Inside the drone policy that crashed India's UAV ambitions

Heavy on vision, light on execution, an inside look at India’s pie-in-the-sky dreams of being a drone hub

The 2018 regulations that govern drone flying envisioned a one-stop digital shop for flight approvals

However, the government failed to set up the required platform in time to facilitate drone registration, flying permission and tracking

The regulation rendered almost all drone flying in India illegal. Chinese drone major DJI has decided to not comply with the rules

Having missed the hardware bus, India can still become a hub—in drone applications and analytics

For the founders of Quidich, the months leading up to the Indian Premier League (IPL)—India’s big-budget domestic cricket tournament—in March 2019 were restless ones. The company, which specialises in drone-based sports broadcasting and filmmaking, was sweating on an exemption from the Indian government. More specifically, from the aviation regulator—the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)—and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), in order to operate its drones during IPL matches.

Things were so desperate that the company actually stationed an executive in Delhi for over two months, all to get the elusive greenlight for its drones.

AUTHOR

Pratap Vikram Singh

Pratap is based out of Delhi and covers policy and myriad intersections with the other sectors, most notably technology. He has worked with Governance Now for seven years, reporting on technology, telecom policy, and the social sector.

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