The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has set up a portal to encourage people to voluntarily divulge information on drones and drone operators. As a one-time opportunity, the persons in possession of drones are required to submit the information to the government, starting from 14th January 2020 by visiting the Digital Sky Portal. The deadline to submit the required information to the Government has been marked as 31st January 2020.
Drones and Drone operators have to obtain Unique Identification Number (UIN), Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) and other operational requirements as per the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which regulates the use of drones in the Indian Airspace.
The Government arrived at this decision in order to facilitate the identification of civil drones and drone operators,after it was discovered that there were drones and drone operators that are not complying with the CAR mentioned above. The conditions of No Permission-No Takeoff (NPNT) as envisaged in the aforesaid CAR are not mandatory for this purpose whereas if drones are operated without due permission, the aforesaid process of CAR is violated.
On successful submission of voluntary disclosure of possessing drone, a Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN) and an Ownership Acknowledgement Number (OAN) will be issued online which will assist in validation of operations of drones in India. However, the DAN or OAN does not confer any right to operate a drone(s) in India, if it does not fulfill the provisions given in the CAR. Further, ownership of drone(s) in India without a valid DAN or OAN shall invite penal action as per applicable laws.
Customers who seek further clarification or additional information can contact the Digital Sky Help Desk at support-digisky@gov.in.
