First notified in June 2020, the UAS Rules seek to regulate the use of drones; although police departments being exempted from it had sparked concerns among experts. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted exemptions from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, to 10 organisations which means that these organisations have conditional permission to use drones for various purposes. The permission is valid for a period of one year from the date of approval or until further notice, as per the government press release. Granting permission to conduct trials to deliver essential healthcare items in tribal areas is seen as a welcome step. In the last few months, Palghar has witnessed several malnutrition deaths and if this experiment is successful then it can be implemented in other areas as well, thus making the provision of healthcare items more accessible to Indians living in far-flung areas. Organisations that have been granted permission for drone use National Health Mission, Mumbai: For conducting experimental BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) drone flights to deliver essential healthcare items in tribal areas of Jawhar in the Palghar district of Maharashtra Government of Karnataka: Drone-based aerial survey for creating urban property ownership records in Bengaluru. Gangtok Smart City Development: Drone-based aerial survey for Smart City Project Steel Authority of India, IISCO Steel Plant, Burnpur, West Bengal: For conducting perimeter surveillance of the plant Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy, Hyderabad, Telangana: For conducting remote pilot training using drones Blue…
