Sansad TV Perspective: Drones: The New Era

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic of Drones: The New Era

Anchor: Vishal Dahiya

Participants: 

1. Sai Pattabiram, Managing Director, Zuppa Geo Nav Tech
2. Dr. Rajiv Nayan, Senior Research Associate, MPIDSA
3. R.K. Narang, Defence Policy Expert

Context: Bharat Drone Mahotsav was organised to promote drone technology that can have umpteen applications in the fields of defence, disaster management, agriculture, tourism, film, entertainment, and so on. 

Understanding Drone Technology:

• The term “drone” is often referred to as an unpiloted aircraft or an “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”.
• These aircraft are capable of capturing important information related to an area or a region that are essential for military operations, package delivery, delivering information related to disasters and much more.
• The drones are engineered in a manner that they can be remotely controlled using embedded systems that work in conjunction with sensors and a Global Positioning System (GPS). 
• In this era of evolving technologies, drones have become the central theme of various discussions.
• The enthusiasm surrounding drones has gathered momentum in India as the subcontinent has futuristic ideas of digital transformation. 

Areas of Application:

• Search and rescue
• Surveillance
• Traffic monitoring
• Weather monitoring
• Firefighting 
• Drone-based photography
• Videography 
• Agriculture
• During the pandemic, drones were used to deliver vaccines to remote regions of India. 

Significance of Drone Technology:

• This technology helps the farmers in data collection related to planting and in treatments to achieve the best possible crop yields. 
• It can be beneficial for precision agriculture.
• Drones are beneficial in monitoring plant health.
• It is also beneficial for examining field conditions.
• It enables spray applications which are extensively used in countries in south-east Asia and South Korea. These drone sprays are used to target specific areas to maximise efficiency and save chemical costs.
  • However, in countries like Canada, these sprayers are not legalised as more tests are needed to understand the impact of spray drift. 
• Drones can also ensure crop security by monitoring the far reaches of farms.
• Water can be distributed efficiently in the field with the help of drone irrigation.
• Various programmes of the government like the Sub-Mission on Agriculture mechanisation (SMAM) have adopted the inclusion of drones to enable the small and marginal farmers with advanced equipment. 
• For instance, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has released guidelines to promote drone technology in agriculture in order to boost precision farming in India under the aegis of the SMAM initiative. 

The Multicopter DRONE: 

• The National Aerospace Laboratory, a component of CSIR has collaborated with the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to remote areas with the help of the medium class multi-copter Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). 
• For ease of transportation, the UAV is made up of lightweight carbon fibres with a foldable structure.
• This drone is referred to as an octacopter with a payload capacity of 15 kg and hovering endurance of 40 minutes.
• These multicopters have multiple applications in the efficient last-mile delivery of medicines, vaccines, food, postal packets, and human organs. 
• NAL’s multicopter consists of powerful embedded sensors for its application in agriculture like pesticide spraying, crop monitoring, mining survey and geo survey mapping.

Drone technology in India:

• India is experiencing the vibrant saga of Azadi ke Amrit Mahotsav as it is about to commemorate 75 glorious years of independence. 
• Technology is going to be the fulcrum of India’s future developments and growth stories.
• The Government of India has paid keen attention to adopting drone technology to drive the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat. 
• The SVAMITVA Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj that would provide the rural people with the right to document their respective properties. For this purpose, the mapping of land is being done by using drones. This would enable the maintenance of a digital database of rural lands which might be beneficial for future developmental projects. 
• The liberalisation of Drone Rules 2021 was issued to ensure that Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups can participate on a global scale in the field of drone technology and its applications. These rules are less stringent than the set of rules published by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2021 and would pave the way for the expansion of the technology and transform India into a global drone hub by 2030. 

Read about the Drone Rules 2021 in the linked article.

• The government has also approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components which is an outcome of the drone liberalization rules. This will boost drone manufacturing in the country which is in alignment with the aspirations of Atmanirbhar Bharat. This PLI scheme allows the MSMEs to grow along with employment generation. 
• The Hara Bhara Campaign by the government of Telangana is an initiative to promote reforestation by using drone technology. Under this campaign, aerial seeding will be performed by seedcopter drones (drones that are capable of dispersing seeds over agricultural land). 
• There was a campaign to deter ecological calamity which acted as a fascinating synergy between the government and a private company called Marut drones. 
• The Kisan Drone Mela was also conducted from 100 places across the country for spraying pesticides and addressing other issues in the rural areas.
• In a landmark step, Himachal Pradesh became the first state in India to ratify the drone policy. The government of Himachal Pradesh has approved the use of drones and similar technology for different public services. This would establish a holistic drone ecosystem that can act as the foundation for governance and reforms. The focus areas to employ drone technology include:
  • Defence
  • Transport
  • Healthcare
  • Agriculture
  • Surveillance done by the Police departments
  • Mining purposes
  • Horticulture 
• The Department of Information Technology has signed an MoU with the Indian drone companies like Skye Air and TechEagle to deliver medical and Agri commodities within the state. 

Major Concerns:

• An unregulated usage of drone technology can always have the possibility of terror threats. 
• Drones used by the police can open up ways of misuse and keep the public under extreme surveillance. 
• It might lead to infringement of privacy which is a fundamental right under Article 21. 

To understand the need to keep Drones in Check, follow the link shared link.

Way ahead:

• In order to develop a perfect ecosystem of drone technology, the policy and innovation must work collaboratively. 
• Regulatory norms must be placed in such a manner that drone technology doesn’t reach the wrong hands resulting in a massive threat to our national security. 
• The regulatory framework pertaining to drone technology has evolved with the changing needs of the time, thereby transitioning into more industry-friendly norms. 
• Such dynamicity must continue to add to the success stories of drone technology in India keeping into consideration the security and privacy issues. 
• Drone technology is all set to sculpt the new era of a technology revolution in India with multiple opportunities and a wide range of applications that have the potential to carry forward the concept of a self-reliant India with the aid of proper policy and investment.

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Read all the previous Sansad TV Perspective articles in the link.