Reliance, Adani-backed drone manufacturers among recipients of Type Certification from DGCA

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Three drone manufacturers, including Reliance-backed Asteria Aerospace and Adani-backed General Aeronautics, received 'Type certification' from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The third drone manufacturer includes Chennai-based startup Dhaksha Unmanned Systems.

Type Certification is necessary for regulatory compliance as per Drone Rules 2021. It is also essential to comply with international ISO/IEC17065 standards and also for taking part in the government procurement process, said the Quality Council of India (QCI), the government body which handles the Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft System (CSUAS).

Asteria Aerospace became the first to receive certification in the Micro class of drones for its A200 model which weighs 2 kg and can fly up to 8,202.5 feet, the Digital Sky website showed.

The DGCA categorises drones based on their weight. Drones with an all-up weight of 250 g to 2 kg fall under the micro category of drones. Medium class of drones that weigh more than 25 kg and up to 150 kg.

Bengaluru-based General Aeronautics received certification in the Medium class of drones for its model Krishak, which weighs 49 kg and can reach up to 9,843.0 feet in height.

Similarly, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, too, received certification in the medium class, for its model DH-AG-H1, weighing 47.60 kg and with a maximum attainable height of 49.22 feet.

Neel Mehta, co-founder and director of Asteria Aerospace Limited, said, “It is a matter of great pride for us to receive the first micro category drone certification from the DGCA."

"The certification makes Asteria’s A200 drone fully compliant with the Drone Rules 2021, which is a requirement for drone operations in India,” Mehta said.

In a statement, the company said that Asteria’s A200 drone had been developed for surveying and mapping applications in GIS, agriculture, construction, mining, and other industries.

The A200 has a survey-grade GPS and a high-resolution imaging camera that can map land parcels. It can be also used in agriculture, such as for monitoring crop growth and so on.

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