An MoU to develop and conduct training and certification programmes for those aspiring to become pilot drones was signed on Monday by Telangana government, Telangana State Aviation Academy (TSAA) and IT firm Cyient.
While Cyient will provide the training tools, TSAA will provide the training services and infrastructure to conduct the programmes. The courses will be developed as per DGCA curriculum guidelines. It is the first-of-its-kind initiative in Telangana, aimed at developing a pool of skilled drone pilots equipped to meet industry needs, a release said.
Stating that the role of Telangana government in the MoU was more of a facilitator, as the State deepens its engagement with the emerging technology, IT and Industries Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said there will be a huge requirement of qualified people to operate drones considering the potential in several areas, beyond law enforcement for which drones are used now.
Draft drone policy
On its part, the State has taken several initiatives, including unveiling a draft drone policy, contributing to the framing of the regulations by the Centre based on a few pilot projects, including one in Nalgonda in the area of farming. Eighteen companies are participating in a project related to use of drones in mining areas and the State is also in discussion with a company that transported blood to hospitals using drones in Rwanda, Africa.
Cyient and TSAA will work toward setting up a drone pilot training infrastructure at the academy, which will include a variety of rotatory and fixed-wing drones along with simulators to train pilots. While both will work on creating customised courses suited to various industries, the current course will be a five-day training programme that will be a combination of theory, realistic simulations, and actual drone flying exercise. The participants will be awarded a DGCA-authorised Remote Pilot Licence/Certification upon successful clearance of a test at the end of the course, the release said.
Managing Director and CEO of Cyient Krishna Bodanapu said the MoU would pave the way for creating a skilled talent pool. Officiating CEO of TSAA G.B. Reddy said the agreement would help create the most advanced training courses customised for different industries.
