Parliament Question: Drone Manufacturing Sector

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 910 th (To be answered on the 4 December 2025) DRONE MANUFACTURING SECTOR

910. DR. K SUDHAKAR

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:-

(a) the steps taken to promote drone manufacturing sector of the country; (b) the steps taken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for efficient and effective registration of drones in the country;

(c) the total number of drone companies exclusively certified for agriculture sector in the country;

(d) whether there is any mechanism to track unregistered drones in the country and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken in this regard; (e) the guidelines issued to ensure that drones are not flown in restricted spaces in the country and the manner in which these spaces are identified and classified; and

(f) the steps taken to promote drones that can be used for agriculture, national security and scientific learning? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol)

(a) To promote drone manufacturing sector of the country, Ministry of Civil

Aviation has undertaken various initiatives:-

(i) Implemented Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme between 2021-22 to 2023-24, to promote manufacturing of drones and drone components in India.(ii) Notification of Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft, 2022 to enable certification of indigenous drone models.

(b) The process of generation of Unique Identification Number (UIN) of registered Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) made a trust-based automated procedure on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA's) eGCA portal. It instantly issues a UIN registration certificate with a QR code for verification, while simultaneously listing the UIN on the DGCA website for online verification.

(c) As of 26th November 2025, 69 out of 94 type certificate holders have received certificate for UAS models designed for agriculture.

(d) To record and track the ownership of UAS, Rule 14 of the Drone Rules,2021 requires that all drones be registered and are assigned a UIN for operation. Further,

Rule 17 and 18 of the Drone Rules 2021 mandate UIN details before transfer and de-registration respectively, and effecting the same in authority's record. Any violation of these provisions is liable to penal action of Cancellation or suspension along with fines up to one lakh rupees.

(e) In accordance with Rule 19 of the Drone Rules 2021, the entire Indian airspace are segregated into red zone, yellow zone and green zone. As per Rule 22 read with

Rule 3(I) of the Drone Rules, 2021, no person shall operate a UAS in red zone or yellow zone without prior permission from the Central Government and the concerned Air Traffic Control Authority. Violation of the same is a cognizable offence under Rule 49 of Drone Rules 2021.

(f) The steps taken by Ministry of Civil Aviation to promote drones across various sector including agriculture, national security and scientific learning are as under:

(i) Promulgated liberalized Drone Rules, 2021 on 25th August 2021 to enhance the overall ease of doing business. As of 26th November 2025, 141 type certificates have been granted to Indian manufacturers for various applications such as Agricultural mapping, Inspection, Surveillance and logistic purposes.

(ii) Amended Drone Rules 2021 eliminating the mandatory requirement of passport for the RPC as well as registration and de-registration/transfer of drone.

(iii) No permission is required in green zones. Permission of concerned Air Traffic Control (ATC) is required for operating drones in yellow zone. Permission of Ministry of Civil Aviation and the concerned red zone owners would be required for operating drones in red zone.(iv) Published the Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft, 2022 to establish a global certification and accreditation framework for drones that would scale, with appropriate safeguards, the commercial application of various drone technologies.

(v) The Indian Airspace was opened for drone operations by making almost90% of the Airspace as green zones where operations could be undertaken without any permission.

(vi) As of 26th November, 2025, a total of 37,298 drones have been registered and

provided Unique Identification Number (UIN). Additionally, 35,448 Remote Pilot Certificates (RPCs) have been issued. Furthermore, the DGCA has approved 226 Remote Pilot Training Organisations. *****