India Expected to Legalize Recreational Drone Use
In October 2014, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in India imposed a ban on the sale and use of recreational drones. Since then, drones have continued to gain a lot of popularity around the world. With proper regulation, drones have proven to be one of the most important inventions of the 21st century in many parts of the world. This has led to the Civil Aviation Ministry in India making a complete reversal on the drone ban.
The Civil Aviation Ministry announced that people will be allowed to register and start using drones beginning in October, 2018. According to India Today, the ministry is currently finalizing the regulatory framework and developing an online course to help civilians register their drones and get their licenses to fly. The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) prohibited the sale and use of drones four years ago mainly due to the lack of proper regulations. Last November, the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry finally came up with a draft for the rules governing domestic drone use.
One of the rules dictates that every drone that weighs over 250 grams will be required to have a unique registration number before one can fly it. Another rule prohibits the use of drones within 50 kilometers of their borders. As far as drone regulations go, these are acceptable for most Indians, and it now seems like the drone enthusiasts in India will actually be able to own and fly their drones legally.
The secretary of the Indian Civil Aviation, Rajiv Nayan Choubey, confirmed to India Today that they were working on the online registration system that will allow civilians to buy, sell, and fly drones starting in October, 2018. A 13-person task force was formed to prepare for the influx of registrations which has created a lot of excitement amongst the Droners in India.
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