Drone Import Banned in India : The government on Wednesday banned the importation of foreign drone with some exceptions as part of efforts to promote the country’s Make In India development.
The importation of R&D, defense, and security purposes is exempt from such restrictions i.e. drone import banned in India, but such importation will require appropriate authorization.
“Importation of drone components, however, will not require authorization,” the Department of Public Aviation said in a statement released Wednesday.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Department of Trade and Industry has issued a notice banning the importation of foreign drones.
“The import policy for drones in the form of CBU (Completely Built) / CKD (Fully Manufactured) / SKD (Semi Knocked Down) … is not permitted except for the provision of R&D, protection, and security purposes,” DGFT said.
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Importation of drones by government agencies, state or state-owned educational institutions, state-owned R&D businesses and R&D manufacturers for R&D purposes will be approved in the CBU, SKD or CKD form. This will be subject to an import permit issued by the DGFT in consultation with the relevant ministers.
The importation of flying aircraft for defense and defense purposes will be permitted in the form of CBU, SKD or CKD subject to import authorization issued by the DGFT in consultation with the relevant services.
The Department of Public Aviation has said that in order to develop Made in India drones, the importation of foreign drones has been banned since February 9, 2022. The service came out with free drone rules in August 2021.
Following the rules, the minister released a drone airspace map and PLI plan in September 2021, UTM policy framework in October 2021. In addition, a drone certification system and a single DigitalSky Platform window were installed last month.
