Govt To Implement Strict Quality Standards For Drones, Electric Vehicles

The government is formulating the required criteria for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to create a ‘strong quality ecosystem’ in the country.

Standards for drones that are widely utilised in agriculture, such as soil analysis, irrigation, crop mapping and pest management, have already been developed.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters that quality control orders for agricultural drones would assist in increasing crop yields, helping farmers.

According to BIS Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari, standards for other types of drones are also being developed.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has already developed standards and tests for developing industries including electric vehicles (EV) and charging infrastructure.

Standardisation of battery-swapping systems is also in the works. Furthermore, general guidance and safety requirements for battery-swapping systems have already been established.

Six standards have already been made public. According to Tiwari, they were developed for EVs, lithium-ion traction battery packs and systems, electric traction motors, measuring range, energy consumption and net power in EVs.

“Standards on specific requirements for electric powertrain and rechargeable electrical energy storage systems (REESS) of L, M and N category vehicles are being developed,” according to an official statement.

The standards body is also working on standards for electric rickshaw E-Karts and hybrid EV certification.

“Except for battery swapping, there is no industry opposition to electric vehicle standards. As the sector is still evolving, the industry has expressed concerns. Consultations with stakeholders are underway, and it may take some time. Let’s start with safety standards for electric vehicles and then move on to battery swapping,” Tiwari suggested.