India is going ahead with its plans to further liberalise drone regulations, easing the process of getting license as well as doing business for operators. According got government sources, the new rules are likely to be unveiled on Independence Day.
The government already came up with Unmanned Aircraft System Rules 2021 with effect from March. Many young entrepreneurs have come up with their opposition to the regulation as they are finding it not industry-friendly and helping innovation in the sector.
The decision to simplify the licensing requirements, relax operational curbs and reduce penalties for operators was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, just days after the terror attack in Jammu using drones, people in the know said.
The meeting was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, defense minister Rajnath Singh, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh and national security advisor Ajit Doval.
According to Arvian Consultancy, there is a widespread security concern on the current policy which gives access to innovators and other businesses to use drones.
“It is high time that we should come up with new initiative so that the sunrise drone industry should get more regulatory freedom so that those companies can compete with the global drone industry. It is widely used in ecommmerce, domestic surveillance, surveying and safety purposes. It is time for India to catch up with global resurgences,” said Arvian Research.
As a prelude to this relaxation, Air Force will go ahead with counter-drone technology up-gradation to tackle rogue drones. Air Force will have to source many hardware and software to ramp up this technology capability.
Talking to NFAPost, Omnipresent Robot Tech Chief Executive Officer Aakash Sinh said the current drone regulation is really stifling the industry, and a lot more relaxation to be brought in.
“We have to get 23 regulatory approval from various government authorities to fly drones in India. It is really a tedious process as we are finding more applications of drones in the current business and social environment,” said Aakash Sinha.