'Digital sky' for drones needed for smooth operations: Sinha

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SME Times News Bureau | 23 Nov, 2017
The government aims to implement the concept of "digital sky" for drones to ensure smooth operations for the rising numbers of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Ministry published the draft policy for operating unmanned aerial system (UAS) for civilian purposes otherwise known as drones. It proposes a unique identification number and radio frequency tags as mandatory for operating drones.

"Increasingly the way in which people are thinking about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles is that you create a digital space where every point in that 3-D digital space is mapped out, Sinha said addressing an "Open House" consultation process conducted by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for finalising the norms to fly drones.

"When someone wants to operate a drone, they will have to file a digital flight plan and through a software monitoring programme and ground radars you ensure that the digital flight plan is faithfully followed," he said.

"While the public consultation process is on, we get lots of comments from different segments of the aviation sector. We will take those into consideration and we will see how best to handle with those concerns," he added.

The Minister also said the sheer volume of drone technology has digitisation a pressing imperative.