The Ministry of Civil Aviation granted permission for drone operations across an additional 166 green zones or uncontrolled airpaces across the country, bringing the total to 232. The ministry has allowed “No-Permission-No-Takeoff' (NPNT) compliant drone operations up to 400 ft above ground level (AGL) across these green zones, which do not need an Air Traffic Control (ATC) service. The new green zones added to the list, are in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, according to a government order. Drones compliant with the “no permission, no takeoff” NPNT)protocol will be able to fly in these airspaces. The order, signed by Amber Dubey who is joint secretary at the Civil Aviation Ministry, urged State governments to facilitate operations of NPNT-compliant drones to promote the growth of the industry in India. s per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, under “NPNT or ‘No Permission – No Take-off’ compliance, every remotely piloted aircraft (except Nano drones) 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. Source: Ministry of Civil Aviation Drone flights in the green zone sites shall be compliant with the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)…
