Centre gives nod to permission compliant drone operations in 166 more green zones

In a key development, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Saturday granted permission of “No-Permission-No-Takeoff' (NPNT) compliant drone operations at 166 additional green zones to facilitate, smoothen, and promote drone operations in the country. These zones in addition to the Sixty-Six green zone sites approved earlier have an allowance for drone usage of up to 400 ft Above Ground Level (AGL). 

As per DGCA, under “NPNT or ‘No Permission – No Take-off’ compliance, every Remotely Piloted Aircraft (except Nano) has to obtain valid permission through the Digital Sky platform before operating in India. The framework mandates users to register on the online portal that acts as the national unmanned traffic management system for remotely piloted aircraft. Flying in these approved ‘green zones’ will require only intimation of the time and location of the flights via the Digital Sky portal or the app. Moreover,  drone flights in the green zone sites shall be compliant with the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 dated 12th March 2021, and other relevant orders/ guidelines issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

States wise list of the approved green zone sites:

        State                                Number of sites

• Andhra Pradesh                    04
• Chhattisgarh                         17
• Gujarat                                  02
• Jharkhand                             30
• Karnataka                             06
• Madhya Pradesh                  24
• Maharashtra                         22
• Odisha                                  30
• Punjab                                  01
• Rajasthan                             06
• Tamil Nadu                           07
• Telangana                             09
• Uttar Pradesh                       08\

(Credit-ANI/Unsplash)