Aviation Ministry grants permission to use drones to 10 organisations

The Civil Aviation Ministry recently gave conditional permission to 10 organisations, including Mahindra and Mahindra, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Bayer Crop Science, to use drones for various purposes.

In a statement, the ministry said the Karnataka government is one of the 10 organisations and it has got the permission to conduct “drone based aerial survey for creating urban property ownership records in Bengaluru”.

Key Highlights

• Mahindra and Mahindra has got permission to conduct “drone-based agricultural trials” and use drones for precision spraying on paddy and hot pepper crop in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, it mentioned. 
• Two organisations — Gujarat-based Blue Ray Aviation and Telangana-based Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy — have been permitted to conduct “remote pilot training using drones”, the ministry’s statement noted. 
• Bayer Crop Science has got the permission to conduct “drone-based agricultural research activities” and use drones for agricultural spraying, it mentioned. 
• The National Health Mission in Mumbai has also got the permission to conduct experimental BVLOS (beyond visual line-of-sight) drone flights to deliver essential healthcare items in tribal areas of Jawhar in Palghar district of Maharashtra. 
• Gangtok Smart City Development has got the permission for drone-based aerial survey for its smart city project, the ministry’s statement mentioned.

SOURCE: India Today

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