In March of this year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced rules for unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAS) that apply to drones. Considering the restrictive nature and excessive paperwork proposed in the regulation, the Government of India revised it in a liberalized version. The number of forms for the new rules has been reduced from 25 to 5, and the government has reduced the types of charges from 72 to 4.
India’s new drone rules (2021)
“The new drone rules will greatly help start-ups and young people working in this area. It opens up new possibilities for innovation and business. It leverages India’s strengths in innovation, technology and engineering to bring India to life. It helps to make it a drone hub. “ I have written Twitter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In particular, the government will publish an interactive airspace map on a digital airspace platform with green, yellow, and red zones within 30 days of the publication of these rules. Here, the green zone is an airspace with a vertical distance of up to 400 feet or 120 meters. It also includes airspace up to 200 feet or 60 meters vertically from an area within 8-12 km of the airport’s perimeter.
No permission required to operate the drone in the green zone.. Meanwhile, the government has reduced the yellow zone from around the airport from 45km to 12km. In addition, you do not need a remote pilot license for micro drones (non-commercial) and nano drones.
The government has expanded the scope of drones under the 2021 Drone Regulations from 300 kg to 500 kg. This includes drone taxis. The maximum penalty for violations has been reduced to Rs. 10,000 rupees. The rules also state that there are no restrictions on foreign ownership of Indian drone companies. If you’re interested, you can check here for a government press release focusing on the 30 features of Drone Rule 2021 or read it all in the official documentation.
