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New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reduced the rules regarding drone operations in the country from 25 to 5 and the types of fees charged from the operator from 72 to 4.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter that the new drone heralds a historic moment for the sector in India.
“The rules are based on the basis of trust and self-certification. Approval, compliance requirements and entry barriers have been significantly reduced,” he said.
The Drone Rules, 2021 were issued on Wednesday. He superseded the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, which came into force on March 12.
The Prime Minister said that the new rules will be of great help to the start-ups and youth working in this sector.
“This will open up new possibilities for innovation and business. It will help leverage India’s strength in innovation, technology and engineering to make India a drone hub.”
According to the new rules, the fee has been reduced to a nominal level and separated from the size of the drone.
For example, the fee for a remote pilot license for all categories of drones has been reduced from Rs 3,000 (for a large drone) to Rs 100 and is valid for 10 years.
The rules also do away with the need for various approvals, including certificate of conformity, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, approval of existing drones, operator permit, authorization of R&D organization and student remote pilot license.
Other approvals such as Unique Authorization Number, Unique Prototype Identification Number and Certificate of Manufacturing and Airworthiness have also been done away with as per the Drone Rules, 2021.
The new rules state that flying up to 400 feet in a “green zone” and 200 feet in an area between 8 and 12 km from the airport’s periphery will not be required.
A “green zone” is an airspace up to a vertical distance of 400 feet that is not designated as a red zone or yellow zone in airspace maps.
An interactive airspace map with green, yellow and red zones will be displayed on the Digital Sky platform within 30 days of the publication of these new rules.
The Drone Rules, 2021 have also laid down the easy procedure for transfer and cancellation of registration of drones.
No pilot license will be required for micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones, the rules noted, which said the maximum penalty for violation has been reduced to Rs 1 lakh.
According to the new rules, the type certificate and unique identification number will be required only when the drone is operated in India.
If a drone is being imported or manufactured for export purposes only, it will be exempted from the requirement of type certification and unique identification number.
Drone corridors will be developed for cargo delivery and a Drone Promotion Council will be set up to facilitate a drone-friendly regulatory regime in the country as per the draft rules.
The rules also state that there will be no restrictions on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India.
The Digital Sky platform will be developed as a business-friendly single-window online system, the new rules mentioned.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter that the new drone rules will revolutionize the logistics and transport sector and create a wave of change in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and mining.
“It (the new drone regulations) will also provide a launchpad to our startups who are ready to lead this revolution,” he added.
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