The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has formally issued its new Drone Rules, 2021, which are aimed at unlocking the nascent potential of the drone sector in India. The new drone rules have been drafted on the premise of ‘trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring’ and are in keeping with the Government’s ambition for India to emerge as a global drone hub by 2030.
The new drone rules will usher in an era of super-normal growth, while balancing safety and security considerations, a MoCA release stated.
Government’s ambition
The new drone rules cut through red tape with the number of forms required for drone operators reduced from 25 to five and number of fee types reduced from 72 to four. The MoCA has also abolished approvals related to unique prototype identification number, certificate of manufacturing and airworthiness, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, drone port authorisation, etc, which will allow drone operators to start operations faster.
Those operating micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones will no longer require a remote pilot licence, and no security clearance will be required before issuance of any registration or licence.
Drones weighing up to 500 kg (as opposed to 300 kg earlier) are covered under the new drone rules, which covers drone taxis also.
The Government has announced the creation of a new ‘Digital Sky Platform’, which will be developed as a user-friendly single-window system, where self-generated permissions can be obtained. The digital sky platform will be ready with an interactive airspace map with green, yellow and red zones by September 26.
Green Zone means the airspace up to a vertical distance of 400 feet or 120 metre that has not been designated as a red zone or yellow zone in the airspace map; and the airspace up to a vertical distance of 200 feet or 60 metre above the area located between a lateral distance of eight and 12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport. No permission would be required for drone operation in green zones.