Safety Guidelines

Agricultural drone spraying involves two regulated things at once: flying an unmanned aircraft and applying crop-protection chemicals. Sky Spray is the platform that connects farmers with operators — the operator flying the aircraft is responsible for the flight and the application, and the farmer is responsible for the field being ready and safe to spray.

These guidelines set out what we require of both sides. They are not a substitute for DGCA regulations, the chemical label, or the instructions of a qualified agronomist.

1. Operator Requirements

Before an operator can accept work on Sky Spray, they must submit and pass verification of:

• A valid DGCA Remote Pilot Certificate covering the class of drone they fly
• Registration details for the drone itself, including its UIN where applicable
• Government-issued identity proof
• A UPI ID for payouts

Operators are responsible for keeping these current. Flying with a lapsed certificate or an unregistered aircraft is grounds for immediate and permanent removal from the platform.

2. Flight Rules

Operators must fly in accordance with the Drone Rules, 2021 and any subsequent DGCA directions, including:

• Flying only in green-zone airspace, or with the permissions required for yellow zones
• Never flying in a red zone, or near airports, defence installations, or other restricted areas
• Maintaining visual line of sight with the aircraft throughout the run
• Operating in daylight and in weather conditions suitable for controlled flight
• Not flying over gatherings of people, dwellings, or public roads

If conditions on the day make a safe flight impossible — high wind, rain, poor visibility — the operator is expected to postpone rather than fly. A weather postponement is not a cancellation penalty for either side.

3. Chemical Handling

• Only chemicals approved for the crop in question may be applied, at label-specified dose and dilution.
• Operators must wear appropriate protective equipment while mixing and loading — at minimum gloves, eye protection, and a respirator suitable for the product.
• Mixing must happen away from wells, ponds, canals, and livestock drinking water.
• Empty containers must be triple-rinsed and disposed of according to the label, never reused.
• Tank mixes must not be improvised. If the farmer supplies the chemical, it must arrive in its original labelled container.

Sky Spray does not sell, supply, or recommend agricultural chemicals. What is sprayed on a field is decided between the farmer and the operator, in line with the label and applicable law.

4. Before the Drone Takes Off

The farmer or landholder is responsible for making sure that, at the scheduled time:

• The field and a reasonable margin around it are clear of people, especially children
• Livestock have been moved out of the field and away from the downwind edge
• Neighbouring farmers are aware that spraying is about to happen
• Beehives on or near the field have been closed or relocated, where the product warrants it
• Obstacles the operator should know about — power lines, poles, trees, irrigation towers — have been pointed out

The operator will walk the boundary and confirm this before the first flight. If the field is not clear, the run does not begin.

5. Spray Drift

Drift is the main risk that spraying poses to people and property outside the target field. Operators are expected to manage it by flying at the correct height and speed for the nozzle and product, keeping a buffer from field boundaries, and not spraying when wind conditions would carry the mix off-target.

Do not book a spray when neighbouring fields carry a crop sensitive to the product you intend to apply, unless the operator has confirmed an adequate buffer is possible.

6. After the Spray

• Re-entry interval: nobody should enter the sprayed field until the interval stated on the chemical label has elapsed. Ask the operator to confirm it before they leave.
• Pre-harvest interval: the label also specifies a minimum gap between application and harvest. Observing it is the farmer's responsibility.
• Livestock and grazing: keep animals off the field and away from sprayed fodder for at least the label-stated period.
• Signage: where a field borders a path or road in regular use, mark it until the re-entry interval has passed.

7. Proof of Completion

A job can only be started with the start code the farmer holds, handed over at the field. Every completed job then carries photographs taken at the field, with their GPS location checked against the booked field, uploaded by the operator through the app. This protects both sides: the farmer can see what was actually sprayed, and the operator has a record of the work performed.

8. Incidents and Accidents

Report any incident — a crash, an injury, chemical exposure, drift onto a neighbouring field, or damage to property — to us immediately at safety@truelet.in, in addition to any reporting the operator owes DGCA or local authorities.

9. Conduct on the Platform

Sky Spray is a marketplace between two parties who will meet in person. We expect ordinary professional conduct from both. We will suspend or remove accounts for:

• Misrepresenting certification, drone capability, field size, or crop
• Flying without valid authorisation, or letting an uncertified person fly
• Arranging payment outside the platform to avoid the protections it provides
• Harassment, threats, or abusive behaviour toward another user
• Falsifying completion proof

10. Age Requirement

Sky Spray is for users aged 18 and above. Both booking a spray and operating a drone commercially are adult activities with legal and financial consequences, and drone piloting additionally requires a DGCA certificate that minors cannot hold. We do not knowingly allow accounts for anyone under 18, and will remove any we find.

11. Reporting a Safety Concern

If you have seen unsafe practice — on a job of your own or anyone else's — tell us. Reports can be made from the job screen in the app, or by email to safety@truelet.in. We review every safety report and may suspend an operator while we do.