This article was written and edited by the team at Anoop & Co. – AOR Anoop Prakash Awasthi, Adv. Parthvi Ahuja and Ananya Singh.
INTRODUCTION
In August, the Ministry of Civil Aviation notified the updated Drone Rules 2021, replacing the highly critiqued Unmanned Aircraft System [UAS] Rules, 2021, released on March 12 this year. With these liberalised Drone Rules, “Our aim is to make India a global drone hub by 2030”, said Jyotiraditya Scindia, union civil aviation minister. According to news reports, currently there are 150-200 startups in India that are part of the drone ecosystem, with drone taxis likely to be launched soon.
Now, a drone is a layman term for an Unmanned Aircraft [UA]. In other words, a drone is an aircraft that can operate autonomously or can be operated remotely without a pilot on board. There are three subsets of an Unmanned Aircraft- Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Autonomous Unmanned Aircraft and Model Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
Though drones have been in use for quite some time it is during the COVID-19 Pandemic that the potential of drones was actually explored. From being used to sanitise loacalities to being used as medical supplies carriers, drones played an essential role in maintaining social distancing while taking care of all priority tasks.
After the understanding with respect to the drone market potential increased, the market for drones took off. Quite literally. According to BIS Research, the drone market in India is expected to reach $1.21 billion (Rs 8,911 crore) in CY2021. It is likely to touch $1.81 billion (Rs 13,330 crore) by FY2026 growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.61 percent, as per news reports. And it is only expected to grow.
Which is also another reason as to the excitement surrounding the new Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021. However, the excitement turned to criticism after it was found out that the new rules laid down a lot of compliances which were not practical or implementable. After a lot of backlash, the government finally came up with the new Drone Rules, 2021 which did away with the redundancies and made them a lot more feasible, thus attracting multiple startups and investors in this sector already.
APPLICABILITY
In the case of a drone with maximum all-up-weight more than 500 kilograms, the provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 shall apply. Otherwise, the Aircraft Rules, 1937 shall not apply to drones and matters. Additionally, these rules shall not apply to drones used by the naval, military or air forces of the Union.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ACT
- No certificate of airworthiness shall be required for manufacturing, importing or operating a prototype drone for the purpose of research and development, prototype drone for obtaining certificate of airworthiness and a nano drone.
- Remotely piloted aircraft have been divided into five categories based on their weight:
Nano (less than or equal to 250 grams), Micro (from 250 grams to 2kg), Small (from 2kg to 25 kg), Medium (from 25kg to 150 kg) and Large (above 150 kg).
- The safety features to be installed on a drone by the person owning the drone shall be notified by the Central Government from time to time and a certain time will be given for the installation of these features.
- The entire airspace of India has been segregated into three zones for drone operations and are published in the digital sky platform. The three different zones include Green Zone, Yellow Zone and Red Zone.
- Permissions are needed only to fly in the yellow and red zones.
- The Central Government may form a Drone Promotion Council for promoting the adoption and use of drones.
- Import of drones and drone components shall be regulated by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.
- No natural person other than a holder of a valid remote pilot licence enlisted on the digital sky platform shall operate a drone.
- No person shall operate a drone which does not have a unique identification number, unless such drone is exempted under these rules.
- A person may generate the unique identification number of a drone by providing requisite details on the digital sky platform.
- The unique identification number of a drone shall be linked to the unique serial number provided by the manufacturer and the unique serial numbers of its flight control module and ground control station.
- The Central Government may publish the policy framework in respect of the Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) System on the digital sky platform.
- The framework shall also provide for developing drone corridors for the safe transfer of goods by drones.
- The draft rules have also prescribed easier processes for the transfer and deregistration of drones.
- The draft also highlighted that there would be no restriction on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India.
CONCLUSION
The restrictions, according to Shah of the Drone Federation of India, are brief and vague. “This means that there is room to develop sub-regulations or sub-processes to deal with different types of drones, whether an air taxi or a 5 kg drone.” However, while the laws are basic and will aid the sector’s growth, there may be additional difficulties that require clarification. “For example,” Shah argues, “there will need to be relaxations when it comes to drones being transported via roads or railways.”
The Rules currently indicate that the import of drones and drone components will be controlled by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). According to Moneycontrol, India is now the third-largest importer of military-grade drones in the world, accounting for 6.8 percent of global UAV imports. “There is some more clarity needed when it comes to drone foreign policy—what happens to newly imported drones, given that 95 percent of drones in India are imported.” “We need a more inclusive policy that allows imports,” says Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy, co-founder of Skylark Drones, a supplier of business drone solutions started in 2015. Industry analysts say that India is still lagging behind in drone production, and that manufacturing incentives might be provided to companies.
The drone sector all over the world is booming. It is a field with huge potential waiting to be tapped into by various countries all over the world. By enacting the Drone Rules, 2021 which are more liberalized and open as well as investor friendly, the government has effectively eased the process of entering the drone sector in India, allowing it the potential to become a major industry in the future.
