Government allows commercial use of drones, to be used for home deliveries in future

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 2, 2017

On November 1, the Indian Government proposed to allow the commercial use of drones and this will lead the way for e-commerce sites to deliver their products to customers by drone.

New government legislation on drone use will not only regulate the increasingly popular devices but also allow business to make greater use of them in the future. One of the main uses that drones are expected to have in the near future is delivering goods bought online to customers’ doorsteps and this was directly addressed by the government on Wednesday. “These rules allow companies to deliver goods at doorstep provided they follow the rules prescribed under the rules. Both the aviation ministers wanted it to be open for all to use, including businesses,” said Aviation Secretary R N Choubey.

Jayant Sinha, the Aviation Minister, opined that drone use could swiftly become widespread in many different fields. “We have to be nimble footed in having regulations that enable its optimal use as the technology evolves. People are working on ‘air rickshaws’,” said Sinha. Moreover, Choubey also mentioned the dangers that more widespread drone use could bring and assured that the ministry will create a framework to account for that. “We are working on technology to neutralise rogue drones. We are also looking at technology which does not allow drones to deviate from the cleared route even if the operator tries to do that,” stated Choubey. Restrictions about how and where drones can be flown was also introduced.

With new government regulations, the increasing popularity of e-commerce sites, and brands’ desire to stay at the cutting edge of technology, it seems likely that drones will indeed be part of the online shopping experience before long.