Drones will soon be equipped with on/off switches: Scindia

Drones will have autonomous “on/off” switches enabled in the near future, according to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, as per a report in Mint. The automated on/off switch, according to the union minister, will improve the security of drone operations if they depart from the pre-determined flight path.

“In the event that the drone departs from the specified flight route, the switch can be used to halt the drone,” Scindia stated in a virtual Q&A live chat session on the drone business. He also stated that a drone registration will be established.

According to him, there is a digital airspace map that divides drone activities into red, yellow, and green zones. The airspace up to a height distance of 400 feet that has not been marked as a red zone or yellow zone on the airspace map is referred to as “green zones.” No flight authorization will be required up to 400 feet in “green zones” and up to 200 feet in the area between 8 and 12 kilometres from the airport boundary, according to the new Drone Rules for 2021.

Drone activities were given a makeover by the government in August. The new drone regulations make it mandatory to register these devices. The Civil Aviation Minister has decreased the number of paperwork required to operate them from 25 to 5 and the sorts of fees charged from the operator from 72 to 4.