As India Liberalizes Its Drone Rules, Billionaires Aim For The Skies

As India Liberalizes Its Drone Rules, Billionaires Aim For The Skies

Indian naval officers speak with representatives of Adani Defence and Aerospace standing next to a ... [+] Hermes 900 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) during his visit to their stall in the exhibition area on the third day of the five-day Aero India 2019 Airshow at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bangalore on February 22, 2019. Barely five months after announcing the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Rules, which had been met with a tepid response, the Indian government has had a quick rethink. Last week it announced the Liberalized Drone Rules, 2021, which promise to make life infinitely less complicated for drone operators. The new rules, says a government press release, are built on the premise of trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring, while balancing safety and security considerations. The country's newly appointed civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is confident that India has the potential to be a global drone hub by 2030. The Drone Rules have abolished several approvals, cut down the paperwork from 25 forms to five, and reduced the types of fees from a complex 72 to a mere four. The quantum of fees will now be nominal and has been delinked from the size of the drone. For