Civil aviation min needs to consider remote identification system for drones: Survey

ATFI's Chief Advisor Lalit Gupta said that considering the representative view of the industry players, "we would urge the government to consider introduction of Remote Identification as an alternative technology to NPNT, to ensure compliance and thereby improve safety and security in the airspace". He also said that to ensure seamless and timely operations, it is imperative to permanently exempt government agencies providing critical emergency services from NPNT and Digital Sky restrictions.

The civil aviation ministry needs to consider introduction of remote identification system for drones instead of 'No Permission No Takeoff (NPNT)' framework, according to majority of participants in a survey. Recently, the ministry notified Draft Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules 2020.

The survey was conducted by the Aviation Technology Forum of India (ATFI) among 100 entities, including drone OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), drone users, operators, drone service providers, academia, and research institutions. As per the findings, 64 per cent of the respondents are of the view that the ministry consider introducing remote identification system for identifying and tracking of drones as an alternative to NPNT.

"68 per cent of the respondents are in favour of permanent exemption of government agencies providing critical emergency services such as disaster relief, emergency response and aerial security services from NPNT and Digital Sky restrictions," the ATFI said in a statement on Friday. The survey titled 'Evaluating Users’ Perspective on Drone Policy Ecosystem' was undertaken with an objective to study the impact of policy regulations and guidelines for the drone industry and gather industry insights and solutions on pertinent challenges.

"Over 75 per cent of the respondents stated that India should move towards a tried and tested system similar to the automated notification-based authorization system called 'Low Altitude Authorisation and Notification Capability (LAANC), given that compliance to NPNT has proven a challenge across different industries," the statement said. ATFI's Chief Advisor Lalit Gupta said that considering the representative view of the industry players, "we would urge the government to consider introduction of Remote Identification as an alternative technology to NPNT, to ensure compliance and thereby improve safety and security in the airspace".

He also said that to ensure seamless and timely operations, it is imperative to permanently exempt government agencies providing critical emergency services from NPNT and Digital Sky restrictions. ATFI is an industry forum representing both industry and non-industry players operating in the aviation sector.

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