National Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management Policy Framework

On 27th October, 2021, the Civil Aviation ministry notified a traffic management policy framework for drones, i.e. National Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) policy framework, allowing both private and public service providers to regulate drone traffic in the country.

• This comes after the Central Government liberalized the drone regulations and notified a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for drone and drone components.
• This framework was published under the 2021 drone rules.

Need

• With advancement in the drone sector, it has become mandatory to safely manage the interplay between the manned and unmanned aircraft, particularly at low-level airspace where the drones fly.
• To avoid any form of accidents and damage, the Union Aviation Ministry has notified the national UAS traffic management policy framework.
• Traditional traffic management services provided by ATCs for manned aircraft cannot be scaled for managing drone traffic which is expected to become at least 100 times higher since the traditional air traffic management requires human intervention.

Salient Features

• Automated Traffic Management: Under the framework these Unmanned Traffic Management Service Providers (UTMSP) will extend automated, algorithm-driven software services instead of voice communication as in the traditional Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems.
• Segregation: UTMSPs will primarily be responsible for segregating and separating a drone from other drones and manned aircraft in the airspace below 1,000 feet in the country.
• Supplementary Service Providers: The UTMSPs will be assisted by Supplementary Service Providers (SSPs), who will maintain data about terrain, weather, and location of manned aircraft and provide services such as insurance, data analytics and drone fleet management.
• Integration of UTM & ATM: The drone traffic management policy also requires integration of Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) with Air Traffic Management (ATM ) system so that flight plans and real-time location of manned aircraft can be recorded .
• Third-Party Service Providers: The latest liberalized policy framework on the drone industry in India will allow the third-party service providers to deploy the highly automated, algorithm driven software services for managing drone traffic across the country.
• Access to Law & Security Agencies: Law enforcement and security agencies will also have access to some information in the UTM ecosystem on a need-to-know basis.
• Service Fee: The policy also allows UTMSPs to levy a service fee on users, a small portion of which will also be shared with the Airports Authority of India.

Impact

• The new innovative initiatives by the government will give boost to the drone industry as the Indian drone industry is expected to make strides across sectors like agriculture, mining, infrastructure, geospatial mapping, transportation, emergency response, defence, and law enforcement.
• The new Drone Rules will tremendously help start-ups working in this sector.
• It will help leverage India’s strengths in innovation, technology and engineering to make India a drone hub.