Government nod to permission-compliant drone operations in 166 additional green zones

The Civil Aviation Ministry Saturday said it has permitted drone operations, which are in compliance with its no-permission-no-takeoff (NPNT) scheme, up to 400 feet above the ground in 166 new green zones across the country.

The NPNT scheme requires an operator to take permission from aviation regulator DGCA, using an app, before each drone flight. If this permission is not received, the drone itself will not function.

"Flying in these approved 'green-zones' will require only intimation of the time and location of the flights via the Digital Sky portal or the app," a Civil Aviation Ministry statement.

These 166 green zones are in addition to the 66 green zones already approved by the ministry till date, the statement said.

The new zones permitted on Saturday are in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.