A report by the Department of Economic Affairs on fintech related issues has recommended insurance and lending companies in the agriculture sector “to use drone and remote sensing technology directly or those provided by fintech companies”. It noted that by doing this, credit/insurance risks can be reduced, and that drones can be used to resolve “discrepancies in self-reported cropping patterns and crop cutting experiment processes”. The report added that misuse of crop loans is a widespread issue, and can be addressed by using drones, and oddly enough, that by using drones’ technology, insurance claim assessments and settlements in the agriculture sector could take a lot less time. Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), drones can be deployed for accurate assessment of yield loss, risk classification, and rationalisation of crop cutting experiments among other things, the report noted. It also briefly touched upon the Ministry of Civil Aviation's drone policy. Regulations under the current Digital Sky policy The Union government had announced drone regulations in August 2018 and said they would come into effect in December, when the Digital Sky Platform for registration of drones was launched. The rules created a registrations and licensing regime for flying drones and providing more legal certainty to drone operators. The key rules in Digital Sky concerning drones are: Regulations under the current Digital Sky policy All drones (other than nano drones) are required to have a unique identification number (UIN). The fee for a fresh UIN is Rs 1000. All drone operators…
