Drones’ use for agri-research activities permitted
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New Delhi, Nov 16
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, Telangana, for the deployment of drones for agricultural research activities, the MoCA said on Monday.
Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said, ‘Drones are poised to play a big role in agriculture sector in India, especially in areas like precision agriculture, locust control and improvement in crop yield.
‘The government is encouraging young entrepreneurs and researchers to look at ruggedized low-cost drone solutions for the over 6.6 lakh villages in India,’ he added.
The conditional exemption is valid for six months from the date of issue of letter or till the full operationalisation of Digital Sky Platform (Phase-1), whichever is earlier, the Ministry said in a statement here.
