Civil Aviation Ministry passes new rules making drone use in India easy

The new Drone Rules, 2021 have been passed, the Civil Aviation ministry informed via a Gazette notification. These new rules will replace the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Rules 2021.

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation ministry has passed that the new Drone Rules, 2021 the government informed via a Gazette notification on Thursday (August 26, 2021). These new rules will replace the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Rules 2021 which had come into force on March 12 this year. 

Now, drones require a identification numbers, unless exempted. A unique identification number of the drone can be generated by providing requisite details on the digital sky platform, the notification said.

The rules have abolished the requirement of various approvals, including certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permits, authorisation of R&D organisation and student remote pilot licence, the government said.

Under the Drone Rules 2021, the government has reduced the fee to operate a drone to nominal levels and de-linked from the size of the drone. The capacity of drones has been increased from 300 kg to 500 kg to include heavy payload-carrying drones and drone taxis.

The fee has been reduced to nominal levels and de-linked from the size of the drone, according to the new rules. The fee for a remote pilot license has been reduced for Rs 3,000 (for a large drone) to Rs 100 for all categories of drones and it is valid for 10 years.

On July 15, Centre had announced its decision to come up with new drone rules and had invited comments from stakeholders and the industry till August 5. The new rules are simpler and it reduces the compliance burden to operate a drone in India.