Hi Folks,

This was very disheartening to read. Published on March 12th 2021, the new rules almost makes it impossible for anyone to fly drones for hobby, recreational purposes, commercial purposes etc. unless they have a very deep pockets, have big connections or a will to go through all the rules and get the compliances in place every time and top of this..... grit and perseverance to get it all done through Indian governmental agencies/body.

You need need permission for almost everything, be it importing a rc product, making it, selling it or god knows what. Not even under 250gm has any exemption or exception.

And for compliances, you have to pay a fee every time you apply for it even if you had all other clearances. For every stage you have to spend money chasing government official.

This feels like to me a panic response. For example consider the statement:

Proposition: Autonomous electric cars may be dangerous.

Logical Solution: Figure out all the dangers that is of concern and develop a system which addresses this and do a rigorous testing to ensure those concern. Develop compliances to ensure these before they come to market.

Our government's solution: Ban all electric car !!! (They will eventually become Decepticons and may take over India: Pun intended)

Doesn't it look absurd? You can't govern how electric or or say even a car is getting tested at their test facilities. You should only be concerned about the outcome. They don't come to you for your approval to blow up a dummy in the testing, do they?

Gov just want to hit the ceiling for not doing ease of business. They are not satisfied with 63rd rank. want to go back to 190. Heavy penalty for even creating and testing a prototype without permission. Seriously, prototype takes years to materialize and infinite testing and they want you to have permission for each test flight too. Otherwise they will penalize you. (Hey did you get inspired from FAA and SpaceX feud and u are missing something here in India so you thought to go after toys? Dude!!! well done!! )

Drones are already a fledgling market here. What danger they posses? Endangering airport security, crashing into an flying plane, privacy violation, Flying in no-fly zone, falling over someone's head are few legitimate concern. I agree to this. There should be rules to prevent these but denial of technology in lieu of a fear is an regressive approach. Period !!!

People who are at the helm of making such policies are driven by unwarranted fear, too much of it. look at the other countries where this is a well grown industry. Can't we follow there steps at least?

India is part of international community which recommends such guidelines (JARUS). Read their rules and you will realize how to have a progressive approach driven by optimism. Indian folks even don't care to take these recommendation.

I do not wonder why we rank so low on ease of doing business or happiness index for that matter. where do we top? Pollution index, yeah take that.

You guys are stealing our means of happiness !!

I can go on-an-on on this as I am very angry and disappointed.

Please read this post for more info.

https://geoawesomeness.com/india-drone-rules-2021-criticism/

Practicality: How gov will ensure to make all complaint? you can't go after everyone, can you? This way you are encouraging people to devise a mechanism to sneak under. Blackmarket will go UP. backchannel doors will open more. product will still flow in India through borders but now you won't get to charge customs. Whose loss? Can you police the entire airspace in India for drones so tiny and fast that you won't even see them? come on you could do better, much better.


For hobbyist, I don't see much concern on the second thought. especially those who are not in prime cities. The penalty starts from Rs. 25000. Well most of our small drones (self assembled) fall in the same range or less. If we get caught, please take that drone with you if you wish, just let me pull all the wires so that if you try fixing it, YOU WILL LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT DRONES!!!

Agreed! RC Hobby is now officially made a crime in India.
A heavy fine of 25K which can go upto 5 Lacs will be imposed by Govt. if we get caught.
It means we cannot buy any RC parts, build our own RC quad from parts or even trade or rent our used Drone/quad to  anyone.
Infact, just possession of a UAS/Drone/RC Plane etc will attract heavy fines whose amount will depend on the size and weight of the drone.

What danger they posses? Endangering airport security, crashing into an flying plane, privacy violation, Flying in no-fly zone, falling over someone's head are few legitimate concern.

