New drone rules will help startups, boost innovation, business: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (August 26) hailed the new Drone Rules, 2021 passed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation saying it will help startups and boost innovation and business.

He asserted that the rules reduce the compliance requirements and entry barriers.

“The new Drone Rules usher in a landmark moment for this sector in India. The rules are based on the premise of trust and self-certification. Approvals, compliance requirements and entry barriers have been significantly reduced,” Modi said in a tweet.

“The new Drone Rules will tremendously help start-ups and our youth working in this sector. It will open up new possibilities for innovation & business. It will help leverage India’s strengths in innovation, technology & engineering to make India a drone hub,” he added.

The Civil Aviation ministry passed the new rules that will replace the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Rules 2021 which had come into force on March 12 this year.

The rules have abolished the requirement of various approvals, including certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permits, authorisation of R&D organisation and student remote pilot licence, the government said.

Now, drones would require identification numbers, unless exempted. A unique identification number of the drone can be generated by providing requisite details on the digital sky platform, the notification said.

Under the Drone Rules 2021, the government has reduced the fee to operate a drone to nominal levels and de-linked from the size of the drone. The capacity of drones has been increased from 300 kg to 500 kg to include heavy payload-carrying drones and drone taxis.

On July 15, Centre had announced its decision to come up with new drone rules and had invited comments from stakeholders and the industry till August 5. The new rules are simpler and it reduces the compliance burden to operate a drone in India.

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