Centre says 13 Flying Training Organisations approved by DGCA to provide pilot training for drones

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that 13 Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) have been approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to provide pilot training for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) or drones.

Singh responded to a query in Lok Sabha asserting that as of September 15, 13 FTOs have been permitted to provide drone pilot training. The basis of granting them such permission was, inter alia, their familiarisation with aviation safety aspects, regulatory mechanisms, experience in the field of training pilots on manned aircraft, the availability of equipment, trainers, requisite infrastructure etc.

Draft Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 7, Series D, Part-I and draft Flying Training Circular (FTC) - 2 of 2020 have been published on the DGCA website for seeking public comments. Once the above-mentioned CAR and FTC are approved, it would encourage more entities to seek permission for providing drone training.

The remote pilot training requirements are laid down in CAR Section 3, Series X, Part - I.  Based on this, the training programme is prepared by each FTO and the training is imparted after due approval from DGCA.

On September 17, the DGCA has accorded in-principle approval for the "Certification scheme for RPAS" submitted by the Quality Council of India (QCI). This will enable third-party testing and certification of drones.  QCI would now empanel Certification Bodies based on the laid down criteria and commence the testing and certification process for drones.