New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry on Friday scrapped the requirement of drone pilot licence for operating drones in the country.
The Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) issued by a DGCA-approved drone school through the single window DigitalSky Platform shall be sufficient for operating a drone in India, according to an official.
The official also said that no remote pilot certificate shall be required for operating a drone up to 2 kg for non-commercial purposes.
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A notification amending Drone Rules has been issued by the ministry and the requirement of a drone pilot licence has been abolished with effect from February 11.
The latest move comes days after the government banned import of drones with certain exceptions as part of efforts to promote domestic manufacturing of drones in the country.
The import of drones for R&D, defence and security purposes have been exempted from the ban but such imports will require due clearances.
"Import of drone components, however, shall not require any approvals," the civil aviation ministry said in a release on Wednesday.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the commerce and industry ministry issued a notification banning the import of foreign drones.
The ministry came out with liberalised drone rules in August 2021.
After the rules, the ministry issued the drone airspace map and PLI scheme in September 2021, UTM policy framework in October 2021. Besides, drone certification scheme and single window DigitalSky Platform were put in place last month.