New Drone Rules Passed in India 2021

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) guidelines for drones in March of this year. Because of the rule's restrictive nature and excessive paperwork requirements, the Indian government has changed it and replaced it with a more liberalised version. The new laws lower the number of forms from 25 to 5, while the government reduces the types of fees from 72 to 4.

New Drone Rules in India (2021)

“The new Drone Rules will tremendously help start-ups and our youth working in this sector. It will open up new possibilities for innovation & business. It will help leverage India’s strengths in innovation, technology & engineering to make India a drone hub” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

The new Drone Rules usher in a landmark moment for this sector in India. The rules are based on the premise of trust and self-certification. Approvals, compliance requirements and entry barriers have been significantly reduced. https://t.co/Z3OfOAuJmp

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 26, 2021

Within 30 days of the release of these guidelines, the government will produce an interactive airspace map in a digital sky platform featuring green, yellow, and red zones. The green zone is defined as airspace with a vertical distance of up to 400 feet (120 metres) in this case. Airspace with a vertical distance of up to 200 feet (60 metres) above the area within 8 to 12 kilometres of an airport's boundary is also included.

In green zones, you won't need permission to fly drones. Meanwhile, the government has lowered the yellow zone around the airport from 45 kilometres to 12 kilometres. Furthermore, micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones do not require a remote pilot licence.

Under the Drone Rules, 2021, the government has increased the weight limit for drones from 300 to 500 kg, which includes drone taxis. The maximum penalty for violations has been cut from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 50,000. The laws also specify that foreign ownership of Indian drone companies is not restricted. If you're interested, you can read the official paper here or check out the government's press release covering 30 highlights of the Drone Rules 2021.

That's all for this post. Stay tuned to CERadar for more such content.