Recent drone laws in India - seen through an agri-tech lens

In March 2021, Government of India passed Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021, covering exporting, importing, manufacturing, trading, leasing, operating, transferring or maintaining an Unmanned Aircraft System in India.

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) are also generally called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or simply drones. The regulations does not distinguish usage of UAS for amateur or commercial purposes.

The are five categories of UAS identified in the Rules, based on its weight.

• Nano unmanned aircraft (less than or equal to 250 g)
• Micro (250 g to 2 kg)
• Small (2 kg - 25 kg)
• Medium (25 kg - 150 kg)
• Large (more than 150 kg)

In this article (more of a FAQ style), I will cover Micro and Small UAS category since majority of the UAS used for imagery or spraying chemicals in agriculture will fall in these two categories. As you may have guessed, there are very few restrictions for Nano category and restrictions increase as weight increases. Details regarding Manufacture of UAS, Drone Port, Pilot Licence Training are deliberately not covered here.

1. Who can import, manufacture, trade, own or operate:

• An individual (Indian citizen) or a company/ corporate/ any govt agency which has its principal base of business in India.
• She should obtain a security clearance from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
• She then gets an authorisation by applying to DGCA (Form UA-1) to become an "Authorised Unmanned Aircraft System Owner". She can lease it to an "Authorised Unmanned Aircraft System Operator".
• Ownership of UASs can be transferred through an application to DGCA
• Applicant gets an Unique Authorisation Number (UAN) valid for max 10 years

2. What are the components a UAS must have?

UASs should have the following key components, among many other hardware: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver(s), Autonomous Flight Termination System or Return To Home (RTH) option, No Permission – No Takeoff (NPNT) compliant; 360 degrees collision avoidance system. The Small, Medium and Large unmanned aircraft shall be equipped with an emergency recovery system to ensure protection from damage and public injury in any failure conditions.

3. What happens to UAVs available already in India:

• Only a negligible number of UAVs in India are compliant to the above specifications (eg. NPNT), leaving the majority to be non-compliant
• Such UAVs can be still be owned after getting a Unique Authorisation Number (UAN), Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN) and Owner Acknowledgement Number (OAN), through an application.
• All UASs have to be registered with DGCA before operating it. DGCA will issue a Unique Identification Number (UIN) for every UAS.

4. What are the requirements to operate a UAS?

• Unmanned Aircraft System Operator Permit is a must before operating a UAS. It can be obtained by applying to DGCA using Form UA-12 to get UAS Operator Permit-1 (operation of Micro or Small UAS, limited to visual line of sight, which is not used for delivery of goods). This permit is valid for 10 years and renewable but non-transferable
• A Remote Pilot Licence
• Compliance to all aviation-related regulations
• Before flying a UAS in a given area, prior permission has to be obtained through an online platform operated by DGCA
• After the flight, operator has to furnish a log of each flight through the online platform
• Adhere to flying restrictions: (a) Micro UAS - max 60 m above ground level and max 25 meters per second (b) Small UAS - max 120m and max 25 meters per second
• No-fly zones such as defence installations, airports, important buildings, and eco-sensitive forest areas have been identified and prohibited for flying UAS
• Operators should respect the privacy of a person or property

5. How to get a Remote Pilot Licence:

• Applicants should be above 18 years, passed 10th grade and medically fit
• She should submit a certificate of training and a skill test appropriate to the category of UAS from an authorised training organisation, approved by DGCA
• She should pass an examination conducted by DGCA
• This licence will be valid for 10 years and renewable
• There are special provisions for students (above 18 years) to get the Licence

The notification gives ample powers for DGCA to cancel or suspend a licence, certificate, authorisation, permit or approval. Also DGCA has unlimited access to inspect UAS manufacturing, storage, maintenance and related facilities. Similar to any other law, offenders will be duly punished with penalties.

The link to the Rules is here (English version 80-148 pages)

Since the Rules were published there are many criticisms in the media alleging they are regressive, choking innovation and taking us (especially startups) backward. One of the main concern is the requirement of multiple permits for prototyping, manufacturing, and operating a UAS. Second, lack of clarity in the timelines for obtaining different permits. Third, while templates of various application forms and fees are given, details on the online platforms to apply and get permits are elusive.

Disclaimer: No reader should act based on any statement contained herein without seeking professional advice. The author expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person who has read this report, or otherwise, in respect of anything, and of any consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance upon the contents of this report.