The Ministry of Civil Aviation recently released India's airspace map for drone operations, according to a press release on September 24. The drone airspace map comes as a follow-up to the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 that was notified on August 26; the PLI scheme for drones was released on September 15, and the Geospatial Data Guidelines were issued on February 15. Essentially, the drone airspace map, developed in collaboration with MapMyIndia, is an interactive map of India that demarcates the country into yellow and red zones. A look at the map shows that the entire expanse of the country has been demarcated as a green zone, except for small pockets designated as red or yellow zones. In green zones, no permission is required for operating drones with an all-up weight of up to 500 kg. The concept of having green, red, and yellow zones was proposed in the Drone Rules 2021 which replaced the Unmanned Aerial System Rules 2021. This interactive map could make it easier for operators to fly their drones without accidentally crossing into territory where drone operations are prohibited or require permission from authorities. Features of the drone maps Yellow zone: It is the airspace above 400 feet in a designated green zone. The distance between the two zones gets reduced to 200 feet in an area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport. Drone operations in the yellow zone require permission from the concerned air traffic control authority – AAI, IAF, Navy, HAL, and so…
