India bans civilian drones in the country till it revises existing policies
Until now drones have enjoyed limited restrictions in India, however that is about to change soon as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the authority that regulates law governing civilian aviation has prohibited the use of drones in the country (PDF) until it revises the existing policies (Aircraft Act, 1934), DNAIndiareports.
The announcement comes a month after Mumbai police banned the use of drones in the city. Until recently India, unlike the United States where commercial uses of drones are strictly regulated, was one of the most prominent places for commercial uses of drones as the government didn’t have any policies to regulate drones.
In a civil application filed on October 7, the DGCA expressed its concerns over the rising potential security threats due to the growing adoption in the usage of drones. “Due to lack of regulation, operating procedures/ standards and uncertainty of the technology, UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) poses threat for air collisions and accidents.”
It remains to be seen how the policy revision and the duration it takes affect Amazon’s plan to use India as the test drive place for Prime Air, a project it announced last year under which it would start delivering customers’ packages using small flying unmanned drones. Amazon couldn’t test the initiative in the United States, since Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) doesn’t approve commercial usesof drones in the country yet.
SOURCE:DCGA,BGR
