Delhi govt forms 3-member committee for drone policy

The Delhi government has formed a three-member committee to formulate a drone policy aiming to make the city a hub of designing and manufacturing flying objects, officials said on Wednesday.

The committee, headed by the secretary of the Information Technology (IT) department, will be helped by experts, including those from IIT Delhi, the government official said.

The committee has a Delhi Police officer and a special secretary of the Home department as its members, he said.

At present, drone policies of such states as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh are being studied to decide on the modalities of a policy suited to the needs of the national capital, where security concerns are paramount, the official said.

“The drone policy of Delhi will focus on how to make the city a hub of research and development, designing and manufacturing of drones. Use of drones will be just a part of it,” he said.

In the wake of a blast near Red Fort in November last year, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena directed the chief secretary to examine the possibility of a drone policy for the city on the lines of those in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.

Apart from the use of drones in defence, security and surveillance purposes, a huge potential exists in other fields like aerial surveys, mapping, agriculture, disaster management, and deliveries.