Good, but not enough

Proposed regulations for drones should be improved

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has just released a revised draft of proposed rules for operating civilian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. The draft invites public comments by December 1 and the expectation is that it will be finalised by the year-end. An earlier draft in mid-2016 faced widespread criticism for proposing a very complicated and restrictive set of rules that was also difficult to enforce. Some of those requirements have been relaxed in the new draft, which now appears more in line with the ground realities. It divides drones, according to weight, into five categories. The lightest two categories – Nano (up to 250 grams), and Micro (up to 2 kgs of takeoff weight) – may be operated without the operator possessing an unmanned aircraft operator permit (UAOP), or the UAVs requiring a unique identification number (UIN), provided they are operated within line-of-sight and not above 200 metres. Larger vehicles will have to possess unique identification number and their operators will need a permit. Flight plans will have to be filed and import licences for larger drones will be granted on merit, depending on the purpose. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has stated that commercial use of drones for photography, doorstep delivery, and even passenger transport could be allowed. 

These are considerable relaxations, given that the earlier proposal suggested every flight would have to be cleared by the home ministry and the DGCA as much as 80 days in advance. Restrictions placed on areas where UAVs may not be operated have also been relaxed. For example, there was a blanket restriction on flights within a 30 km radius of Rashtrapati Bhavan; this has now been reduced to within a 5 km radius of Vijay Chowk. Flights are not going to be permitted within 500 metres of designated sensitive installations, or within 50 km of borders, including the LoC and LAC, or for more than 500 metres out to sea. This is still very restrictive and it will make commercial operations difficult, given the plethora of “sensitive installations” spread across the country. The new regulations will be difficult to enforce as well. Civilian use of drones for hobby and commercial purposes is already common and multiple types are available, some in disassembled kits. The cheapest ones cost Rs 1,200-1,500; a smart middle-school student can assemble and programme a drone by assembling off-the-shelf components. If permissions are too tedious, they may be ignored.

But given sensible regulations, civilian use could proliferate. Amazon has already applied for an Indian patent for multi-scale fiducials, a system of visual markings to allow easy identification of objects and places by UAVs. Moreover, UAV ambulances have been successfully deployed in several countries. The advantages are obvious in difficult terrain or crowded urban landscapes. UAVs are also used in disaster management; for surveys and mapping; monitoring of power lines, ports and pipelines; commercial photography; crop spraying; and gathering of weather data. Indeed, there are multiple associated safety, security and privacy concerns, but those must be addressed in a pragmatic and rational fashion by flexible regulations that can adapt to new technologies. The new draft is an improvement but it does not go far enough.