They are a potent weapon delivery system, especially in the hand of terrorists and other enemies. eg the regular drop from across the Pakistan Border into Punjab

Yes Sir. I agree to your point. There has been many incidents reported in past few years. Its like typical "boon or bane" essay topic. But the society or government should not lean just ban stuff and think all gonna be alright.

people with bad intentions will still be sending stuff that route these rules doesn't make any difference there. Gov need different tech or strategy.

Rather banning is a counter productive strategy if you see sir. Any technology develops or improves if more people has access to it. Banning here won't solve the issue. Pakistan has not banned it nor China nor Bangladesh or any other country. Things will still flow.

I didn't completely get this logic. They took 2 years to get to this conclusion. Many stores will go out of business too.

If we see history, you ban guns..guns are everywhere. You ban drugs...drugs are everywhere.

rather then banning, they should have call out folks to address this impending issue. Ask for suggestion/competition/technologies. That would have been a better route I feel.

That exercise (of inviting suggestions) was done a year ago by Shri Amber Dubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation

Most professional operators are actually very happy about the rules! Earlier, they were always scared of harassment because of lack of clarity in the Rules

The Aeromodelling related products were
already under restricted list of import many years back.

I think we should do something this is something not acceptable. Imagine no weekend flying in nearby flying field.
Need to think twice even to fly my small coreless quad

Even today, the hobbyist can import components for his/her personal use, and if the value is low no duty is charged. Last week I got a 60 USD order from HK

Problem is a lot of people try to do this as a business, and expect to get away duty free

Some items need special license eg Radio Sets. But a single Rx never created trouble for me

Anyway, models should only be flown in secluded areas for safety, not in public parks!

what is the restriction for model aircraft ,is the Drone cover all flying machines..?

Model aircraft have been distinguished from Drones, but you should only fly in secluded places

We will have to find a way. And I like your suggestion of flying in secluded area away from people. Any mishap will bring more scrutiny and rules.

But I still feel this is not a right way. We are hobbyist and it feels like our hobby has been made illegal. 

duplicate post deleted.

Quote from: sanjayrai55 on March 22, 2021, 11:13:07 AM
Model aircraft have been distinguished from Drones, but you should only fly in secluded places

This is good. I will add a aeroplane chassis on top of my quad and fly.  Giggle

       aeroplane chassis .........!!!!!

It is understandable that hobby drone fliers will feel left out and getting a raw deal. But the government must look at the bigger picture - Drones are going to be an essential part of our lives, and do need regulation. One must recollect the irresponsible behaviour of operators during weddings, parties etc. and people flying (often deliberately) near airports, often in the flight line of commercial flights. Add to that terror threat - anything airborne, capable of long distance remote control, with a payload capacity from 250 grams to kilogram levels, is always a potential weapon for terrorists and other state enemies

At the same time, the regulation has opened the skies literally for commercial drone manufacturers :  https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-ingenious-drone-startups-india-2020/

Idea Forge recently got a 150 crore order from the Army! This is founded by a couple of my alumni (many years my junior)  In fact Amber Dubey, Secretary Civil Aviation is also an IIT Bombay alumnus!

New career opportunities are opening for fresh graduates!

Too bad, need to research about building a very very low noise <250gm quad now

Quote from: sanjayrai55 on March 21, 2021, 04:25:57 PM

They are a potent weapon delivery system

So can be any vehicle. You know gas cylinders can be turned into makeshift mortars? Also for anyone with proper understanding and knowledge of chemistry it's not that hard to make poison and explosives from household products.
Should we ban those as well?

I highly recommend you watch this:


I'm not against rules as long as they're sensible, but that's difficult when they're written by public servants who think they are our rulers.

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Quote from: sanjayrai55 on March 22, 2021, 09:34:37 AM
Even today, the hobbyist can import components for his/her personal use, and if the value is low no duty is charged. Last week I got a 60 USD order from HK

Problem is a lot of people try to do this as a business, and expect to get away duty free

Some items need special license eg Radio Sets. But a single Rx never created trouble for me

Tell me more about the parts and spares rule. Maybe we can get stuff in parts and spares and then assemble them here by ourselves and use them

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