Drone Technology: A booming career option in India
Drones are being used in India widely nowadays for business mobility in the areas of food and medicine deliveries, with companies like Swiggy and Dunzo collaborating with drone manufacturers like ANRA Technologies and Skye Air Mobility. Apart from delivering important packages, India’s tech industry has been using drones for other innovative purposes like aerial photography, tracking, surveys etc. For this reason, the demand for skilled drone operators and drone pilots has gone up significantly. Furthermore, the emergence of drone technology is also in sync with the Government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission. So, career prospects in the field of drone technology has increased manifold.
The most popular opportunities include: drone pilots, drone pilot certifiers, drone assembling and commissioning specialists, drone software developers, drone recyclers or scrappers, and drone-based GIS (Geographic Information System) analyst.
Where to study drone technology?
In order to be a drone pilot, one should be trained from a Flying Training Organization (FTO) authorised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
There are 8 training centres authorised by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India from where youngsters can study and get trained in drone technology. They are:
- Alchemist Aviation Pvt. Ltd, Jamshedpur
- Ambitions Flying Club Pvt. Ltd, Aligarh
- Flytech Aviation Academy, Secunderabad
- Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Akademy
- Pioneer Flying Academy Pvt. Ltd, Aligarh
- Redbird Flight Training Academy Pvt. Ltd, Baramati
- The Bombay Flying Club, Mumbai
- Telangana State Aviation Academy, Hyderabad
Once the course is complete, one needs to submit several important documents and needs to get registered as a “Remote Pilot.” The training institutes also provide unique “Pilot Identification number” and Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP).
Eligibility criteria for training
In order to pursue training in drone technology, a candidate needs to have passed class X and XII board exams with 50 per cent or above. A drone technology aspirant needs to have studied mandatory English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Applications as part of their high school curriculum.
Course curriculum
The curriculum includes myriad of topics such as basic principles of flight planning, ATC procedures, Radiotelephony (includes knowledge of radio frequencies), emergency identification and handling, aerodynamics (includes knowledge of fixed wing, rotary wing and hybrid aircrafts), airspace structure and restrictions (No Drone Zone) and basic aviation meteorology.
Apart from these, the most important thing to learn under drone technology is about the categories of drones in India.
Duration and expenditure of studying drone technology
Most drone training programmes in India authorised under DGCA have a duration of five to seven days and costs INR 65000 to INR 100000, including the prices of training kits and resources.
How to become a certified drone operator in India?
Once a drone technology course is complete, one becomes a certified drone operator and gets registered as an official remote pilot with a unique identification number (UIN) and Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) that is valid for a period of five years and can be renewed. Drones and training kits are provided by the training institutes.
There are primarily five categories of drones, namely: nano (less than or equal to 250gms), micro (greater than 250 gms and less than or equal to 2kgs), small (greater than 2kgs and less than or equal to 25kgs), medium (greater than 25kgs and less than or equal to 150kgs) and large (greater than 150kgs). Only nano drones don’t require unique identification number (UIN) or Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP), but needs to fly below 50 feet in controlled airspace.
Moreover, before operating private drones in India, drone operators also need to comply with the rules and regulations laid down by NPNT (No Permission-No Take-off) such as obtaining valid permission to fly drones through the Digital Sky (drone-flying aerial zone).