- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Narendra Modi government on Thursday (26) issued fresh norms for the usage of drones in India, a move which many felt could significantly change the country’s landscape for them.
The relaxation in rules said that no security clearance is now required for any registration or licence issuance for the drones’ operation. Also, the fees for permissions to operate them have been reduced to nominal levels.
Under the new regime, drone corridors will be developed for deliveries of cargo. It has also been specified that coverage of drones under Drone Rules 2021 has gone up from 300 kilograms to 500 kilograms to include heavy payload-carrying drones and drone taxis.
The new rules saw the abolition of some of the approvals like a unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, remote pilot instructor authorisation, etc.
Under the Drone Rules, the maximum penalty has been reduced to Rs 1 lakh (£983). This does not apply to penalties in respect of violation of other laws. The interactive airspace map with green, yellow and red zones will be displayed on the digital sky platform. The yellow zone has been reduced from 45 kilometres to 12 kilometres from the airport perimeter.
No permission will be required for operating a drone in green zones and up to 200 feet in the area between 8 and 12 kilometres from the airport perimeter.
Online registration of all drones shall take place through the Digital Sky platform.
In July, India’s civil aviation ministry had released the updated Drone Rules 2021 for public consultation.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the new drone policy to say on Twitter, “The new Drone Rules usher in a landmark moment for this sector in India. The rules are based on the premise of trust and self-certification. Approvals, compliance requirements and entry barriers have been significantly reduced.”
He also said, “The new Drone Rules will tremendously help start-ups and our youth working in this sector. It will open up new possibilities for innovation & business. It will help leverage India’s strengths in innovation, technology & engineering to make India a drone hub.”
Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia praised Modi to say that India’s new drone policy will create history. Unveiling the rules, he said the policy will trigger a revolution in the logistics and transportation sector and generate ripples of change in sectors like healthcare, agriculture and mining. He also said the new drone policy will create new jobs and boost the Indian economy.
