Drone Rules 2021

Drone Rules 2021

Subject – Defence and Security

Context – The Civil Aviation Ministry has notified the Drone Rules, 2021, under which the weight of a fully loaded unmanned aircraft system has been increased from 300 kg to 500 kg to include heavy payload-carrying craft for use in the logistics and transportation sectors. The rules will also cover drone taxis.

Concept –

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation has unveiled the Draft Drone Rules, 2021 based on “trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring”.
• The new rules would replace the existing Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, notified in March, 2021.
• Abolish the need for various approvals, including certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, authorization of R&D organization and student remote pilot licence.
• Number of forms reduced from 25 to 5.
• Fee reduced to nominal levels. No linkage with the size of the drone.
• Digital Sky Platform: The government will be developing a digital sky platform that will have an interactive airspace map dividing the country into green, yellow, and red zones.
  • The online registration of all drones will happen through the Digital Sky Platform.
• It will provide a secure and a scalable platform that supports drone technology frameworks, such as NPNT (no permission, no take-off), designed to enable flight permission digitally and manage unmanned aircraft operations and traffic efficiently.
• Reduced Airport Perimeter: The draft rules reduced the airport perimeter from 45 km to 12 km.
• The rules state that no flight permissions would be required to fly upto 400 feet in green zones and upto 200 feet in the area between 8 and 12 km from the airport perimeter.
• No pilot licence would be needed for micro drones for non-commercial use, nano drones and for R&D organizations’.
• There would be no restriction on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India.
• Drone Corridor: The Ministry will also facilitate development of drone corridors for cargo deliveries and a drone promotion council will be set up to facilitate a business-friendly regulatory regime.
• Safety Features: The draft rule also provides for safety features such as real-time tracking beacon, and geo-fencing, which are expected to be notified in future and a six-month lead time will be provided for compliance.
• Increased Coverage of Drones: The coverage has been increased from 300 kg to 500 kg and will cover drone taxis, while the Issuance of Certificate of Airworthiness has been delegated to Quality Council of India and certification entities authorized by it.
• Import of drones to be regulated by DGFT.
• The Director General or an entity authorized by it, on the recommendation of the Quality Council of India or an authorized testing entity, will issue a type certificate for drones. No type certificate, unique identification number, prior permission and remote pilot licence will be needed for research and development entities.
• Importing and manufacturing drones purely for exports are now exempt from type certification and unique identification number. Manufacturers and importers will be able to generate their drones’ unique identification number on the Digital Sky Platform through the self-certification route.