According to reports, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is working to develop India’s drone industry. When asked in Lok Sabha on Monday whether the government is prescribing courses to build more drone pilots, drone operations, and drones as a skill in the country, the government responded, ‘The drone sector is a shining example of significant growth in innovation and start-ups in just the last few years. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has developed six short-term skilling courses for the manufacturing, assembly, repairing, and maintenance of drones, as well as to meet the demand for skilled manpower in the drone sector,’ according to a Lok Sabha release shared on Monday.
It added, ‘According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, approval for the establishment of a remote pilot training organisation (RPTO) is granted as per Rule 39 of The Drone Rules, 2021. Anyone wishing to establish an RPTO must apply to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) through the online Digital Sky Platform’.
According to a press release, the government was questioned in the Lok Sabha about the number of existing courses offering drone shakti skills, the number of skill centres running the said courses, the number of registrations per course, and the number of people graduating from the courses.
If the applicant meets the specified requirements, the Director General may issue the authorization to establish an RPTO within sixty days of receipt of the application. According to the DGCA, a five-day course taught by a DGCA-authorized RPTO is required for the issuance of a Remote Pilot Certificate. The course includes both classroom instruction and hands-on training’. There are 27 DGCA-approved RPTOs as of August 2, 2022. According to a Lok Sabha release, ‘576 remote pilot certificates have been issued thus far’.
The release added that ‘the Government has begun a short-term course titled ‘Drone Service Technician’. For the session 2022-23, there will be 126 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across 19 states in the country. Annexure-2 contains more information. Training in government ITIs and under PMKVY courses, for example, is free, but other paid courses are available’.
