Ministry of Civil Aviation notifies liberalised Drone Rules, 2021

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. Based on the feedback, the Government has decided to repeal the UAS Rules, 2021 and replace the same with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021. 

Features of Drone Rules 2021

1. Number of forms reduced from 25 to 5. 
2. Types of fee reduced from 72 to 4. 
3. Quantum of fee reduced to nominal levels and delinked with size of drone.  For instance, the fee for a remote pilot license fee has been reduced from INR 3000 (for large drone) to INR 100 for all categories of drones; and is valid for 10 years.
4. Digital sky platform shall be developed as a user-friendly single-window system.  There will be minimal human interface and most permissions will be self-generated.
5. Interactive airspace map with green, yellow and red zones shall be displayed on the digital sky platform within 30 days of publication of these rules. 
6. 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; and the airspace upto a vertical distance of 200 feet or 60 metre above the area located between a lateral distance of 8 and 12 kilometre from the perimeter of an operational airport.
7. Yellow zone reduced from 45 km to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
8. No remote pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones.
9. No requirement for security clearance before issuance of any registration or licence.
10. No requirement of Type Certificate, unique identification numberand remote pilot licence by R&D entities operating drones in own or rented premises, located in a green zone.
11. No restriction on foreign ownership in Indian drone companies.