Your order is being picked up, by a drone
Your order is being picked up, by a drone
Bangalore Mirror Bureau / Updated: May 6, 2021, 06:17 IST
Centre allows 20 entities including
Swiggy to conduct BVLOS experimental flights
Delivery of food or groceries via drones has got one step closer to reality as the
Ministry of Civil Aviation has permitted 20 entities, including
Dunzo and Swiggy, to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) experimental flights of drones.
The
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Rules, 2021, to conduct BVLOS experimental flights.
BVLOS means an operation in which the remote pilot or the observer does not use visual reference to the unmanned aircraft while conducting the flight.
Government permits 20 entities to conduct beyond-line-of-sight drone operations
6 hours ago
The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday permitted to 20 entities to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) experimental flights of drones for a period of one year. These entities have been granted conditional exemption from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, the government said in a release. The government hopes that these trials will help create a framework for future applications using drones such as drone deliveries.
On April 30, MediaNama reported that the Central government permitted educational institutions and other government bodies to take up “beyond the visual line of sight” (BVLOS) operations, provided that they meet the criteria of the Directorate General Of Civil Aviation. The decision was taken after the Ministry of Civil Aviation received a myriad of proposals with regard to the use of drones to deliver COVID19 vaccines.
Photo for representation
The civil aviation ministry on Tuesday permitted experimental drone flight operations, which would be beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), of SpiceJet, Dunzo Air Consortium, Skylark Drones and Swiggy, and 17 other entities.
The 17 other entities include Virginia Tech India, ShopX Omnipresent Consortium, Asteria Aerospace Private Limited, Centillion Networks Private Limited, Marut Dronetech Private Limited and Sagar Defence Engineering Private Limited, the ministry said.
The ministry has granted a conditional exemption to these 20 entities from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, for “conducting the BVLOS experimental flights”, it said on Twitter.
The exemption will be valid for a year or until further orders, it noted.