Government releases Drone Map, marks out Airspace for drone operations- All you need to know

The Government of India on September 24, 2021, released India’s airspace map for drone operations. According to the press release by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, the map is available on DGCA’s digital sky platform http://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in/home.

The Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed in a tweet, “Giving wings to the imminent drone revolution at breakneck speed! @MoCA_GoI has successfully managed to release the airspace maps for drones within 30 days of rolling out the new Drone Rules, all thanks to the team, as well as stakeholders at the State & Industry level.”

Giving wings to the imminent drone revolution at breakneck speed! @MoCA_GoI has successfully managed to release the airspace maps for drones within 30 days of rolling out the new Drone Rules, all thanks to the team, as well as stakeholders at the State & industry levels.

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) September 24, 2021

The drone airspace map comes as a follow-through of the liberalized Drone Rules, 2021 released on August 25, 2021, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones released on September 15, and the Geospatial Data Guidelines that were announced on February 15. All these policy reforms by the government will help in catalyzing the super-normal growth in the upcoming drone sector.

Drones sector in India

• Drones offer huge benefits to almost all sectors of the economy. These include mining, agriculture, surveillance, infrastructure, transportation, emergency response, defence, geospatial mapping, law enforcement among others.

• Drones in India can also be significant creators of employment and economic growth because of their versatility, and ease of use, particularly in India’s inaccessible and remote areas.

• Because of the traditional strength in innovation, engineering, information technology, and domestic demand, India has the potential of becoming a global drone hub by 2030.

Reforms in drones sector in India: Why are they significant?

• The drone PLI Scheme and the freely accessible drone airspace maps, the drones, and the drone components manufacturing industry may see an investment of over Rs. 5,000 crores over the next 3 years.

• With the new reforms, the annual sales turnover of the drone manufacturing industry may grow from Rs. 60 crore in 2020-21 fold to over Rs. 900 crores in the FY 2023-24.

• The drone manufacturing industry is also expected to generate over 10,000 direct jobs over the next 3 years.

• The latest reforms will help the drone service industry (mapping, operations, surveillance, logistics, agri-spraying, software development, data analytics, etc.) in growing even on a larger scale and is expected to grow over Rs. 30,000 crores in the next 3 years.

• The drone services industry is also expected to grow and generate over five lakh jobs in three years.

Drone airspace Map: Key details

• The drone airspace map is an interactive map of India that demarcates the green, red and yellow zones all over the country.

• The drone airspace map may also be modified by the authorized entities from time to time.

• Anyone planning to operate a zone must mandatorily check the latest airspace map for any form of changes in zone boundaries.

• The map is also freely available on the digital sky platform to all without any form of login requirements.