Ministry of Civil Aviation notifies liberalised Drone Rules, 2021

Context

In March 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) published the UAS Rules, 2021.
They were perceived by academia, Startups, end-users and other stakeholders as being restrictive in nature as they involved considerable paperwork, required permissions for every drone flight and very few “free to fly” green zones were available.

About UAS

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy like – agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement etc.
Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas.

New Drone Rules

No permission required for operating drones in green zones.
Green zone means the airspace upto a vertical distance of 400 feet or 120 metre that has not been designated as a red zone or yellow zone in the airspace map
Yellow zone reduced from 45 km to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
No remote pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones.
No requirement for security clearance before issuance of any registration or licence.
No restriction on foreign ownership in Indian drone companies.
Requirement of import clearance from DGCA abolished.
Drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries.
Drone promotion council to be set up by Government with participation from academia, startups and other stakeholders to facilitate a growth-oriented regulatory regime.