PIB – 27 August 2021

DRONE RULES 2021

Focus: GS II- Government Policies and Interventions

Why in News?

Ministry of Civil Aviation notified liberalised Drone Rules, 2021.

Key features of Drone Rules 2021:    

• Built on a premise of trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring.
• Designed to usher in an era of super-normal growth while balancing safety and security considerations.
• Several approvals abolished: unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of manufacturing and airworthiness, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, authorisation of R&D organisation, student remote pilot licence, remote pilot instructor authorisation, drone port authorisation etc.
• Number of forms reduced from 25 to 5. 
• Types of fee reduced from 72 to 4. 
• Quantum of fee reduced to nominal levels and delinked with size of drone.  For instance, the fee for a remote pilot license fee has been reduced from INR 3000 (for large drone) to INR 100 for all categories of drones; and is valid for 10 years.
• Digital sky platform shall be developed as a user-friendly single-window system.  There will be minimal human interface and most permissions will be self-generated.
• Interactive airspace map with green, yellow and red zones shall be displayed on the digital sky platform within 30 days of publication of these rules. 
• No permission required for operating drones in green zones.  Green zone means the airspace upto a vertical distance of 400 feet or 120 metre that has not been designated as a red zone or yellow zone in the airspace map; and the airspace upto a vertical distance of 200 feet or 60 metre above the area located between a lateral distance of 8 and 12 kilometre from the perimeter of an operational airport.
• Yellow zone reduced from 45 km to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
• No remote pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones.
• No requirement for security clearance before issuance of any registration or licence.
• No requirement of Type Certificate, unique identification number and remote pilot licence by R&D entities operating drones in own or rented premises, located in a green zone.
• No restriction on foreign ownership in Indian drone companies. 
• Import of drones to be regulated by DGFT. 
• Requirement of import clearance from DGCA abolished.
• Coverage of drones under Drone Rules, 2021 increased from 300 kg to 500 kg.  This will cover drone taxis also.
• DGCA shall prescribe drone training requirements, oversee drone schools and provide pilot licences online.
• Remote pilot licence to be issued by DGCA within 15 days of pilot receiving the remote pilot certificate from the authorised drone school through the digital sky platform.
• Testing of drones for issuance of Type Certificate to be carried out by Quality Council of India or authorised testing entities. 
• Type Certificate required only when a drone is to be operated in India.  Importing and manufacturing drones purely for exports are exempt from type certification and unique identification number. 
• Nano and model drones (made for research or recreation purposes) are exempt from type certification.
• Manufacturers and importers may generate their drones’ unique identification number on the digital sky platform through the self-certification route.
• Easier process specified for transfer and deregistration of drones through the digital sky platform.
• Drones present in India on or before 30 Nov 2021 will be issued a unique identification number through the digital sky platform provided, they have a DAN, a GST-paid invoice and are part of the list of DGCA-approved drones.  
• Standard operating procedures (SOP) and training procedure manuals (TPM) will be prescribed by DGCA on the digital sky platform for self-monitoring by users.  No approvals required unless there is a significant departure from the prescribed procedures.
• Maximum penalty for violations reduced to INR 1 lakh. 
• Safety and security features like ‘No permission – no takeoff’ (NPNT), real-time tracking beacon, geo-fencing etc. to be notified in future.  A six-month lead time will be provided to the industry for compliance.
• Drone corridors will be developed for cargo deliveries.
• Drone promotion council to be set up by Government with participation from academia, startups and other stakeholders to facilitate a growth-oriented regulatory regime.

MANTHAN- 2021

Focus: GS II- Education

Why in News?

Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) launched MANTHAN 2021 hackathon.  

About MANTHAN 2021.

• Hackathon MANTHAN 2021 is a unique national initiative to identify innovative concepts and technology solutions for addressing the security challenges of the 21st century faced by our intelligence agencies.
• It is 36-hour online hackathon with Prize money worth Rs. 40 Lakh and with two phases.
• It is scheduled from 28th November to 1st December 2021.
• During this hackathon, selected youths from education institutions across the country and registered start-ups will participate to offer strong, safe and effective technology solutions using their technical expertise and innovative skills. 
• Participants are expected to develop digital solutions under 6 themes for 20 different challenge statements released today using new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Augmented reality, Machine Learning, etc. for ever-changing security related challenges, which include photo/video analysis, Fake Content Identification along with the information of creator, predictive Cyber Crime data analytics, etc.