CENTRE NOTIFIES NEW DRONE POLICY
The new rules make it significantly easier for people and companies to own and operate drones by streamlining the certification process for manufacturers, importers and users, making the process future ready
NEW DELHI: The Union aviation ministry has formally notified the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 that replace the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules (UAS), 2021, which came into force in March. The new rules make it significantly easier for people and companies to own and operate drones by streamlining the certification process for manufacturers, importers and users, making the process future ready.
NEW DELHI: The Union aviation ministry has formally notified the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 that replace the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules (UAS), 2021, which came into force in March.
The new rules make it significantly easier for people and companies to own and operate drones by streamlining the certification process for manufacturers, importers and users, making the process future ready. Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said air taxis could be a reality in the coming days under the drone rules.
“Air taxis are being researched and invented globally and many start-ups are coming up… that time is not far when taxis, like the ones of Uber, etc that you see on roads, you will see in the air under the drone policy. I believe this is very much possible,” Scindia said at a press conference on Thursday.
“India has the potential to be a global drone hub by 2030 as drones offer tremendous benefits to all sectors of the economy and can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use,” the aviation ministry said.
Special drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries. Several approvals have been abolished, including unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of manufacturing and airworthiness, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, authorisation of R&D organisation, student remote pilot licence, remote pilot instructor authorisation, and drone port authorisation.
The new rules state no pilot licence will be required for micro drones (for non-commercial use), nano drones and for research and development (R&D) organisations. There will no longer be a ban on the use of drones by foreign-owned companies registered in India and no security clearance will be required before any registration or licence is issued.
The government plans to open what is known as the Digital Sky platform, which manufacturers will be able to use for the certification process, and from where interactive airspace maps with green, yellow, and zones can be accessed.
Digital Sky will also serve as a unified platform for users to obtain the mandatory registration number and remote pilot licence, and people will need to check the service to determine if any restrictions are in place before they fly a drone at a location. The platform will be under India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
“The Central Government may, within thirty days of the date of notification of these rules, publish on the digital sky platform, an airspace map for unmanned aircraft system operations segregating the entire airspace of India into red zone, yellow zone and green zone, with a horizontal resolution equal or finer than 10 metres,” the draft says.
The yellow zone has been reduced from 45km to 12km from the airport perimeter. No flight permission is required up to 400 feet in green zones and up to 200 feet in the area between 8km and 12km from the airport perimeter.
Green zone refers to airspace up to a vertical distance of 400 feet (120 metre) above ground level (AGL) that has not been designated as a red zone or yellow zone for drone operations. Red zone refers to airspace of defined dimensions, above the land areas or territorial waters of India, or any installation or notified port limits specified by the central government beyond the territorial waters of India within which drone operations shall be permitted only in excepred tional circumstances.
Addressing security concerns on the exemption of several rules for drone usage, the minister said the defence ministry, the home ministry and the BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) have been working together so that “counter rogue drone technology” can be developed and adopted quickly.
On national security, the minister said under the new rules registration of all drones is mandatory irrespective of the size or type.
“It is mandatory for the Aadhaar and passport details to be supplied by the drone owners…Security agencies will also have direct access to the digital sky platform. At any time the DGCA can also inspect any drone. If any state wants to make a particular area a temporary red zone it can do so for a period of 96 hours on the digital sky platform,” Scindia said.
He said airspace maps are being developed in consultation with all the state governments who will also decide the colour-coding of the zones across their areas.
Last month the aviation ministry released the draft of the national drone policy. The document was put up for public inputs till August 5. Drones now form a significant new consumer tech category, particularly among hobbyists and visual artists, and are being tested for a range of practical as well as industrial uses such as automated package deliveries by e-commerce companies.
The rules will help leverage India’s strengths in innovation & technology to make India a drone hub.