India liberalises UAS operations via Drone Rules, 2021

Centre has replaced the UAS Rules with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 which are built on a premise of trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring.

In March 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had published the UAS Rules, 2021.

"They were perceived by academia, Startups, end-users and other stakeholders as being restrictive in nature as they involved considerable paperwork, required permissions for every drone flight and very few 'free to fly' green zones were available," MoCA said in a statement.

"Based on the feedback, the Government has decided to repeal the UAS Rules, 2021 and replace the same with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021."


The 'Unmanned Aircraft Systems' (UAS), commonly known as drones, offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy like agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement.

"Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India's remote and inaccessible areas," the statement said.

"In view of its traditional strengths in innovation, information technology, frugal engineering and huge domestic demand,India has the potential to be a global drone hub by 2030."-IANS