Big Boost For Drone Operations In India: Govt Announces 166 New Green Zones; Odisha, Jharkhand Get 30 Each

In a boost for drone usage in the country, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has permitted drone operations on 166 new green zones across the country up to the height of 400 feet above the ground, reports Economic Times.

The drones will have to comply with the Ministry’s No-Permission-No-Takeoff (NPNT) scheme under which the drone operators will have to only intimate the time and location of flights via the Ministry’s Digital Sky portal or application.

It should be noted that in case the permission is not received, an NPNT scheme compliant drone will not function itself.

The Ministry had already approved 66 green zones for drone operations. The additional 166 green zones have been permitted in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

Of these, as per a Republic World report, Odisha and Jharkhand have the highest number of new green zones at 30. These are then followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra which have 24 and 22 new green zones.