The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) on Thursday welcomed the government’s decision to liberalise norms for operating Drones in the country for both commercial and non – commercial purposes. The Ministry of Civil Aviation earlier in the day had passed the new Drone Rules 2021 replacing the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Rules, 2021.
The official press release of the trade body read, “The move will not only usher new growth opportunities but will also enable Startups and SMEs to create innovative use cases and applications in various sectors like E-Commerce, Mining, Healthcare, Emergency response, logistics among others.”
NASSCOM also acknowledged the Central Government for addressing some key concerns of the industry such as the No Permission No Take Off (NPNT) requirement which under the news rules has got some flexibility in its implementation and now gives a minimum lead time of six-month compliance, in case it is notified by the government.
“The new rules will enable the industry to fully leverage technology to drive innovation in critical growth sectors. From precise interventions in farming over large areas to delivering medicines in far reaches of the country to delivering goods with zero human contact,” the press release read.
The new Drone Rules, 2021 has provisions of abolishing certain approvals which will reduce the number of permissions required and will also ease the zoning restrictions which in turn will improve the ease of doing business.
