1. Short title and commencement. —(1) These rules may be called the Drone Rules, 2021. 

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.  

2. Application.––(1) These rules shall apply to––  

(a) all persons owning or possessing, or engaged in leasing, operating, transferring or maintaining an unmanned aircraft system in India; 

(b) all unmanned aircraft systems that are registered in India; and 

(c) all unmanned aircraft systems that are being operated for the time being, in or over India. 

(2) The provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 shall not apply to unmanned aircraft systems except in case of an unmanned aircraft system with maximum all-up-weight of more than 500 kilograms;  

(3) These rules shall not apply to an unmanned aircraft system belonging to, or used by, the naval, military or air forces of the Union of India. 

3. Definitions.—(1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, – 

(a) “Act” means the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934); 

(b) “accident” means any accident associated with the operation of an unmanned aircraft system in which a person is fatally or seriously injured or where the unmanned aircraft system sustains significant damage or goes missing or is completely inaccessible; 

(c) “aeroplane” means any power-driven heavier than air aircraft machine deriving support for its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions of flight; 

(d) “authorised remote pilot training organisation” means an organisation authorised by the Director General for the purpose of imparting training under rule 39; 

(e) “authorised testing entity” means an entity authorised by the Director General or the Quality Council of India for the purpose of testing unmanned aircraft system for type certification; 

(f) “Contracting State” means any country which is for the time being a party to the Convention on International Civil Aviation concluded at Chicago on 7th December 1944;   

(g) “digital sky platform” means the online platform hosted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for various activities related to the management of unmanned aircraft system activities in India; 

(h) “Director General” means the Director General of Civil Aviation appointed under section 4A of the Act; 

(i) “Drone” means an unmanned aircraft system; 

(j) “Drone acknowledgement number” means the unique number issued by the digital sky platform under the voluntary disclosure scheme for unmanned aircraft systems in India; 

(k) “Geo-fencing” means restricting the movement of unmanned aircraft system within a defined airspace; 

(l) “green zone” means the airspace of defined dimensions above the land areas or territorial waters of India, 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 for unmanned aircraft system operations and the airspace upto a vertical distance of 200 feet or 60 metre above the area located between a lateral distance of 8 kilometre and 12 kilometre from the perimeter of an operational airport:  

“yellow zone” means the airspace of defined dimensions above the land areas or territorial waters of India within which unmanned aircraft system operations are restricted and shall require permission from the concerned air traffic control authority.  The airspace above 400 feet or 120 metre in the designated green zone and the airspace above 200 feet or 60 metre in the area located between the lateral distance of 8 kilometre and 12 kilometre from the perimeter of an operational airport, shall be designated as yellow zone; 

“red zone” means the airspace of defined dimensions, above the land areas or territorial waters of India, or any installation or notified port limits specified by the Central Government beyond the territorial waters of India, within which unmanned aircraft system operations shall be permitted only by the Central Government; 

(m) “hybrid unmanned aircraft” means a heavier-than-air unmanned aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing which depends principally on power-driven lift devices or engine thrust for the lift during the flight regimes and on non-rotating airfoil for lift during horizontal flight; 

(n) “model remotely piloted aircraft system” means a remotely piloted aircraft system, with all-up weight not exceeding twenty-five kilograms, used for educational, research, design, testing or recreational purpose only and operated within visual line of sight; 

(o) “Operator” means a person engaged in, or offering to engage in, an operation involving an unmanned aircraft system;  

(p) “person” includes an individual, a company, a firm, an association of persons, a body of individuals, a local authority, the Central Government, the State Government and any legal entity, whether incorporated or not; 

(q) “prototype unmanned aircraft system” means an unmanned aircraft system developed for the purpose of research and development or obtaining a type certificate;  

(r) “Quality Council of India” is the autonomous body set up by the Government of India jointly with the Indian Industry in a public private partnership to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality;  

(s) “remote pilot” means an individual charged by the operator with duties essential to the operation of an unmanned aircraft and who manipulates the flight controls, as appropriate, during flight time; 

(t) “remote pilot licence” means the licence issued by Director General to any individual under rule 34; 

(u) “remote pilot station” means the component of the remotely piloted aircraft system containing the equipment used to pilot the remotely piloted aircraft; 

(v) “remotely piloted aircraft” means an unmanned aircraft that is piloted from a remote pilot station; 

(w) “remotely piloted aircraft system” means a remotely piloted aircraft, its associated remote pilot stations, the required command and control links and any other components as specified in the type design;  

(x) “Rotorcraft” means a heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight by the reactions of the air on one or more power driven rotors on substantially vertical axes; 

(y) “type certificate” means a certificate issued by the Director General or any other entity authorised by the Director General, certifying that the unmanned aircraft system of a specific type meets with the requirements specified under these rules; 

(z) “type of unmanned aircraft system” means all unmanned aircraft systems of the same basic design including all modifications thereto, except those modifications which result in a change in handling or flight characteristics; 

(za) “Unique Identification Number” means the unique identification number issued for registering an unmanned aircraft system in India; 

(zb) “unmanned aircraft system” means an aircraft that can operate autonomously or can be operated remotely without a pilot on board; 

(zc) “Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management System” means a system that provides traffic management for safe and expeditious flow of unmanned aircraft traffic and avoids collision between manned and unmanned aircraft through the collaborative integration of persons, information, technology, facilities and services; 

(2) The words and expressions used herein but not defined, and defined in the Aircraft Act, 1934 or in the Aircraft Rules, 1937 shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the said Act or the rules.