Centre releases draft drone rules, here are key proposed changes

New Delhi: Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday (July 15, 2021) released the updated Drone Rules, 2021 for public consultation. Built on a premise of trust, self-certification, and non-intrusive monitoring, “The Drone Rules, 2021” will replace the UAS Rules 2021 (released on 12 March 2021). The last date for receipt of public comments is 5 August 2021.

Key takeaways from the Draft Drone Rules, 2021 include:

- Approvals abolished: unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, 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, drone port authorisation etc. 

- Number of forms reduced from 25 to 6.

- Fee reduced to nominal levels. No linkage with the size of the drone.  

- 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. 

- Digital sky platform shall be developed as a business-friendly single-window online system.   

- There will be minimal human interface on the digital sky platform and most permissions will be self-generated.   

- Interactive airspace map with green, yellow, and red zones will be displayed on the digital sky platform.  

Read complete notice here

- Yellow zone reduced from 45 km to 12 km from the airport perimeter. 

- No flight permission required 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 required for micro drones (for non-commercial use), nano drone and for R&D organisations. 

- No restriction on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India.

- Import of drones and drone components to be regulated by DGFT.   

- No security clearance required before any registration or licence issuance.  

- No requirement of certificate of airworthiness, unique identification number, prior permission and remote pilot licence for R&D entities.   

- Coverage of drones under Drone Rules, 2021 increased from 300 kg to 500 kg.  This will cover drone taxis also. 

- 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. 

- Issuance of Certificate of Airworthiness delegated to Quality Council of India and certification entities authorised by it.   

- Manufacturer may generate their drone’s unique identification number on the digital sky platform through the self-certification route.  

- Easier process prescribed for transfer and deregistration of drones. 

- 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.

- Maximum penalty under Drone Rules, 2021 reduced to INR 1 lakh.  This shall, however, not apply to penalties in respect of violation of other laws. 

- Drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries.  

- Drone promotion council to be set up to facilitate a business-friendly regulatory regime.