The Gujarat state department has announced a new drone policy, ‘Drone Promotion and Usage Policy’, aimed at increasing the commercial use of drones by various government entities and private bodies. It also aims to increase the number of jobs in the sector and bring in regulations needed to make drone usage safer.
The drone usage policy aims to create 25,000 jobs in the industry in Gujarat. Drone manufacturers, users, pilots, co-pilots will have to register on the Digital Sky platform and get a unique identification number and demarcation area from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to operate.
The policy says that different departments will have to use drones to fulfill various operational requirements, from counting lions in the state to monitoring vehicle emissions. The policy is set to last for five years.
Each state department has to provide its own use cases and targets. For example, the Home Office will use drones for border surveillance, crowd management, and disaster management, while the Agriculture Department will use them for spraying pesticides, sowing seeds, and maintaining soil quality. The Health and Family Welfare Department will use drones for delivery of medical supplies.
Some departments, such as the mining department and the ministry of the interior, have already launched drones for different use cases. Drones were also used during the recent Rath Yatra.
