Drones may soon be used as taxis, delivery vehicles

NEW DELHI: India may soon have separate terminals for drones, with the civil aviation ministry on Tuesday proposing designated drone corridors segregated from flight paths of manned flights and droneports to facilitate take-off and landing of unmanned aircraft systems.

According to Drone 2.0, released at Global Aviation Summit 2019, the government is set to allow a host of services, including commercial use of drones as taxis and delivery vehicles.

Last August, the ministry released Drone 1.0, which made it legal for individuals and companies to operate drones from December 1 in areas other than those barred for security reasons. The ministry, however, held back approval for commercial use of drones. Under Drone 2.0, it will permit drone operations beyond the visual line of sight, which is likely to take effect by March .

“Users will be required to do a one-time registration of drones, pilots and owners. For every flight (except nano drones), users will be required to ask for permission to fly through a mobile app, and an automated process will permit or deny the request instantly. The unmanned traffic management operates as a traffic regulator in the drone airspace and coordinates closely with the defence and civilian air traffic controllers to ensure drones remain on approved flight paths,” said a ministry official on condition of anonymity. Drone 2.0 will be released for public feedback for 30 days.