New rules on drones to usher opportunities, spur innovation: Nasscom

The new rules for operating drones in the country will usher in new growth opportunities and enable startups and SMEs to create innovative use cases and applications in various sectors, Nasscom said.

The new rules for operating drones in the country will usher in new growth opportunities and enable startups and SMEs to create innovative use cases and applications in various sectors like e-commerce, mining and emergency response, IT industry body Nasscom said.

The new rules on drones make it mandatory that these devices are registered and agencies will be able identify those which are rogue through tracking mechanisms.

The Drone Rules, 2021 were issued on Wednesday and they supersede the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, which had come into force on March 12.

"We welcome the government's decision to liberalise norms for operating Drones in the country for both commercial and non-commercial purposes under the new Drone Rules, 2021," Nasscom said in a statement.

This will not only usher in new growth opportunities but will also enable startups and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to create innovative use cases and applications in various sectors like e-commerce, mining, healthcare, emergency response and logistics, among others, it added.

Nasscom also lauded government's efforts to address the key concerns of the industry.

In the stakeholder consultation, Nasscom had highlighted the need to re-assess the No Permission No Take Off (NPNT) requirement.

The new rules provide for some flexibility in the implementation of NPNT and give a minimum lead time of six-month for compliance, in case it is notified by the government, as per Nasscom.

Further, the rules abolish certain approvals, reduce the number of permissions required and have eased the zoning restrictions, thereby improving ease of doing business considerably, it added.

"The new rules will enable the industry to fully leverage technology to drive innovation in critical growth sectors. From precise interventions in farming over large areas to delivering medicines in far reaches of the country to delivering goods with zero human contact," Nasscom said.

Overall, the liberalised regime for civilian drones is progressive and should provide a strong fillip to the growth of the sector in India, it added.

Ankit Kumar, founder of consulting firm Alternative Global India, said the new rules are a "forward-looking step" by the government and will help promote not only the drone industry but also many associated usages -- right from survey and inspection, healthcare and emergency logistics, open space for drone deliveries, and advanced air mobility.

"With no restriction on drone operations by foreign-owned companies registered in India, we can look forward to FDI and influx of cutting-edge technologies in the form of technology transfer and joint ventures from them since India will be a large market for these companies," he said.

This will also give a fillip to the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative through manufacturing of drones and components in India, taking advantage of the low cost of manufacturing in the country, Kumar said.

He anticipates an influx of USD 270 million in the Indian drone ecosystem in the next 12 months in the form of FDI.