Govt’s drone policy will soon pave way for faster delivery of everything you order

Govt’s drone policy will soon pave way for faster delivery of everything you order

PW Bureau 

Under drone policy 2.0, the government is likely to permit their operation beyond the visual line of sight

New Delhi: The Modi government has proposed rules that would permit drones to deliver goods, a move that could help accelerate commercial unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications in the field. Under its drone policy 2.0, the government is likely to permit their operations beyond the visual line of sight. The updated proposal, which was unveiled by minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha, has already allowed multiple food delivery companies such as Zomato and Swiggy to deliver food using drones, says a source.

The source also said that a task force headed by the director general of civil aviation and the civil aviation secretary will finalise the guidelines.

"Commercial UAS (unmanned aerial system) operations will foster various new forms of air freight capabilities, such as creation of supply chain relay networks for delivery of payload, transport of temperature-sensitive commodities like bodily organs, emergency or just-in-time deliveries of life-saving medicines or safe blood for transfusions and collection of patient specimens for delivery to laboratory for time-sensitive testing."

The updated version of drone policy was unveiled by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha at the Global Aviation Summit.

"Commercial UAS (unmanned aerial system) operations will foster various new forms of air freight capabilities, such as creation of supply chain relay networks for delivery of payload, transport of temperature-sensitive commodities like bodily organs, emergency or just-in-time deliveries of life-saving medicines or safe blood for transfusions and collection of patient specimens for delivery to laboratory for time-sensitive testing," the document said.

"There are opportunities for our aviation sector and for India's start-up industry as India is set to become a global leader as far as the drone ecosystem is concerned. It's important for us to have a policy road map and regulations that support the growth of the drone ecosystem," Sinha said at this year's Global Aviation Summit.

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