Lok Sabha Question No. 263 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-03
Subject: Utilisation of Drones
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Manne Srinivas Reddy, Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy, Manickam Tagore B

263.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL A VIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 263 (To be answered on the February 2022) 3rd

## UTILISATION OF DRONES

SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY SHRI KOMATI REDDY VENKAT REDDY SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B.

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government has called for more effective utilisation of drone applications and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance, situational analysis, crime control, VVIP security, disaster management etc to make India a global hub for drones Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and if s0, the details thereof; (b) whether\_the Ministry has\_written to other Ministries in the backdrop of liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 regarding benefits of drones to almost every sector of economy and suggested to promote effective use of technology for communication in remote areas, delivery of medicines, collection of samples etc. and if sO, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has received a number of applications for permission to use drones from various quarters particularly from Tamil Nadu and if sO, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(GEN. (DR) V. K SINGH (RETD))

(a) & (b) Yes; Sir. Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested several Ministries including Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to encourage various entities under their administrative control to promote use of drones:

Drones offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy like agriculture, medicine delivery, mining, infrastructure, surveiilance, emergency response, transportation; geo-spatial mapping; defence and law enforcement etc. An illustrative list of drone applications under different Ministries is attached herewith as Annexure.

- (c) As per Drone Rules, 2021, operation of drones in zones marked red and yellow on the drone airspace map zones requires\_permission from the Central Government and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) authority respectively. No permission is required to operate a drone in a green zone which is where most of the drone operations currently happen.

Till date, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has not received any application for permission to use drones in Tamil Nadu.

Annexure Illustrative list of drone applications under different Union Ministries

| S No   | Ministry                                                                              | Mlustrative drone applications                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1      | Agriculture & Farmers Welfare                                                         | a Crop and soil health monitoring b Irrigation estimation and scheduling C Requirement and efficacy assessment of fertilizer and pesticide spraying d. Anti-locust operations e Crop output estimates f. River and canal erosion; restoration tracking g Insurance claim surveys                                                      |
| 2      | Health & Family Welfare                                                               | a Delivery of medicines, equipment and other supplies b. Pathology tests sample collection from remote Or epidemic/ pandemic affected areas                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| 3_     | Panchayati Raj                                                                        | a Land records and property rights (SVAMITVA Scheme)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| 4      | Defence                                                                               | a Surveillance b Combat                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|        |                                                                                       | C Communication in remote areas d. Swarm drone solutions e Counter drone solutions                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| 5_     | Home Affairs                                                                          | Surveillance, situational analysis, public announcements and evidence gathering for: a Security of sensitive installations b Raids and counter-terror operations C Crowd management d. Crime control e VVIP security f. Disaster management; search and rescue; transportation of food, medicines and essentials g Traffic management |
| 6_     | Housing and Urban Affairs                                                             | a Urban planning and management b Construction planning and monitoring C Incident reporting d. Prevention of encroachment and land-use alteration                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|        | Transportation: Road Transport and Highways; Railways; Ports , Shipping and Waterways | a. Surveillance b. Incident response C Inspection and maintenance d. Project monitoring e Disaster management                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |

| S No   | Ministry                                | Ilustrative drone applications                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|--------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8      | Mining                                  | a Monitoring and Inspection b Automatic surveying and mapping C Stockpile assessment and management d. Haulage road optimisation                                                                                            |
| 9      | Power                                   | a Real-time surveillance of assets and transmission lines b Theft prevention and incident response C Visual inspection and maintenance d Construction planning and management                                               |
| 10_    | Petroleum and Natural Gas               | a Real-time surveillance of assets and pipelines b Theft prevention and incident response C Visual inspection and maintenance d. Construction planning and management                                                       |
| 11.    | Environment; Forests and Climate Change | a. Monitoring of forests and wildlife b Afforestation through seed-balls, irrigation and real-time monitoring C Anti-poaching actions d. Pollution assessment and evidence-gathering                                        |
| 12_    | Information and Broadcasting            | a difficult-to-reach-places at a fraction of the cost and approvals required b. Low altitude ~shooting without-noise and-dust pollution and risk of accidents Complete replacement of costly helicopter - based videography |

## Note:

- 1\_ The above list is ilustrative and not exhaustive New applications may evolve with time, usage and further innovations.
- 2 The above list has been prepared in consultation with academia, drone startups and industry bodies.