Drone users in India have a new venue to practice their craft. Initiating what might eventually be seen in the rest of the country, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved the Bombay Flying Club as the first drone training school of India.
The update comes from the Civil Aviation Ministry in a recent tweet. As per the ministry, the Bombay Flying Club is now the first DGCA-approved drone training school of India.
The tweet by the ministry on Monday read, ˇ°Good News for Drone Users. Want to be a professional drone pilot? If yes, then register at the Bombay Flying Club as Bombay Flying Club becomes the first DGCA-approved drone training school of India.ˇ±
A link shared within the tweet redirects to the order released by the ministry on July 24. As per the order, the ministry has provided the ˇ°permission for conducting remote pilot training at Bombay Flying Club using remotely piloted aircraft systems.ˇ±
The permission has been granted to the club for a period of one year.?
The permission, however, comes with some prerequisites. The club, for instance, will have to meet the safety requirements for drone use. Additionally, it will have to take clearances from the local administration, the Defence Ministry, the Home Ministry, the Indian Air Force as well as the Airports Authority of India.
From June 8, the ministry has started the registration process for non-compliant drones. The process is meant for drones which are not registered with the DGCA?and do not have drone acknowledgement numbers (DANs).
A report by News18 mentions that a similar exercise conducted in January this year led to the registry of 19,553 non-compliant drones in just more than half a month.
DGCA has been proactive for certain uses of drones in the country for solving issues. Back in May, for instance, DGCA granted a conditional exemption to the agriculture ministry within 24 hours of its request to use drones to fight the locust swarm in the country.
The approval by DGCA stated, ˇ°In view of the urgency of the matter, the Government of India, in exercise of powers conferred under Rule 160 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, provides ˇ°conditional exemptionˇ± to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.ˇ±
With the approval of the Bombay Flying Club as the first drone training school of India, it seems the use of drones is only going to grow and spread to several other applications.?