The Centre has given conditional permission to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to deploy drones for live aerial cinematography of the upcoming cricket season, including the Indian Premier League, officials said here on Monday.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted permission to use drones to the BCCI and drone operator Quidich till the year-end after it received a request for granting permission to use Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for live aerial filming. The first event to be captured by drones will be the IPL starting April this year. “The drone ecosystem is evolving rapidly in our country. Its utilisation is expanding from agriculture, mining, healthcare and disaster management to sports and entertainment,” said Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. “The granting of this permission is in line with the objectives of the government of India to promote the commercial use of drones in the country,” he added.
According to Dubey, the Drone Rules 2021 are in the final stages of discussion with the Law Ministry. “We are hoping to receive the approvals by March 2021,” he said. The validity of the conditional permission shall only be till December 31, 2021 subject to strict adherence to all conditions and limitations by the authorities and any violation could render it null and void.