Drone operation in the country will now be easy. The civil aviation ministry on Thursday issued a new draft of rules based on trust, self-certification, and non-intrusion surveillance. Under this, six forms will have to be filled instead of 25 to fly drones, as well as many approvals will not be needed.
In the draft of the ministry, the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, issued on March 12, have been simplified. In this, the fee has been reduced and it has been fixed on the size of the drone. Apart from this, the requirement of various approvals like a certificate of conformity, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, approval of existing drones, operator permits, authorization of R&D organization, and student license has also been done away with. The ministry has sought suggestions and objections from the public and various stakeholders on this draft by August 5.
We will promote our startups in the technological revolution of drones
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that Drones are bringing about the next big technological revolution across the world with low cost, resources, and time is taken to operate. It is up to us to ride the new wave and promote it, especially amongst our startups.
No clearance for flying up to 400 feet
Under the new draft, no special approval will be required to fly drones at an altitude of 400 feet in green zones and 200 feet in a radius of 8-12 kilometers of airports. Apart from this, the rules for the transfer and re-registration of drones have also been simplified.
Separate corridor for cargo delivery
A separate drone corridor will be built for cargo delivery. At the same time, a Drone Promotion Council will also be set up to facilitate a drone-friendly regulatory system in the country.
No restriction on foreign companies registered in India
Under the draft rule, there will be no restriction on drone operations on foreign companies registered in India. The Digital Sky platform will be developed as a single-window online system. Human intervention in this would be negligible.