On August 26, 2021, Ministry of Civil Aviation in India published the Liberalised Drone Rules, 2021(“Rules”).
Unmanned aircrafts, popularly known as Drones are being widely recognized as beneficial for the growth of the economy. Drones help in agriculture, survey of lands in rural areas, mining and infrastructure, geo-mapping, transportation and surveillance. Currently, the value of the Indian Drone Market is USD 1.21 billion. This amounts to nearly 4.5 per cent of the global Drone market. This number is expected to grow tremendously by the end of this decade. It is also expected that there will be an upsurge of Drone usage by 2022 and the number of certified Drone pilots will reach 5,000 by 2025.[1]
With the rapid growth in the usage of Drones, it was necessary to regulate the Drone sector and provide a uniform structure to manage the Indian Drone market. This would facilitate the process of making India the ‘Drone hub’ by 2030.
PROVISIONS OF DRONE RULES, 2021
The Drone Rules, 2021 comprises 55 sections that are divided into 11 parts which includes applicability, classification, certification, registration, operation, traffic management, insurance, training and research and development of unmanned aircraft systems.
Applicability: These Drone Rules are applicable on all people who own, possess, lease, operate, transfer or maintain unmanned aircrafts systems in India.Unmanned aircraft systems that are registered and operated in India for the time being.
Classification: The Drone Rules 2021 categorizes unmanned aircraft systems into three parts – aero plane, rotorcraft and hybrid unmanned aircraft systems. Further, these systems are classified according to their weight and payload – nano, micro, small, medium and large unmanned aircraft systems. The maximum weight of the unmanned aircraft systems including payload is 500 kilograms.
Certification, Registration and Licensing: It is mandatory to obtain a type certificate for operating unmanned aircraft systems. However, certification is not required for manufacturing or importing unmanned aircraft systems and operating a model remotely piloted and nano unmanned aircraft systems.
Before operating the unmanned aircraft systems, people have to register on the digital sky platform. They can operate the aircraft only after obtaining a unique identification number.
It is also compulsory to obtain a remote pilot licence to operate an unmanned aircraft system. However, a licence is not required to operate nano, and micro unmanned aircraft systems used for non-commercial purposes.
The research and development entities do not require a type certificate, registration or remote pilot licence to operate Drones within the green zone.
Operations and Zones: The government will horizontally and vertically segregate the airspace map into red, yellow and green zones. After registration and verification on the digital sky platform, a person can freely operate unmanned aircraft systems in the green zone. However, prior permission from the government is required to operate the aircraft in red and yellow zones.
As prescribed in the Rules, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has released an interactive digital airspace map for flying Drone on September 24, 202[2]. The map demarcates green, yellow and red zones across the country for the purpose of Drones operations.
Green zone consists of the airspace up to 400 feet that has not been designated as a red or yellow zone; and up to 200 feet above the area located between 8-12 kilometres from the perimeter of an operational airport. No permission is required for operating Drones with an all-up weight upto500 kg in such areas.
Yellow zone is the airspace above 400 feet in a designated green zone. Those above 200 feet in the area located between 8-12 kilometres from the perimeter of an operational airport and above ground in the area located between 5-8 kilometres from the perimeter of an operational airport would be considered as yellow zones. Drone operations in yellow zone require permission from the concerned air traffic control authority, namely AAI, IAF, Navy, HAL, etc., as the case may be. The Civil Aviation Ministry further mentioned that yellow zone has been reduced from 45 km earlier to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
Red zone have been designated as no-Drone areas, where Drones can be operated only after permission from the central government.
It is prohibited to carry arms, ammunition, explosives and dangerous goods as defined under Aircraft (Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2003 in unmanned aircraft systems without prior approval of the central government.
Insurance- The third party insurance of unmanned aircraft systems will be governed by the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988) for compensation in case of damage to life or property caused by such an unmanned aircraft system.
However, a third party insurance is not required to operate a nano unmanned aircraft system.
FEATURES OF DRONE RULES, 2021
The Drone Rules, 2021 are liberal than the earlier Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Rules, 2021. Following are the features of Drone Rules:
Self- monitoring: These Rules have minimised the interference of the relevant authorities while operating an unmanned aircraft system. The government has gotten rid of several compliances for operating an unmanned aircraft system such as student remote pilot licence, unique authorisation number and prototype identification, manufacturing, airworthiness and maintenance certificates, and many more.[3]
Moreover, the Rules enable a single window called Digital Sky platform that will self-generate permissions and reduce human interference. The platform shall also comprise the Standard operating procedures (SOP) and training procedure manuals (TPM) prescribed by DGCA on the digital sky platform for self-monitoring by users.
Reduced Fees and Forms- The number of forms required for operating unmanned aircraft systems has been reduced from 25 to 5 with only 4 categories of fees to be paid. The amount of fee for remote and other licenses has also been significantly reduced.
No restriction on Foreign Ownership- The Rules allow foreign investors to own shares in Indian Drone companies.
Drone Council and Corridors- The Rules, 2021 state provisions for establishment of Drone corridors for cargo deliveries, and setting up of Drone Regulation Council to promote growth of the Drone sector in India.
Maximum Penalty- The maximum penalty for violating any of the Rules is Rs 100,000 (Rupees One Hundred Thousand)
Maximum Coverage- The maximum load on Drones has been increased from 300 kg to 500 kg. The provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 will be applicable to Drones with weight exceeding 500 kg.
CONCLUSION
The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, has given much needed impetus to the development of Drone industry in the country, which until recently mostly catering to the defence industry. The Ministry has recognised the significance of the Drone industry and its multipurpose usage and stated Drones offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy. These include – agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement to name a few. Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas The Drones will not only boost our economy but also strengthen our military services. The government is planning to import military Drones to combat terror attacks. Such Drones will be equipped with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technologies and will be able to perform precision strikes on the enemy.
Further, in order to further incentive the Drone industry, the government has recently announced production linked incentive schemes for drones (“PLI Scheme”). The total amount allocated for the PLI Scheme for drones and drone components is INR 120 crore spread over three financial years. This amount is nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21! The PLI Scheme covers a wide variety of drone components, including airframe, propulsion systems, power systems, batteries, inertial measurement unit, flight control module, ground control station, communication systems, cameras, sensors, spraying systems, emergency recovery system, and trackers[4].
While the Drone sector in India is at a nascent stage, but the recent change in laws and the policy decisions made will give a major push to its growth . Also, while these initiatives will require effective implementation, research and development to witness significant growth, the foregoing changes made are steps taken in the right direction and has been welcomed by the industry, as well.
[1]https://www.google.com/amp/s/theprint.in/india/governance/why-indias-Drone-market-could-become-a-multi-billion-dollar-industry-in-next-decade/700817/%3famp
[2] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1757850
[3] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1749154
[4] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1757850
