Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for the deployment of Drones
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for the deployment of remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). These exemptions have been given for carrying out research and inspection activities at Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station, Madhya Pradesh, Gadarwara Super Thermal Power Plant, Madhya Pradesh, and Sipat Super Thermal Power Project, Chhattisgarh using drones.
“NTPC will use the drones to carry out terrain mapping, stockpile volumetric analysis, aerial inspections and other applications at the three NTPC sites. This will provide NTPC excellent data with high accuracy at a fraction of the cost. This is in line with Government of India’s attempts to promote use of industrial drones in infrastructure, mining, agriculture and disaster relief etc,” noted Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The conditional exemption is till 31 December 2020 or until the full operationalization of digital sky platform, whichever is earlier. Conditions and limitations to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd to carry out research and inspection activities at National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Sites – Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station, Madhya Pradesh/Gadarwara Super Thermal Power Stat ion, Madhya Pradesh /Sipat Super Thermal Power Station , Chhattisgarh using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems were also notifified here.
According to a report by FICCI and EY, the Indian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is expected to touch $885.7 million by 2021, with the global UAV market size approaching $21.47 billion. Furthermore, a report by PWC India further states that the drone space is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18 per cent during 2017-23 period.
As per Research and markets, India’s commercial drone market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.4 per cent during 2020-2026. Based on types, rotary blade drones dominated the India commercial drone market share in 2019 owing to its special advantage of vertical landing and take-off.
