Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 15

In a bid to optimise the commercial use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the government on Thursday came out with the new “Drone Rules- 2021” for public consultations wherein it envisaged to develop a digital sky platform for a business-friendly, single-window online system with no requirement of pilot licence for micro drones, nano drone and R&D organisations. It has also mentioned developing drone corridors for cargo deliveries.

In an official release the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said the “The Drone Rules, 2021” would replace the existing UAS Rules 2021, which was released on 12 March 2021, as the last date for receipt of public comments is 5 August 2021.

The Ministry said the rules are built on a premise of trust, self-certification, and non-intrusive monitoring,

Key points of the Draft Drone Rules, 2021:

1. Approvals abolished: unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permits, authorisation of R&D organisation, student remote pilot licence, remote pilot instructor authorisation, drone port authorisation etc.
2. The number of forms reduced from 25 to 6.
3. Fee reduced to nominal levels. No linkage with the size of the drone.
4. Safety features like ‘No permission – no take-off’ (NPNT), real-time tracking beacon, geo-fencing etc. to be notified in future. A six-month lead time will be provided for compliance.
5. Digital sky platform shall be developed as a business-friendly single-window online system.
6. There will be minimal human interface on the digital sky platform and most permission will be self-generated.
7. An interactive airspace map with green, yellow, and red zones will be displayed on the digital sky platform.
8. The yellow zone has been reduced from 45 km to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
9. No flight permission required up to 400 feet in green zones and up to 200 feet in the area between 8 and 12 km from the airport perimeter.
10. No pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use), nano drones and R&D organisations.
11. No restriction on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India.
12. The import of drones and drone components would be regulated by the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
13. No security clearance required before any registration or licence issuance.
14. No requirement of a certificate of airworthiness, unique identification number, prior permission and remote pilot licence for R&D entities.
15. Coverage of drones increased from 300 kg to 500 kg. This will cover drone taxis also.
16. All drone training and testing to be carried out by an authorised drone school. DGCA shall prescribe training requirements, oversee drone schools and provide pilot licences online.
17. Issuance of Certificate of Airworthiness delegated to Quality Council of India and certification entities authorised by it.
18. The manufacturer may generate their drone’s unique identification number on the digital sky platform through the self-certification route.
19. The easier process prescribed for transfer and deregistration of drones.
20. Standard operating procedures (SOP) and training procedure manuals (TPM) will be prescribed by DGCA on the digital sky platform for self-monitoring by users. No approvals required unless there is a significant departure from the prescribed procedures.
21. The maximum penalty under Drone Rules, 2021 reduced to Rs 1 lakh. This shall, however, not apply to penalties in respect of violation of other laws.
22. Drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries.
23. Drone promotion council to be set up to facilitate a business-friendly regulatory regime.