The DGCA working group to make a presentation on it to the aviation ministry officials and DG
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is giving finishing touches to the operational rules and regulations draft for the use of unmanned aerial system (UAS) in the Indian skies and will present it for approval from the ministry of civil aviation (MCA) officials this week, said a government officer, who did not want to be named.
The aviation regulatory body, which had issued a public notice against the use of UAS by non-government agencies, organisations or individuals late last year, has received requests for use of the UAS for the purposes of education, pipeline surveillance and disaster management.
Once the operational regulations are in place, it would open up UAS for various civil applications. At present, there are several security concerns, which are preventing the government from permitting organisations from using UAS for civil and commercial activities.
"It (civil and commercial applications of UAS) is a very sensitive issue. All aspects of the UAS are being studied such as who will operate the remote station and who will be the UAS controller. This week a presentation will be made to the DG (director general of civil aviation) and ministry (civil aviation) officials for their approvals," said the government official.
The agencies, which are keen on looking at the possibility of usage of UAS, are one of the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) for aircraft modelling and Gas Authority of the India Ltd (GAIL) for pipeline surveillance.
The draft of the operational regulations is being prepared by a working group formed by the DGCA. The group consists of officials from aviation regulator's department of engineering, airworthiness and safety.
"This group will only look at the operational aspect of the UAS in the domestic skies and will not study other aspects such as design or airworthiness of UAS," said the government official.
He said final draft is being prepared after going through operating procedures and standards in the other parts of the world; "The group is studying practices world over. They are going through operational regulations that exist in New Zealand, Australia, UK and of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). And then fine tuning it to our needs".
The global aviation regulatory body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is yet to come out with standards and recommended practices (SARPs) for certification and operation of UAS.
In October last year, the DGCA had come out with a public notice banning launch of UAS by any "non-government agency, organisation and individual for any purpose".
It has stated that while the aerial machine had large number of civil applications, it also raised safety concerns and posed security threat.
"The airspace over cities in India has high density of manned aircraft traffic. Due to lack of regulation, operating procedures/standards and uncertainty of technology, UAS poses threat for air collisions and accidents," he said.
After the MCA gives its nod, the operation regulation draft will be sent to MHA and other security agencies for clearance before it is notified. Recently, the FAA proposed rules for use of UAS by commercial operators and is likely to issue by final rules soon.
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