Barely four months after India released rules for the use of unmanned aircraft systems, our civil aviation ministry has unveiled its draft Drone Rules, 2021, to replace them. Henceforth, pilot licences will not be a must for the operation of micro drones for non-commercial purposes, nano drones, and any kind deployed by research and development (R&D) organizations. Drones can serve a wide range of uses across sectors, from farming and mining to e-commerce and vaccine drop-offs. For that, our rules need to be as market-friendly as possible within the constraints of public security. While highly sensitive areas must stay barred to drones, we should not complicate matters for operators beyond what’s necessary.

Source: Mint July 18, 2021 15:22 UTC