India has decided to be leader in drone technology: Drone Federation

Smit Shah, the director of Drone Federation welcomed the move and said if government has taken this bold move of notifying a liberal policy then India has decided to be leader in this technology

After the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) released Draft Drone Rules 2021, Smit Shah, the director of Drone Federation of India on Thursday welcomed the move and said if the government has taken this bold move of notifying a liberal policy then India has decided to be the leader in this technology.

He also asserted that India needs to research over counter-drone technology.

Speaking to ANI, Shah said, "After the blast in Jammu Air Base, everyone started talking about the need for stricter drone policy but any amount of strict or liberal drone policy does not really address the concerns from a ROC-drone."

"Even after the Jammu incident, if the government has taken this bold move of notifying a liberal policy then India has decided to be the leader in this technology," he added.

Regarding the threats over security concerns, he said, "We need to research in counter-drone technology. Detection, identification, and neutralisation mechanism is needed for the counter-drone technology."

He informed that the drone industry is working on counter-drone technologies.

"There are at least 100 drone manufacturers, at least 200 drone service providers and over 1 lakh drone pilots are in India. After the policy regarding the drone rules will come into being, it will generate 5-7 lakh job opportunities," the director of the Drone Federation of India said.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday released the updated 'The Drone Rules, 2021' for public consultation.

An official statement from MoCA said, "Built on a premise of trust, self-certification, and non-intrusive monitoring, The Drone Rules, 2021 will replace the UAS Rules 2021 (released on 12 March 2021)."

The last date for receipt of public comments is August 5, 2021.

As per the draft of the Drone Rules, 2021, approvals for drones which has been proposed to be abolished include unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, authorisation of R & D organisation, student remote pilot licence, remote pilot instructor authorisation, drone port authorisation etc.

The maximum penalty under Drone Rules, 2021 has been reduced to Rs 1 lakh. However, this will not apply to penalties in respect of violation of other laws.

Drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries and a drone promotion council to be set up to facilitate a business-friendly regulatory regime.