New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has released what it calls “Drone Regulations 1.0”, a long-awaited policy on the flying of remotely piloted and unmanned aircraft.These rules will help put to rest legal questions that have been raised by hobbyists, the media, private operators and private manufacturers over the last few years. In the absence of government guidelines, the civilian and commercial use of drones has for long been riddled with doubts and concerns that the authorities could act arbitrarily against private operators.The new framework had been anticipated since earlier this year after the government announced a set of draft rules in November 2017. At the time, former civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had said the government wanted to “make India the world’s leader in the use of drones”.The framework recognises five categories of drones according to their mass: nano (≤ 250 g), micro (250 g to 2 kg), small (2-25 kg), medium (25-150 kg) and large (over 150 kg).It also proposes fixed parameters for drone flights, including specific heights, and outlines what it calls “no drone zones”. These restricted airspaces are mainly clustered around airports, near international borders, strategic locations, secretariat complexes in state capitals and important military installations.While the new rules are a ‘1.0 version’, if all goes well, drones will now be able to used from December 1 for purposes such as surveying and photography – which were technically illegal or not allowed due to the absence of official guidelines. The policy sets up an automated system, where owners and pilots will have to undertake a one-time registration process. However, the new system implements what the ministry calls a “no-permission, no take-off” policy, where users of drones heavier than the nano category will have to ask permission for every flight through a mobile app.What may cause some criticism, however, is another rule that prevents drones from flying beyond 400 feet during daytime flights.Credit: PixabayIn a press release, the ministry has indicated that the drone task-force under the minister of state will “provide draft recommendations for Drone Regulations 2.0”, which will include guidance on certification of drone hardware and software and general airspace management.It will also work out rules for allowing drones to fly beyond 400 feet and out of the ‘line-of-sight’ of the operator, which the current policy does not allow.No drone delivery, says Jayant SinhaTaking after policies enacted by other countries, the Centre has not allowed the use of drones for delivery of goods and food items, in a move that will hinder its usage in the e-commerce and logistics industry.At a press conference on Monday evening, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha noted that this was done keeping in mind various “security aspects” and indicated that this could change in the future. Online retail giant Amazon has indicated in the past that it may shift parts of its delivery network towards drones – a service that it refers to as ‘Amazon Prime Air’ – even though it faces stiff legal battles in the United States in this regard.In October 2017, media reports noted that the company had filed a patent for deploying drones in India.Industry concerns on flight and weightArindam Majumdar of Business Standard reports:For the lightest category of drone, Nano, a payload of up to 250 grams and flight to a maximum height of 50 feet, have been approved. A user need not seek prior approval for operating a nano drone.However, for equipment which is more than 250 gm, the operator has to get security clearance each time the drone is operated. “What we intend to do is to connect one police station in a district to the digital system. Any person who intends to use drone can comply with the norms digitally to seek approval for operating the drone,” civil aviation secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey said.Drone manufacturers, however, said that the government has been conservative in its policy. An executive of a Bangalore-based drone manufacturer said that any drone intended for commercial use will invariably weigh more than 2 kg and will fall in the bracket of medium to large category needing permission every time it is operated. Simultaneously a blanket restriction on the height limit of 400 feet will be difficult to follow if it is to be used for surveying and mapping. “With such restriction the use of drones would remain limited to amateur usage like wedding photography and recreational use only,” the person said.Jayant Sinha, however, said that the government will look to liberalise its usage in future terming the current policy as 1.0. “We will form a task force on the usage of drones and continuously update the regulations in future,” he said.(With arrangement from Business Standard).