In the aftermath of a suspected drone attack in Jammu, the draft regulations mandate safety features like tracking beacons, restrict imports, and segregate the air space into colour-coded zones. Relaxing several existing rules, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday issued the draft Drone Rules, 2021, seeking public consultation before notifying them to replace the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules issued in March this year. Why it matters? : A few weeks ago drones were suspected to have been used in an attack on an Indian Air Force base in Jammu Airport making it the first instance of a UAV attack on the country's territory. After that, the Prime Minister along with officials from several key ministries such as the Ministry of Civil Aviation went into a huddle to discuss security measures as well as a review of the existing drone regulations. In the meeting, officials of MoCA presented a proposal for new drone regulations, and as reported before by MediaNama, this present draft comes after incorporating the suggestions made by the Prime Minister. The previous UAS Rules was notified in March, and it has introduced several layers of operational complexities for the drone industry. It mandated features such as — Multi-level licensing and fee system for every drone-related activity Penalties for non-compliance did not have any cap and so on There was criticism from the drone industry regarding the UAS Rules. For instance, as previously reported by MediaNama, the industry body Drone Federation of India had suggested that…
