PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has intervened to get liberal rules for drones with a claim to leverage India’s strengths in innovation, technology and engineering to make India a drone hub. This romantic idea has immediately caught the imagination of the dreamers within and outside the Government. They, including the Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, immediately started propagating that the move will pave the way for air taxis soon in the Indian sky. What they don’t talk, and even not thoroughly discuss before changing the rules, are the inherent dangers is such hasty decisions. It was only in March the drone policy of India was changed after a terrorist incident in Jammu and Kashmir in which a drone was involved.

 

The latest incident was reported on July 29, when suspected drones were spotted at three different places in Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir. The drones were shot down around 8 km inside the International border. The police had also recovered 5 kg of improvised explosive device (IED), which was to be assembled and to be used by terrorists, according to the police. Only two days ago, it was reported quoting Intelligence sources that terrorists are planning back-to-back drone attacks. Central Intelligence agencies have intercepted such conversations of terrorists. There are other threats too, such as to the environment due to air pollution by fossil fuel the drones may be using, and also the risks of accidents due to violations of air traffic rules. Nevertheless, India got the new liberal drone rules notified on August 26. These drones i.e. unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) would soon be carrying both goods for e-commerce and transporting people on air taxis, it has been claimed.

 

The Ministry of Aviation had to discard the rules amended in March after the security threat emerged in Jammu and Kashmir. The new rules in March had put several restrictions on flying a UAS, which was projected as stifling the sector by plethora of clearances needed. It was said that the new imposed rules went against the ease of doing business. The logic caught the imagination of the Prime Minister who has always been seen doing something in favour of business and industry. However, the Government needs to take the comprehensive look at various security angles that may become vulnerable following the changed drone policy. The Government may do well to rethink risks to Armed Forces by a no-holds-barred drone policy. Following the intervention of the PMO, the Aviation Ministry junked the rules it had put in place just this March, and the principal scientific advisor to the Union Government K Vijay Raghavan has said that the present new policy has been put in place under careful monitoring directly by the PM with trust in users as its basis.

 

The incidents of terrorism involving UAS in J&K is in itself a proof that the nation at this juncture cannot entirely trust users of these aircraft in the first place, and it is uncertain that it can ensure economic welfare of the people, as it is has been claimed by the principal scientific advisor. Ensuring economic welfare needs proper planning and implementation for which the country is not yet prepared. Under the new rules, India will have three airspace zones for UAS — green, yellow, and red, just like we have traffic signal system. Unmanned aircraft systems can be flown in the green zones, while special permissions will be needed to fly in the yellow zones. These cannot be flown in the red zones like around airports where their use is barred unless specifically allowed. The map of the zones is expected within 30 days on the Digital Sky single-window drone platform.

 

“Approvals, compliance requirements and entry barriers have been significantly reduced...will tremendously help start-ups and our youth (and) help leverage India’s strengths in innovation, technology and engineering to make India a drone hub,” Modi had tweeted on August 26. The new liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 has abolished several approvals and reduces the number of forms to be filled by users from 25 to five. The maximum penalty for violations has been reduced to Rs 1 lakh. Fee amounts have also been reduced with the charge for a remote pilot license cut from Rs 3,000 for a large drone to Rs 100 for all categories and valid for 10 years. No remote pilot licence will be required for micro drones for non-commercial use and nano drones. The liberal licencing and lower maximum penalty for violation of rules has a risk to be misused by anti-social, criminal, or terrorist elements. It may also encourage overcrowding of the sky putting both the life and property at risk both in the air and on the ground. Maximum payload for drones have also been increased from 300 kg to 500 kg. With such a payload permission drones can now be used as air taxis both for e-commerce and passenger traffic. It has already been used for spraying pesticides on agricultural and horticultural crops for quite some time. There are also other usages of drone, such as for security and for attack on enemies.

 

The risks also include the risks of climate change if used in large numbers using fossil fuel both refined and less refined. However, without weighing pros and cons of its large scale usage, our Aviation Minister has claimed, “Air taxis are being researched and invented globally and many start-ups are coming up. That time is not far when taxis, like the ones of Uber that you see on roads, you will see in the air under the new drone policy... the drone sector has already seen about 200 start-ups and new rules will help create more economic activity and jobs.” Nevertheless, Minister of Aviation has said that the Government is working on to quickly develop a technology to counter rogue drones and will not allow security fears to hamper growth of this sector. “It’s like automobiles which can be used for routine work and all sorts of things, 99.99% are for valuable purposes. We do not and should not stop automobiles because some people might misuse them. Security agencies will look at rogue automobiles, rogue aircraft and rogue drones. Our security agencies will ensure any violators (the misusing drones) are dealt with,” the principal scientific advisor has said. What he avoided to mention is that India is actually not prepared to deal with large number of rogue drones or otherwise that may enhance security and non-security risks. (IPA)