Drone export policy under consideration: RTI

Representative image (Source: Twitter@ANI)

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the body under the Union government that oversees exports, said that it is in the process of considering a policy for exports of drones and its parts.

In response to an RTI by Moneycontrol, DGFT said: “The policy matter of drone or its parts is under consideration…” The DGFT was responding to a request to provide government orders, notices, circulars issued by the government pertaining to drone exports.

Giving momentum to this matter, on June 15, the DGFT, along with officials from the ministry of civil aviation and stakeholders from the drone industry, held a meeting to understand the pains of the industry when it came to drone exports.

“Today was the first meeting where industry presented its challenges regarding exporting drones for temporary usage such as exhibition, demos, etc as well as for trade,” Drone Federation of India (DFI) president Smit Shah, who was present at the meeting, told Moneycontrol.

There are multiple categories and restrictions on export licences for drones. In the meeting, Shah said that drone industry representatives explained to DGFT that it was tough to figure out under which category one should apply for licences, when one will receive the required permissions and other operational concerns.

Earlier, Moneycontrol had highlighted how the long authorisation process for drone exports were impacting operations of drone manufacturers including affecting future orders.

“DGFT has assured full support and has assured us to look into the matter and address industry concerns,” Shah added. Earlier, this issue was also highlighted at a meeting between minister of civil aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and industry stakeholders.