The union civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday have launched GARUD portal for fast-track approval to COVID-19-related drone operations.
The GARUD or Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones portal will provide fast track conditional exemptions to government agencies for COVID-19 related drone operations.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in India, authorities have used drones for surveillance in several cities including Delhi, Jaipur among others.
In April, the DGCA had also approved operations by no-permission-no-takeoff compliant drones in several green zones such as Tumkur in Karnataka, Kharsa in West Bengal, Neemrana in Rajasthan, Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh among others.
“The step has been taken to aid government entities in addressing the challenges posed by COVID-19 & shall remain in force until further orders. Any violation of provisions of this Notice shall make the conditional exemption null & void & shall lead to penal action,” the civil aviation ministry said.
“Getting necessary approvals from the competent authority & launching the portal in less than two weeks is a testimony of the hard work & dedication of officials at MoCA, DGCA, AAI and NIC,” the ministry added.Surveillance is a major component in containing the spread of novel coronavirus in the country. The government is using various surveillance techniques to ensure that people are strictly adhering to lockdown restrictions in red and orange zones and are following social distancing norms in green zones.
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