One-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of drones, its operators: Civil Aviation Ministry

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Monday said that a one-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of drones and its operators is being provided to facilitate the identification of civil drones and their operators.

A ministry release said that persons in possession of drones are required to submit the information to the government, starting from January 14, 2020, by visiting the Digital Sky portal at https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in.

It said drones and drone operators have to obtain Unique Identification Number (UIN), Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) and other operational requirements as per the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which regulates the use of drones in the Indian Airspace.

"It was brought to the notice of the government that such drones and drone operators are not complying with the CAR," the release said.

The deadline to submit the required information to the government is January 31, 2020.

On successful submission of voluntary disclosure of possessing drone, a Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN) and an Ownership Acknowledgement Number (OAN) will be issued online which will assist in validation of operations of drones in India.

The release said that DAN or OAN does not confer any right to operate drones in India if it does not fulfill the provisions given in the CAR.

"Ownership of drone(s) in India without a valid DAN or OAN shall invite penal action as per applicable laws," the release said.

It said that any clarification or additional information may be sought from Digital Sky Help desk at support-digisky@gov.in.

There have been concerns about the possible misuse of drones. Pakistan has also been trying to push weapons in the country using drones.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta had said at a press conference on Friday that the state police have arrested three people who were launching drones from India across the border to fetch drug payloads.

"We suspect weapons were also smuggled into the country through this means. We have recovered two drones," he had said.

While one of the drones was recovered from Amritsar rural in Punjab, another was seized from Haryana's Karnal on Thursday.