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. 

Draft Drones Rules, 2021 released

The draft Drones Rules, 2021, replacing the regulations was issued in March this year, Provision on R&D:

26. Drone operations for research and development. – The following persons shall not require a certificate of airworthiness, unique identification number, prior permission and remote pilot licence for operating drones for research and development purposes – 

(a) Research and development entities under the administrative control of, or recognised by the Central Government, State Governments or Union Territory Administrations; 

(b) Educational institutions under the administrative control of, or recognised by the Central Government, State Governments or Union Territory Administrations; 

(c) Startups recognised by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade; and 

(d) Any drone manufacturer having a Goods and Service Tax Identification Number:

Also read -World of Drones.

India announced draft guidelines for Drones

The Draft UAS Rules goes on to categorize UAS into the following:

1. Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (i.e. UAS piloted from a remote pilot station)
2. Model Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (i.e. UAS operating without payload and used for educational or experimental purposes only within visual line of sight)
3. Autonomous Unmanned Aircraft System (i.e. UAS that does not require pilot intervention in the management of the flight)

Copy of gazetted notification available.
Analysis read : http://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Html/Hotline/200701_REGTECH_M_Future_of_drones_in_India_UAS_rules_2020.html

Drone Regulations 1.0- India

Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which monitors India’s drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) ecosystem has released India’s drone policy called Drone Regulations 1.0, that dictates a process for creating an unmanned air traffic control system for running drones in the low-altitude airspace. These regulations will enable the safe, commercial usage of drones starting December 1, 2018. 
Drone Regulations 1.0 are intended to enable visual line-of-sight daytime-only and a maximum of 400 ft altitude operations. Air space has been partitioned into Red Zone (flying not permitted), Yellow Zone (controlled airspace), and Green Zone (automatic permission). 
Instead of simply digitizing a paper-based process for registering and operating drones, India has formulated an all-digital process. The Digital Sky Platform is the first-of-its-kind national unmanned traffic management (UTM) platform that implements “no permission, no takeoff” (NPNT). Users will be required to do a one-time registration of their drones, pilots and owners. For every flight (exempted for the nano category), users will be required to ask for permission to fly on a mobile app and an automated process permits or denies the request instantly. To prevent unauthorized flights and to ensure public safety, any drone without a digital permit to fly will simply not be able to takeoff. The UTM operates as a traffic regulator in the drone airspace and coordinates closely with the defense and civilian air traffic controllers (ATCs) to ensure that drones remain on the approved flight paths.

Key features of Drone Regulations 1.0 are:

Notification of Final Regulations for Civil Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued today the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for civil use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) commonly known as drones. The regulation was developed after extensive consultations among various stakeholders, and will be effective from 1st December, 2018.

As per the regulation, there are 5 categories of RPAS categorized by weight, namely nano, micro, small, medium and large.

Operational/ Procedural Requirements:

All RPAS except nano and those owned by NTRO, ARC and Central Intelligence Agencies are to be registered and issued with Unique Identification Number (UIN).

Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) shall be required for RPA operators except for nano RPAS operating below 50 ft., micro RPAS operating below 200 ft., and those owned by NTRO, ARC and Central Intelligence Agencies.

The mandatory equipment required for operation of RPAS except nano category are (a) GNSS (GPS), (b) Return-To-Home (RTH), (c) Anti-collision light, (d) ID-Plate, (e)  Flight controller with flight data logging capability, and (f) RF ID and SIM/ No-Permission No Take off (NPNT).

As of now, RPAS to operate within visual line of sight (VLoS), during day time only, and upto maximum 400 ft. altitude.

For flying in controlled Airspace, filing of flight plan and obtaining Air Defence Clearance (ADC) /Flight Information Centre (FIC) number shall be necessary.

Minimum manufacturing standards and training requirements of Remote Pilots of small and above categories of RPAS have been specified in the regulation.

No Drone Zones:

The regulation defines “No Drone Zones” around airports;near international border, Vijay Chowk in Delhi; State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations/vital and military installations; etc.

Operations through Digital Platform:

Operations of RPAS to be enabled through Digital Sky Platform. The RPAS operations will be based on NPNT (No Permission, No Take off). The details including links for the digital sky platform shall be available in DGCA website from 1st December, 2018. There will be different colour zones visible to the applicant while applying in the digital sky platform, viz, Red Zone: flying not permitted, Yellow Zone (controlled airspace): permission required before flying, and Green Zone (uncontrolled airspace): automatic permission.

Enforcement Actions:

The enforcement actions are, (a) suspension/ cancellation of UIN/ UAOP in case of violation of regulatory provisions, (b) actions as per relevant Sections of the Aircraft Act 1934, or Aircraft Rules, or any statutory provisions, and (c) penalties as per applicable IPCs (such as 287, 336, 337, 338, or any relevant section of IPC).