JOIN USThe Union Civil Aviation Ministry is burning midnight oil to finalise rules on regulating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with officials grappling with issues like finding ways to track drone movement and who will authorise permits.
A meeting is scheduled in the first fortnight of January where officials from the Home Ministry, Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would try to thrash out nitty gritties.
Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said the DGCA has to work out certain “technological and administrative” challenges on dealing with the issue.“We are creating a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), which will indicate registration and tracking of drone,” Choubey told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of online NOC Application System for height clearance for builders to ensure safety of aeroplanes safety.
Along with the Civil Aviation Ministry, he said, the DGCA and the Home Ministry are working on preparing guidelines for civilian use of drones without compromising security.
Acknowledging that tracking of drones would be a "huge technological challenge", he said there would be thousands of drones to be monitored. At present, private use of UAVs is prohibited in the country.
Another issue is who would authorise the use of drones and other UAVs for civilian purposes. Initial thinking was that local police station should do but it also had its flaws.