Government allows Hyderabad's ICRISAT conditional usage of drones for agricultural research

NEW DELHI: The government today said that they have, in a first, granted a crop research institute to use drones for research.

“(The) Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to the International Crops Research Institute (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, Telangana for the deployment of drones for agricultural research activities,” the government said in a statement.

This approval is part of a bigger endeavour of the government to maximise use of drones to conduct various jobs across the country, especially rural India.


“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,” Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, was quoted in the release.

The conditional exemption is valid for six months from the date of issue of the letter or until the full operationalization of Digital Sky Platform (Phase-1), whichever is earlier.

About 18 conditions and limitations to ICRISAT include data Acquisition for agricultural research activities within the ICRISAT research field using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems are as below, the government said.