Guidelines for Registration requirements of pesticides for drone application: India
15 December 2021, New Delhi: After thorough deliberations within Department of Agriculture, Central Insecticide Board and Ministry of Civil Aviation and industry experts the Indian government has released SOP and Guidelines for Registration requirements of pesticides for drone application.
The agrochemical industry can now initiate trials, apply for product registrations and engage drone service providers for the benefit of farmers in India.
With the new policy in place, a products with existing label claim in a crop recommended for spray with conventional sprayers can now endorse the use of Drones as alternate/additional spraying equipment.
Companies can now apply for registration of new product / Insecticide / new endorsement (label expansion) with drones as a spraying equipment. The applicant will be required to submit the data as per approved guidelines with respect to toxicity, bio efficacy, chemistry, packaging, legal. The SOP for use of Drone application for crop protection covers important aspects like statutory provisions, flying permissions, area distance restrictions, weight classification, overcrowded areas restriction, drone registration, safety insurance, piloting certification, operation plan, air flight zones, weather conditions, SOPs for pre, post and during operation, emergency handling plan, etc.