Government approves 166 additional Green Zone Sites for Drones
The Ministry of Civil Aviation on 27th May 2021, has approved 166 additional green zone sites across the country for operation of drones. This is to facilitate operations of “No Permission No Take-off” (NPNT) compliant drones. Earlier in March, Government had approved 34 such sites and in earlier in February this year, it had approved 26 green zone sites. The first ever approval were for given for 6 sites. With the fresh approvals, now the total tally stands at 232 green sites. Green zones are essentially uncontrolled airspaces where an Air Traffic Control (ATC) service is not necessary.
The NPNT Compliance
No Permission, No Take off is a policy concept for regulating UAV traffic and usage around the world. This is a part of DGCA India’s Digital Sky platform, which will soon enable these green zones.
The user (pilot) must first register himself (with Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit) and the drone (with Unique Identification Number) before flying and then download a mobile app to obtain permission for each flight.
No Permission – No Take-Off, or NPNT, is a software that allows every Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) [excluding Nano] to receive legal authorization through the digital sky platform before operating in India. Drones can pose a security issue because they exist in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from micro to enormous.
If an NPNT-compliant drone tries to break the geographical limit, the drone’s software will force it to return home (RTH).
You can read the notification here, and all areas identified as green zones here.
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