Drone Ecosystem and Policy in India

In 2021, flying a drone in India needed 25 separate forms. Today, one certificate and a phone app can get you airborne over most of the country.

MCQ Questions

SciTech0110

38,575 Drones Registered (UIN)

As of 9 February 2026, up from a near-standing start in 2021.

Rules Liberalised

25 Aug 2021

Approval forms cut from 25 to 5

Import Banned

9 Feb 2022

Ready-made drones, to boost local manufacturing

GST Simplified

5% Flat

Cut from 18%/28%, in September 2025

Market Size

$1.88 Bn

FY26, growing ~18% a year through FY29

The bigger picture: a 2021 regulatory reset, a 2022 import ban, and a 2025 tax cut have together built a domestic drone ecosystem now used for everything from land surveys to farming.

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Must Know

• The Drone Rules, 2021, notified on 25 August 2021, liberalised India’s earlier drone regulations. Approval forms fell from 25 to 5, and approval requirements fell from 72 to just 4.
• The rules permit civilian drone operations for drones weighing up to 500 kg. Nearly 90% of Indian airspace was declared a Green Zone. This allows flights up to 400 feet, without extra permission.
• A traditional pilot licence is no longer required. Operators instead need a Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC), issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
• The government notified a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components. This took effect on 30 September 2021, with an outlay of ₹120 crore.
• On 9 February 2022, the government banned the import of ready-made drones, in built-up, knocked-down, or semi-knocked-down form. This excluded imports for research, defence, and security purposes, to encourage domestic manufacturing.

Good to Know

• The Digital Sky platform, launched in 2018, is India’s single-window system for drone registration and airspace clearance. Registration and certification services have since migrated to a newer system, eGCA, while flight-plan and airspace-map services remain on Digital Sky.
• In September 2025, the government reduced GST on drones to a uniform 5%, replacing earlier rates of 18% and 28%.
• Under the SVAMITVA Scheme, drones survey rural residential land to issue property ownership cards to villagers.
• Under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme, launched in November 2023, drones are given to Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs), to support precision agriculture and create new livelihoods. This scheme forms part of the broader Technology Missions in Indian Agriculture.
• The Kisan Drone Yojana, launched in February 2022 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, offers purchase subsidies for agricultural drones, to support crop protection and nutrient management.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. The Drone Rules, 2021, permitted civilian drone operations for drones weighing up to how much?

100 kg

250 kg

500 kg

1,000 kg

 Loading…

 

Great to Know

• Flagship government events, including Bharat Drone Shakti, Bharat Drone Mahotsav, and the Drone International Expo, showcase India’s Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) start-ups and indigenous technologies.
• SwaYaan, a capacity-building programme for drone human resources, had conducted over 857 programme activities by early 2026, benefiting more than 26,000 participants.
• The National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR) supports student and researcher innovation in autonomous drones, with a prize pool of ₹40 lakh.
• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) requires monthly drone-video recordings for highway projects, creating a permanent visual record usable in dispute resolution.
• The government has also credited Indian drones with a defence role, including during Operation Sindoor.

Current Affairs

• As of 9 February 2026, India had 38,575 drones registered with a Unique Identification Number (UIN), and 39,890 DGCA-issued Remote Pilot Certificates. (Source: PIB, 17 February 2026)
• As of February 2026, the DGCA had approved 244 Remote Pilot Training Organisations (RPTOs) nationwide. (Source: PIB, 17 February 2026)
• India’s commercial drone market reached a size of about $1.88 billion (₹17,000 crore) in FY26. It is growing at a compound annual rate of about 17.98%, for the period FY25 to FY29.
• Under SVAMITVA, drone surveys had covered 3.28 lakh villages by December 2025, about 95% of the scheme’s 3.44 lakh village target. This produced 2.76 crore property cards, for 1.82 lakh villages across 31 states and Union Territories. (Source: PIB, 17 February 2026)
• Under Namo Drone Didi, 1,094 drones had been distributed to Women Self-Help Groups by early 2026, with over 500 of these under the scheme itself. (Source: PIB, 17 February 2026)

Read more: SciTech0158 — Types of UAVs: Fixed-Wing, Rotary-Wing and Hybrid Drones Explained (for the engineering classification behind this policy article).