The Indian government has issued a discussion paper on its plans for a “national unmanned aircraft traffic management policy.” The document, issued by the country’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, makes scant reference to plans for passenger-carrying autonomous operations but does appear to lay some groundwork for how the vast country might approach the adoption of advanced air mobility. It lays out some initial thinking on possible architecture, as well as concept-of-operations and deployment plans to establish the required ecosystem.
The paper has been drawn up by the ministry’s unmanned traffic management committee. Interested parties are invited to comment on the plans, with responses to be sent by Dec. 30, 2020. These should be sent to Indian government undersecretary Shri Kameshwar Mishra ([email protected]) and copied to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s SDIT Division ([email protected]).
The policy discussion paper provides a useful summary of the key stakeholders in a country where change in the aviation sector has proven to be a complex process. It gives a useful overview, for instance, of the roles to be played by the Indian military, the airports authority, and other key agencies. It also spells out plans for a variety of operational scenarios, including “unmanned aerial mobility,” which is clearly intended to cover passenger flights (see page 34).