Drones in India: A committee including officers from security agencies has been set up by the civil aviation ministry to finalise the regulations regarding use of drones, Union Minister Jayant Sinha said on Thursday. The minister, in a written reply to Lok Sabha also said that no  particular timeline have been fixed for regulations on the use of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

“Pursuant to the discussions held in the Ministry of Home Affairs, a committee has been formed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on May 11, 2017, comprising officers from regulators and security agencies to finalise the regulations on UAS,” said the minister of state for civil aviation.

As on date, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has not issued standards and recommended practices for certification and operation of civil UAS, he said. “The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has prepared an air transport circular regarding ‘Guidelines for obtaining Unique Identification Number (UIN) and operation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)’ in consultation with various stakeholders,” he said.

In a separate reply, the minister said a project named ‘Biometric Access Control System at Airports’, costing Rs 33.23 crore, has been approved for implementation at 72 airports by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

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“The objective of the project is to replace the existing system of paper-based Airport Entry Permits and enable biometric-enabled smart card-based access control system for staff and personnel (excluding passengers) requiring entry to the airports,” he noted.