The Civil Aviation Ministry has notified new rules for drone operation in India. These allow drones to operate in the green zone without prior approval.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that rules are based on the premise of trust and self-certification. Approvals, compliance requirements and entry barriers have been significantly reduced. 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,” he said in a tweet.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that new rules would trigger a revolution in the logistics & transportation sector and create ripples across industries like agriculture, healthcare, mining, etc. “It will also provide a launchpad to our start-ups who are ready to lead this revolution from the front,” he said in 

Five categories

Drone here means an unmanned aircraft system which has been categorised into five: Nano (weighing less than or equal to 250 grams), Micro (weighing more than 250 grams, but less than or equal to 2 kilograms), Small (weighing more than 2 kilograms, but less than or equal to 25 kilograms), Medium (weighing more than 25 kilograms, but less than or equal to 150 kilograms) and Large weighing more than 150 kilograms).

“No person shall operate an unmanned aircraft system in a red zone or yellow zone without prior permission.  No prior permission shall be required for operating an unmanned aircraft system in a green zone,” the notification said.

Green and red zones

The rules define ‘green zone’ as airspace of up to a vertical distance of 200 feet or 60 metres above the area between a lateral distance of 8 kilometres and 12 kilometres from the perimeter of an operational airport. For other regions, the vertical space could be 400 feet or 120 metres. The airspace above 400 feet or 120 metres in the designated green zone and the airspace above 200 feet or 60 metres in the area located between the lateral distance of 8 kilometres and 12 kilometres from the perimeter of an operational airport will be designated as ‘yellow zone’.

‘Red zone’ means the airspace of defined dimensions above India's land areas or territorial waters, or any installation or notified port limits specified by the Central Government beyond the territorial waters of India. Here unmanned aircraft system operations will be permitted only by the Central Government.

Rules say, “No person shall operate an unmanned aircraft system without first registering it on the digital sky platform and obtaining a unique identification number unless exempted.” Any flying machine manufactured here or imported on or before November 30, 2021, will need to apply and register within 31 days. Rules permit the transfer of drones to any other person through ‘sale, lease, gift or any other mode.’

Qualification criteria

Each drone barring the Nano category and a model remotely piloted aircraft system will need to have a type certificate. The operator of the drone must have a remote pilot licence. An individual between 18 and 64 with minimum educational qualification of the class tenth pass will be eligible. They will be required to complete the training from an authorised centre to apply for the licence.

New Drone Rules

  • Number of forms reduced from 25 to 5.
  • Types of fee reduced from 72 to 4. Quantum of fee too reduced
  • Requirement of import clearance from DGCA abolished.
  • Coverage of drones under Drone Rules, 2021 increased from 300 kg to 500 kg. This will cover drone taxis also.
  • Maximum penalty for violations reduced to Rs 1 lakh.
  • Drone corridors to be developed for cargo deliveries.
  • Drone promotion council to be set up

 

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