India set January 31 deadline to register drones

January 15, 2020: Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is providing a one-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of drones and drone operators for the identification purpose. The deadline to submit the required information to the government is January 31, 2020.

People in possession of drones are required to submit the information to the government by visiting the Digital Sky portal at https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in. Drones and Drones operators have to obtain Unique Identification Number (UIN), Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) and other operational requirements as per the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which regulates the use of drones in the Indian Airspace.

It was brought to the notice of the Government of India that such drones and drone operators are not complying with the CAR mentioned above. The conditions of No Permission-No Takeoff (NPNT) as envisaged in the aforesaid CAR are not mandatory for this purpose whereas if drones are operated without due permission, the aforesaid process of CAR is violated.

On successful submission of voluntary disclosure of possessing drone, a Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN) and an Ownership Acknowledgement Number (OAN) will be issued online which will assist in validation of operations of drones in India. However, the DAN or OAN does not confer any right to operate a drone in India, if it does not fulfill the provisions given in the CAR. Further, ownership of drone in India without a valid DAN or OAN shall invite penal action as per applicable laws.