Drones can be referred as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Miniature Pilotless Aircraft or Flying Mini Robots, drones are gaining popularity.
The last few years have been significant in terms of drone adoption, usage expansion across industries, government organisations and global awareness.
Originally drones were developed for the military and aerospace industries, drones have found their way into the mainstream because of the enhanced levels of safety and efficiency they bring.
Drones are a transformative technology that, over the next decade, will change in ways you likely never imagined.
From quick deliveries at rush hour to scanning an unreachable military base, drones are proving to be extremely beneficial in places where man cannot reach or is unable to perform in a timely and efficient manner.
-
Today drones are used for Agriculture, Parcel Delivery, Disaster mitigation and Relief, Logistics, Filmmaking and photography, Law Enforcement, Real Estate, Navigation and many more.
-
Commercial drones fall into the category of Electronic Vehicles. Similar to Electronic Automobiles, drones offer another important option in fending off greenhouse gasses and becoming carbon neutral.
-
Big tech companies like Facebook and Google are experimenting with solar powered drone technology to beam Internet to remote locals. This could transform connectivity.
-
Drone fireworks are gaining popularity. Drone displays are becoming a replacement for fireworks, due to concerns about firework-related air pollution and environmental damage.
-
Since, there are multiple uses of drones and they are cost-efficient in the long term, there are a few companies like Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd., Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Zen Technologies, Rattanindia Enterprises, Info Edge, DCM Shriram Industries, which are looking to expand their business with the help of drones.
Despite the convenience of drones, their potential threats to the community or the environment should not be overlooked. Air traffic safety is the biggest concern due to the risk of injuries to the general public. In most situations, drones are not allowed to fly over controlled airspace and near clusters of people.
On 26th August, 2021 new drone rules were published by the Ministry of Civil Aviation with 30 key features of Drone Rule, 2021. This rule had replaced the Unmanned Aircraft System Rule 2021, issued on 12th March, 2021.
Also, no pilot license will be required to operate micro drones used for non-commercial use, nano drones and organizations using such drones. The number of forms has also been reduced from 25 to 5 and types of fees sharply reduced.
Digital sky platform is an initiative by the aviation ministry to provide a secure and scalable platform that supports drone technology frameworks such as NPNT (no permission, no take-off), designed to enable flight permissions digitally and managing unmanned aircraft operations and traffic efficiently.
Government of India is planning to create a strong drone ecosystem in India while eliminating all unnecessary operational and entry barriers and generating employment opportunities as there are more than 200 startups in this field.