How using a drone has become easy now? Economic Survey 2021 UPSC Current Economic Survey Sun, Feb 06, 2022, at ,11:27 PM In March 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) published the UAS Rules, 2021. These Rules were considered too stringent and restrictive as they involved considerable paperwork, required permissions for every drone flight and very few “free to fly” green zones were available. Based on the feedback, the Government decided to repeal the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Rules, 2021 and replace the same with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021, which was notified on 25th August 2021. Key features of Drone Rules 2021 include:* Several approvals abolished; with the total forms to be filled reduced from 25 to 5: Various approvals such as unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of manufacturing, and operator permit etc. have been done away with. Certain exemptions have also been introduced for nano/micro drones.* Type of fees reduced from 72 to 4; further the quantum of fees to be paid reduced considerably and delinked with the size of drone. For instance, the fee for a remote pilot license fee has been reduced from Rs 3000 (for large drone) to Rs 100 for all categories of drones.* Extended applicability of rules: Drones up to 500 kg are now subject to regulations, compared to the earlier limit of 300 kg. This brings drone taxis and heavy payload-carrying drones within the ambit of the rules. For drones with weight more than 500 kg, the provisions of the Aircraft Rules 1937 shall apply. * Simplified and accessible certification process: A Digital Sky platform is being developed as a single-window platform for one-step and one-time clearances for drone ownership and operation. Manufacturers and importers may generate their drones’ unique identification number on the digital sky platform through self-certification.* Prior security clearance removed* Expanded area of drone operations: An interactive map on the Digital Sky platform specifies colour-coded zones on the map i.e. green, yellow and red, indicating free zones, those which require prior permission, and no-fly zones, respectively. The perimeters of these zones have also been liberalised to increase freely accessible airspace under the green category. This map will be made accessible through a machine-readable Application Programming Interface.* Relaxations on foreign companies: Foreign-owned and controlled Indian companies can conduct drone operations in India. Import of drones will be regulated by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).* No remote pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones. Remote pilot licence will be issued by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) within 15 days of pilot receiving the remote pilot certificate from the authorised drone school through the digital sky platform.* Relaxations for Research and Development (R&D): Requirements such as type certification have been removed for drone manufacturers conducting R&D in premises located in green zone. l Reduced penalties: The maximum penalty under new rules has been reduced from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 1 lakh.