While the consortium of firms led by Bengalurus Throttle Aerospace Systems (TAS) had got Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approval for object delivery experiments as early as March 2020, the pandemic had led to delays in some other permissions from agencies.
The government has invited bids for delivery of medical supplies and vaccines by drones to various parts of the country, in order to tackle supply hurdles hampering Covid vaccination programmes in far-flung areas of the country. However, the tender criteria demands that an entity must be eligible to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations in order to become eligible. Currently, no drone companies are eligible to do BVLOS operations. The tender has been called by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), closes on 22 June. “ICMR may support in getting DGCA approval only for this activity; however a prior approval from DGCA for BVLOS will be preferred,” the tender document says.
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.