National Testing House to now certify drones

“A team of auditors from NTH will visit M/s Vimaana Aerospace Technologies, Noida from 11th to 12th September 2024 for conducting a Stage-2 (onsite) assessment. The purpose of this audit is to evaluate their D1 application for Krishiraj 1.0, an agricultural drone model…” it said.

Dr Alok Kumar Srivastava, DG, NTH, told The Indian Express that the scientific institution is the only government agency authorised by the DGCA for certification of drone models which were earlier done only by multinational companies. “We are doing this at Rs 1.5 lakh per drone model, the lowest in the industry,” Srivastava said.

About NTH’s first drone certification case, he said that the NTH has already completed the first stage of certification process of Krishiraj drone and the second stage audit will be held on September 11-12, and a report will be forwarded to the DGCA.

Securing type certification under Drone Rules 2021 is mandatory to operate in India, the ministry said, adding: “as part of the Certification Scheme for UAS, the NTH is tasked with evaluating drone models to ensure compliance with applicable national and international standards.”

“Additionally, NTH has achieved this stage in the certification process at a faster pace than its peers in the industry, demonstrating its efficiency and expertise in drone technology certification,” it said.