Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted permission of “No-Permission-No-Takeoff' (NPNT) compliant drone operations at 166 additional green zones to facilitate, smoothen, and promote drone operations in the country. The approved sites allow drone usage up to 400 ft Above Ground Level (AGL). These zones are in addition to the sixty-six green zone sites approved earlier. The list of the approved green zone sites can be accessed from the Digital Sky Platform. 

As per DGCA, under “NPNT or ‘No Permission – No Take-off’ compliance, every Remotely Piloted Aircraft (except Nano) has to obtain valid permission through the Digital Sky platform before operating in India. The framework mandates users to register on the online portal that acts as the national unmanned traffic management system for remotely piloted aircraft. Flying in these approved ‘green zones will require only intimation of the time and location of the flights via the Digital Sky portal or the app.

Drone flights in the green zone sites shall be compliant with the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 dated 12th March 2021 and other relevant orders/ guidelines issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

These 166 sites cover 13 states - Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh. Out of these Jharkhand and Odisha have got maximum green zones for NPNT complaint drone operations.