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We are working on a UAV and will soon get to the testing phase. We intend to fly at a maximum altitude of 300-400 meters. I wanted to know as to what restrictions apply to the airspace in India (specifically Delhi) with respect to flying UAVs as well as the altitudes from which they apply?

We will also be testing autonomous capabilities. Do we need to get any licenses for this?

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    $\begingroup$ I'm not sure we have anyone familiar with India's airspace rules here (yet) - but either way you'd probably want to contact someone from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation which is your regional regulatory body. As much as you might get good advice here, you really want to be sure you're operating within the limits of appropriate regulation, and because UAVs are still "new territory" in most countries it's often helpful to talk to the regulatory agency directly. $\endgroup$
    – voretaq7
    Commented Dec 25, 2013 at 20:20
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    $\begingroup$ Also, if you find your own answers via the DGCA, please come back here and answer your own question. It will help other people down the road, and is good for the site. $\endgroup$
    – New Alexandria
    Commented Dec 26, 2013 at 13:18

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The Director General of Civil Aviation has published this public notice:

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIATION OPPOSITE SAFDARJUNG AIRPORT, NEW DELHI – 110 003

PUBLIC NOTICE File No. 05-13/2014-AED Dated: 7th October, 2014

Subject: Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)/ Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Civil Applications

Of late, lots of interests are being shown for civil use (both commercial and recreational) of UAS in the country. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is yet to publish Standards And Recommended Practices (SARPs), as far as certification and operation of civil use of UAS is concerned.

UAS has potential for large number of civil applications. However, its use besides being a safety issue, also poses security threat. The Airspace over cities in India has high density of manned aircraft traffic. Due to lack of regulation, operating procedures/ standards and uncertainty of the technology, UAS poses threat for air collisions and accidents.

The civil operation of UAS will require approval from the Air Navigation Service provider, defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, and other concerned security agencies, besides the DGCA. DGCA is in the process of formulating the regulations (and globally harmonize those) for certification & operation for use of UAS in the Indian Civil Airspace. Till such regulations are issued, no non government agency, organization, or an individual will launch a UAS in Indian Civil Airspace for any purpose whatsoever. The above is for strict compliance.

Director General of Civil Aviation

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Since no-one has answered this yet, I'll give it a crack.

According to the Unmanned Systems Association of India, UAVs are required to submit a specific request to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to allow them to fly UAVs in a specific area.

For RC aircraft, you must make sure that they use one of the following frequencies (source):

  • 27004 KHz
  • 27116 KHz
  • 27148 KHz
  • 27156 KHz
  • 27228 KHz

I'm not so sure about what makes an aircraft in the RC category, as opposed to an UAV though -- if someone could fill me in on that, that'd be great.

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