Regulatory Hotline

India moves closer to delivery by drones

With effect from December 1, 2018 and with the introduction of the Digital Sky Platform, flying of drones for civil use was legalized in India. However, the current regime only permitted flying of drones within visual light of sight and commercial usage was restrictive. Please refer to our earlier hotline on DRONES IN INDIAN SKIES: NOW A REALITY ! for more details.

To further liberalize the regime and tap the potential uses of drones especially for commercial purposes, the Ministry of Civil Aviation constituted a drone task-force under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Minister of State for Civil Aviation. Accordingly, basis the recommendations of the task force the Drone Ecosystem Policy Roadmap was released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on January 15, 2019.

Nishith Desai Associates was a special invitee on the UAV / drone task force constituted by the Government of India and was also closely associated with the drafting of the Drone Ecosystem Policy Roadmap.

The Drone Ecosystem Policy Roadmap aims to foster innovation in the UAS market by enabling commercial use of UAS including autonomous UAS and expanding its operability beyond visual line of sight. Further, it also seeks to provide a level playing field to the foreign players interested to make investments in India and give a boost to the development of the UAV industry.

India with this policy has taken a forward looking step towards strengthening the future of UAV industry.

Please click here to access the Drone Ecosystem Policy Road and feel free to reach out to us in case you have any queries or you require any clarification.

– Prashant Prakhar & Huzefa Tavawalla (Members of Drone Task Force)

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