Draft rules for ease of using drones in India

The Civil Aviation Ministry, has prepared draft rules to ensure ease of using drones in India on the basis of “trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring”, an official statement said. Drones have been crucial for strategic and security reasons for India.  For example, they were used on June 27 to drop explosives at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu airport, causing minor injuries to its two personnel.

The draft ‘Drone Rules, 2021’ have reduced the number of forms to be filled to operate drones in the country from 25 to 6. Further, the fee for registration and approval has been reduced to nominal levels and de-linked from the size of the drone under the draft rules, the ministry said. “Drones are bringing the next big tech revolution around the globe with reduced costs, resources and time taken for operations. It is upon us to ride on the new wave and facilitate its uptake, especially among our startups,” Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said.