A Drone Port will be established in Hyderabad to provide training for drone pilots, it was announced on Wednesday.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday asked the officials to identify 20 acres of land required for the establishment of a Drone Port at the Pharma City.

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The facility will be useful for pilot training as well as conduct the trials by the drone manufacturing companies.

The decision came on request of the Telangana State Aviation Academy, whose officials brought to the notice of the Chief Minister the inconvenience of providing training at the Hyderabad Airport due to increasing air traffic.

The Telangana State Aviation Academy signed an MoU with the ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to provide advanced training for drone pilots.

Telangana Aviation Academy CEO S.N. Reddy and NRSC Director Prakash Chauhan signed the agreement in the presence of Revanth Reddy, Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and ISRO Chairman S. Somanath in the Secretariat.

As part of the agreement, training on drone piloting, drone data management, and data analysis will be provided.

A 15 days training course on data analysis, data processing and mapping will be conducted for NRSC scientists and drone pilots in the Academy.

Officials noted that the use of drones increased in all sectors including agriculture. Farmers are using drones to spray fertilisers and pesticides in the farms and the Self-Help Groups also chose the drones as a means of employment.

The Chief Minister suggested that training should also be given to the government officials from the rank of Tehsildars to higher authorities to create awareness about drones.

Somnath appreciated the Chief Minister for providing training courses on drones innovatively by providing adequate assistance. The ISRO chief said that the NRSC, which is one of the primary centres of the ISRO and plays a key role in satellite, remote sensing and space technology, will provide training by using advanced drone technology.

Somanath praised the Telangana Aviation Academy, which has received the best aviation award 12 times in the country, for extending quality services.

The Chief Minister also ordered the officials to take appropriate measures for the renovation of Warangal Airport. The officials are suggested to look into the feasibility of constructing the damaged old runways and launching the commercial operations from there.

The officials have also been asked to resolve the other obstacles, if any. The CM also suggested to the officials to consult the airports authority to establish an airport in the surroundings of Kothagudem and Bhadrachalam area which is considered as feasible to develop an airfield.