The Civil Aviation Ministry has come out with draft drone Rules, which prescribe fewer approvals and forms, and minimum human interface.
“Built on a premise of trust, self-certification, and non-intrusive monitoring, The Drone Rules, 2021 will replace the UAS Rules 2021 (released on 12 March 2021),” the Ministry said. Stakeholders can give their suggestions by August 5. These rules will not apply to drones used by naval, military or air forces and any drone weighing beyond 500 kg.
Once the new rules are notified, the Government will publish on the ministry’s DigitalSky platform an airspace map for drone operations, segregated into red, yellow and green zones.
“Red zone” means the airspace of defined dimensions above the land areas, or territorial waters of India, or any installation or notified port limits specified by the Central Government beyond the territorial waters of India, where drone operations will be permitted only under exceptional circumstances.
“Yellow zone” means the controlled airspace of defined dimensions above the land areas or territorial waters of India where drone operations are restricted and require permission from air traffic control authority. The zone will cover 12 km from the airport perimeter.
“Green zone” means the airspace from the ground up to a vertical distance of 400 ft (120 metres) that has not been designated as a red or yellow zone.
“No flight permission required upto 400 feet in green zones and upto 200 feet in the area between 8 and 12 km from the airport perimeter. No pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use), nano drone and for R&D organisations. No restriction on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India,” a statement issued by the ministry said.
The rules categorise drones into five kinds: Nano (less than or equal to 250 g), micro (more than 250 g and less than or equal to 2 kg), small (more than 2 kg and less than or equal to 25 kg), medium (more than 25 kg and less than or equal to 150 kg), and large (beyond 150 kg).
The ministry said that approvals for unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, authorisation of R&D organisation, student remote pilot licence, remote pilot instructor authorisation, drone port authorisation and so on, have been authorised. At the same time, the number of forms has been reduced to six from 25, and the fee has been reduced to nominal, irrespective of drone size.
The maximum penalty has been reduced to ₹1 lakh, except where there is violation of other laws. Drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries, as also a drone promotion council to facilitate a business-friendly regulatory regime.