India relaxes drone rules: Do we have enough trained pilots?

The Central government is proactively pushing the use of drones, an effort expected to receive a boost from the new Drone Rules, 21021, that simplify procedures for operating the unmanned aerial vehicles. The rules potentially clear the way for the use of drones in a range of civilian functions -- from delivery of medicines and vaccines in remote areas to even ferrying people over short distances.

After the euphoria came the questions: Does India have enough trained people to take full advantage of the new Drone Rules? What needs to be done to ensure that India has enough personnel to operate the drones? How much does training cost? And are there enough institutes where one can train and be certified as a drone pilot?

Swapnik Jakkampuddi, co-founder of Skye Air Mobility, says at the moment his company is not fretting about finding skilled pilots and people who have the aptitude to be trained are finding slots. Skye Air describes itself as a drone delivery and allied services entity.

“The entry barriers to training people are not too high. These provide a good opportunity for a lot of youth to be re-skilled and be part of the industry,” Jakkampuddi said.

No official data exists on the number of trained and untrained drone pilots in India although rough estimates put this figure at 200,000 + recreational and commercial drone pilots.

The new Drone Rules 2021 are likely to create more jobs in the next few years, with wide-ranging segments getting opened up, said Ankit Kumar, managing partner, Alternative Global India, a consulting company. Drones can be used for aerial photography, for express shipping and delivery, in disaster management and search and rescue efforts, among others.

“Drone jobs today are limited to surveying and inspection, among others, but with new areas opening up with Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) coming up and deliveries coming into the picture, the role of remote pilots will transform drastically to even cater to multiple other needs,” Kumar said.

He added: “Other than jobs for remote pilots, there will also be jobs in the tech sector primarily on a UTM operator which is an unmanned traffic management system that is required and mandatory for operations.”

Micro picture

So much for the macro picture. When it comes to the micro picture, the situation changes. With the new rules mandating remote pilot licenses for all those flying drones of the micro category (250 gm+) and above, the existing 75,000+ drone pilots in the country as well as new aspirants will have to undergo licensed training to be certified by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said Chirag Sharma, chief executive officer of Drone Destination Pvt. Ltd.

DGCA has only recently started approving drone schools, said Smit Shah, director, Drone Federation of India. “Hence a lot of skilled manpower may not be formally trained under the new regulations,” Shah said.

This will mean demand for institutes to train drone pilots will increase manifold. At the moment, India has nine DGCA-approved drone training schools, according to the Digital Sky Platform.

Jakkampuddi says the government should determine if the number of training schools can be increased and the cost of training lowered.

“If the government can include drone training in its various schemes and provide some financial subsidies, that will help,” he said, adding that if this were to happen, more people from the grassroots level will be able to tap the opportunity.

“We foresee a surge in demand for certified drone pilots in the near future and thus anticipate at least 40-50 authorized drone training institutes opening up in the next 12 -18 months,” Sharma said.

India has a number of drone pilots with experience who have been to flight training schools, but they aren’t certified by the DGCA, according to executives from the drone industry.

“Post March (the Drone Rules, 2021 replaced the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules 2021 which were released on March 12) anyone who is getting trained is being provided with a DGCA certification, which comes a week after you complete your training,” Kumar said.

What does training entail?

According to Shah, training as a drone pilot is divided into four parts. It includes ground classes covering the basics of drones, aerodynamic principles, components of drones, operational parameters like weather metrology, basic radio telephony and an overall understanding of drone regulations.

In the second part, students are taught the assembly of drones and about the different parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle and how to assemble a basic drone. The third stage of the training consists of simulating flights where trainee pilots are taken to a flight simulator for virtual flying. In the final stage, trainees have to fly the drones in the field under the supervision of an instructor.

Sharma said different types of training programs are on offer with varying durations. “The most preferred, DGCA-certified Multi-Rotor Training Program on Micro & Small Category Drones, offered by IGRUA - Drone Destination is for five days. Other training programs, including industry-focused courses, vary from five to 20 days,” he said. IGRUA is short for the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi.

Certified drone pilots could possibly receive more training from the companies they join so that they become more familiar with flying the vehicles, said Jakkampuddi.
A drone pilot cannot be certified until he or she has gone through at least 4+ hours of practical flying during the training program and has passed the final skills test. “This practical training is conducted on DGCA-authorized drones,” Sharma said.

At the moment, flight training institutes provide training for micro and small categories and multi-rotor drones. Industry watchers say these institutes will need to look at training students on other categories of drones as well.

Kumar said: “There are FTOs (Flight Training Organizations) approved by DGCA for training the manpower. There is no shortage today of trained pilots; however, for categories like medium and large drones, there is no training being provided as of now at these FTOs. The training being provided at FTOs is limited to micro and small category drones (only multi-rotors). There should be training facilities also available for medium category and fixed-wing/hybrid drones too.”

Licensing

Licenses too are currently being given for only operating micro and small category drones and not for medium and large category ones. No training is being provided on fixed-wing or hybrid drones and no licenses being given to these pilots.

Given that different kinds of drones exist, pilots of the bigger categories will need not only more training but also many more flying hours before a DGCA certification is awarded to them. There are five categories of drones based on their weight ------ nano (weighing up to 250 g), micro (250 g to 2 kg), small (2-25 kg), medium (25-150 kg), and large (over 150 kg).
According to industry watchers, the training of a drone pilot should be uniform; a pilot should get the option of being trained on multiple types of drones to improve the chances of getting a job in diverse industries.

“For example, if a pilot is trained for small category, multi-rotor, he can’t be hired to fly fixed wing,” said Kumar.

This needs to change for drones to live up to their potential.

Attempts are being made to understand what the existing picture is when it comes to training and for what categories of drones it is most essential.

Some from the industry maintain that any person can fly a nano drone. “You will not require a pilot license,” Kumar pointed out, adding that the same goes for micro drones that weigh between 250 gm and 2 kg. “For any non-commercial or recreational activity there is no pilot license required for micro drones as well. But for flying a micro drone for commercial purposes, a license is required,” he said.

To operate nano drones, one does not need a license for both commercial or non-commercial categories. Pilot training is also not required for model aircraft and for drones used for research and development and educational purposes, Shah said.