Alert
Alert
05.18.16
Last month, India’s civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), issued draft guidelines proposing a framework to regulate the civil and commercial use of unmanned aerial systems or drones (“Guidelines”). Comments are due by May 21, 2016. This is a pivotal moment in India’s adoption of the use of drones, and it presents an important opportunity for industry stakeholders to voice their opinion in order to better ensure India’s rules are harmonized with international best practices.
Overview of the proposed Guidelines
Drones are becoming increasingly popular in India and are readily available on the Internet. They have been enthusiastically adopted mostly by movie studios, real estate companies and wedding planners, who are using drones to capture panoramic views and otherwise difficult-to-capture aerial shots. This despite a ban imposed in 2014 by the DGCA on the civil and commercial use of drones. The ban was met with considerable opposition with several industries making a case that drones can be used effectively and safely in a variety of scenarios. In the preamble to the Guidelines, the DGCA acknowledges the constructive uses of drones in several areas such as for monitoring of critical infrastructure such as power plants, ports and pipelines, as well as for aerial mapping, which is particularly useful in agriculture and wildlife assessment and for assessing damage after natural calamities among others.
The Guidelines therefore reverse the overarching ban and instead seek to regulate the use of drones for civil applications by licensing the operator and the unmanned aerial system (UAS) intended for civil use. The Guidelines classify drones as Micro (less than 2 kgs1), Mini (greater than 2 kgs but less than 20 kgs2), Small (more than 20 kgs but less than 150 kgs3) and Large (greater than 150 kgs).
Registration requirements. The DGCA will permit civil operations of UAS at or above 200ft above ground level (AGL) in uncontrolled airspace. The Guidelines stipulate that any UAS intended to be operated in India will need to be registered and issued a Unique Identification Number (UIN) by the DGCA. As an indicator of ownership the UAS will need to be affixed with a UIN and a radio frequency ID tag.
Natural persons or companies wanting to engage in civil operations of drones (“operator”) will require an authorization to engage in the activity in the form of an Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) issued by the DGCA. The UAS operator will need to file a flight plan and obtain additional approvals from the local Air Traffic Services (ATS) unit and the local district commissioner. Security clearance of the operator firm/company from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is a precondition for the grant of a UAOP with personnel approved by the operator to fly the UAS also having to clear security checks. Further, the operator will have to intimate the local ATS unit, the BCAS, aerodrome operator and the local administration, before the commencement of UAS operations. Intimation is also required in the event of termination or cancelation of UAS operations. UAOPs will be valid for a period of two years. Renewals will require security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the BCAS. UAOPs will not be transferable.
The Guidelines restrict who can apply for an UIN by stipulating that an UIN would be granted to a natural person who is a citizen of India or, to a body corporate (i) that is registered in India and has its principal place of business within India (ii) whose chairman and at least two-thirds of its director are citizens of India and (iii) whose substantial ownership and effective control vest with Indian nationals.
Conditions of operation. Guidelines state that drones cannot be flown over restricted areas such as nuclear stations and military facilities, within 30 kms radius from the center of India’s capital, New Delhi or within 50 kms of India’s international borders. The Guidelines do not indicate if a more comprehensive list of restricted airspaces will be notified to include airspaces above other strategic locations. As a condition of operation, drones will also have to fly with 500m of visual line of sight for the entire length of the flight. Again, the Guidelines do not indicate if this requirement is applicable to all categories of drones or restricted to micro and mini UAS. Drones can be operated only during daylight when ground visibility is 5kms and surface winds are not more than 20 knots. Drones cannot be launched when rain or storm condition warnings are in force.
UAS operations below 200ft AGL in uncontrolled airspace and clear of notified, restricted, temporary segregated and temporary reserved areas will be exempt from obtaining an UAOP registration in order to conduct operations. Further model aircraft, which are described as UAS without payload and meant solely for recreational purposes flying below 200ft in uncontrolled airspace will also be exempt from requiring a UAOP registration. The Guidelines appear to suggest that permission for operating exempt categories of UAS may nonetheless be required from local authorities.
In what will have implications for delivery service companies the Guidelines stipulate that drones cannot “drop substances” unless they are specifically authorized to do so. Drones will also not be permitted to carry dangerous goods and animal or human payloads.
Download: Indian Regulator to Consider the Civil and Commercial Use of Drones