The government on Wednesday banned the import of foreign drones with certain exceptions as part of efforts to promote the domestic manufacturing of drones in the country.
The import of drones for R&D, defence and security purposes have been exempted from the ban but such imports will require due clearances.
"Import of drone components, however, shall not require any approvals," the civil aviation ministry said in a release on Wednesday.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the commerce and industry ministry has issued a notification banning the import of foreign drones.
"Import policy for drones in CBU (Completely Built Up)/CKD (Completely Knocked Down)/SKD (Semi Knocked Down ) form... is prohibited with exceptions provided for R and D, defence and security purposes," DGFT said.
Import of drones by government entities, educational institutions recognised by central or state government, the government recognised R&D entities and drone manufacturers for R&D purposes will be allowed in CBU, SKD or CKD form. This will be subject to import authorisation issued by DGFT in consultation with concerned line ministries.
Import of drones for defence and security purposes will be allowed in CBU, SKD or CKD form subject to import authorisation issued by DGFT in consultation with concerned line ministries.
The civil aviation ministry said that in order to promote Made in India drones, the import of foreign drones has been prohibited with effect from February 9, 2022.
The ministry came out with liberalised drone rules in August 2021.
After the rules, the ministry issued the drone airspace map and PLI scheme in September 2021, the UTM policy framework in October 2021. Besides, the drone certification scheme and single window DigitalSky Platform were put in place last month.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Drone Import Banned in India, Government Provides Certain Exceptions Are India’s New Drone Rules Aimed at Ease of Operations or a Door to Mass Surveillance? China Says Discussing Return Of Undersea Drone With US Military Indian Airports, Borders On Alert As Global Mpox Cases Rise: 10 Points Finances Of Kolkata Hospital During Ex-Principal's Tenure Under Scanner "My Intention Was To...": Sudha Murty Clarifies Raksha Bandhan Post Biden To Pass Torch To Kamala Harris At Democratic Convention: 10 Points US Approves $3.5 Billion Sale Of Military Helicopters To South Korea Watch: Rahul Gandhi Takes An Uber To Share Plight Of Gig Workers Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.