New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has released the updated – The Drone Rules, 2021 for public consultation.
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 5 August 2021, the Ministry said in a statement.
As per the draft Drone Rules 2021, operating drones without unique identification number will not be allowed, unless exempted. Drone operators will have to generate a unique identification number of a drone by providing requisite details on the digital sky platform.
Digital sky platform is an initiative by MoCA to provide a secure and a scalable platform that supports drone technology frameworks, such as NPNT (no permission, no take-off), designed to enable flight permission digitally and managing unmanned aircraft operations and traffic efficiently.
The draft Drone Rules 2021 also have safety features such real-time tracking beacon, and geo-fencing, which are expected to be notified in future and a six-month lead time will be provided for compliance.
Digital sky platform will also be developed as a business-friendly single-window online system with minimal human interference and most permissions will be self-generated, according to the draft Drone Rules 2021.