ft AGL.

c)    Drones operated by GoI agencies like NTRO, ARC and other such government agencies.

According to DGCA ‘controlled airspace’ is the airspace where Air Traffic Control (ATC) services are provided. (Generally, this area is around civil and military airports.). Similarly ‘uncontrolled airspace’ is the area where ATC services are not provided or cannot be provided.

 For issuance of UAOP, a fee of Rs. 25000/- is to be paid. A clearance from Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI is required if the applicant is a) Indian citizen, b) Body corporate as defined in the rules.
For renewal of UAOP, a fee of Rs. 10000/- is to be paid.
UAOP is valid for a period of 5 years.
For the purpose of renewal of UAOP, fresh security clearance is required from Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI.

 •    Digital Sky Platform

It is an online platform to handle UIN and UAOP applications and permissions. DGCA has announced that the link for Digital Sky Platform will be available on its website.

•    No Permission No Take-off (NPNT)

 NPNT is a software program that enables drones to get required permission through ‘Digital Sky Platform’. Every drone other than Nano drone requires permission before it is operated in India. Drone manufacturer should be contacted to be sure if the said drone is NPNT compliant.

Other Important Points Regarding Drones

•    Import of Drones 

A drone other than Nano category requires import clearance for being imported into India. The clearance should be taken from DGCA in prescribed application form alongwith ETA. Based on this clearance, DGFT will issue import licence for the drone.

•    Restricted item on flight

 Drones come under restricted items and cannot be carried as part of cabin luggage in flight.

 •    Foreign Nationals

 Foreign nationals are prohibited from flying drones in India. To use drones for commercial purposes they need to lease out the drone to an Indian entity which will in turn take the UIN and UAOP from DGCA.

 • Usage for Wedding Photography

Though UAOP is not required for flying a Micro drone, if it is done within prescribed limits, however if it is operated for the purpose of wedding photography, local police should be intimated 24 hours before the operation of the drone.

•    Flying Logs and Repair Logs

 It is mandatory to maintain flying logs for all drones except Nano drones. However, Repair logs should be maintained for all drones. These logs should be produced before DGCA whenever asked.

•    Not allowed for delivery

 As of now, drones cannot be used in India for food or product delivery.

Interesting Facts

•    Gujarat Police used drone for security surveillance during Run for Unity in the year 2015.

•    Unauthorised use of drones affects others privacy. To combat the unauthorised use of drones to get a sneak-peak of ongoing filming of the Eighth season of famous HBO series, ‘Game of Thrones’, the team is said to have used ‘Drone Killer’. This device is generally used by police there, to bring down the camera- drones to the ground in case of an emergency.

Update: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has notified ‘Unmanned Aircraft Systems(Draft) Rules 2020’ via Gazette notification on 2^nd June 2020. I have posted an article titled ‘Drone Regulations 2020 in India’

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