1. Introduction
The Indian legal regime's relationship with drones has been eventful in the recent years and rather tumultuous at its best times. When the Government of India notified the revised law on drones in March 2021, the industry was taken aback by the extent of restrictions and compliance requirements that were introduced. This was despite years of consultations and negotiations with various stakeholders undertaken by the Government.
However, in August 2021, in a rather pleasantly surprising move, the Government overhauled the rules on drones for the second time in the same year, but this time liberalizing it almost entirely ("New Rules"). It is understood that the compelling potential of drones and their use would have been an important driving factor for this unprecedented legislative action.
Indeed, pandemic-induced constraints have forced all sections of the economy and polity to look at innovative solutions which do not depend on human contact. Entire workspaces have moved online, conferences no longer require travelling beyond one's home, and even the modern credit cards are struggling to keep up with the contactless mobile phone payments. The logistics industry has not been spared either and the use of drones has emerged as a potential panacea to the conundrum of moving things without moving humans. This is not to say that drones were not around earlier. For example, the use of drones by armed forces is both well-documented and extensively criticized. Similarly, the use of drones for photography/videography is well-known to users of social media and film audience alike. Nevertheless, advances in drone technology coupled with the realities of Covid-19 has meant that drones are now a need rather than just an interesting technology to be explored by hobbyists. An important part of the drone revolution has also been the shift from operations within visual line of sight ("VLOS") to operations beyond visual line of sight ("BVLOS"). The earlier regime on drones required the presence of a remote pilot with an unaided visual contact with the drone to undertake any flying operations. Such restrictions remain common in various jurisdictions outside India. However, under the New Rules, there has been a shift in this approach with greater relaxations being allowed for undertaking BVLOS operations. This is an important development given the obvious limitations that VLOS operations have.
From an economic perspective, the drone industry has massive potential in terms of giving a boost by attracting significant global investments in India. The Unmanned Aircraft System ("UAS") market in India is projected to yield a turnover of USD 1.8 billion by 2026 in light of the recent government approved PLI scheme in India. This would be a massive increase, given that the drone manufacturing companies in India yield a turnover of approximately INR 80 crore (USD 10 million).1
In fact, the expanding application of drones to various industries is predicted to impact markets globally, and the investment in the sector is bound to grow exponentially. Internationally, various predictions have estimated the drone market to grow from USD 13.9 billion in 2021 to USD 40.7 billion by 2026.2 In part, this has been enabled by a global trend towards the relaxation of drone operation restrictions earlier which prevented BVLOS operations and carriage of payloads in various countries.
In this paper, we have systematically examined the existing trends and regulatory regimes on drones in various countries. The paper provides a brief introduction to various concepts relevant to drones and delves into an extensive analysis of the current Indian regime and analysis of the on-ground impact that the new law in India will have. We have also looked at some of the potential concerns that may arise with an increase in the use of drones and legal lacunae. The concluding section provides for a way forward to ensure successful regulations which strive for a balance between drone usage and policy making.
2. Drone Variants
The word "drone" refers to an unmanned vehicle capable of operating on land, air, underwater or some combination thereof. However, colloquially, the word has come to refer to only Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ("UAV") which, as the name suggests, operate solely in air, or a UAS which is the entire system associated with the UAV, and allows a UAV to function.3 In this paper, the words 'drone', 'UAV' and 'UAS' are used interchangeably. Drones may be remotely piloted by a human, or partially or fully autonomous.
There are broadly two categories of drones: fixed-wing and multi-rotor. A fixed-wing drone resembles a common commercial plane but is smaller. They are typically used for longer flights. In contrast, multi-rotor drones usually have four or more propellers (but no wings) giving them superior maneuverability. One of their primary advantages is their ability to perform vertical take-off and landing. There are also drones that use a combination of fixed wing and multi-rotor technology. Drones can be equipped with cameras, GPS and other sensor suites, as well as manipulators for picking, carrying and placing objects.
The use cases of drones are highly extensive, with newer applications coming up with advancing technologies. The military use of drones for reconnaissance, offence or defence purposes, is well-documented across the globe. Law enforcement agencies have also begun to use drones for crime prevention and search and rescue operations. The commercial use of drones has recently picked up, with one of the most popular use case being the use of drones for package deliveries and logistics. Especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic, drones are being extensively used for medical supply deliveries such as medicines, test kits, vaccines, human organs as well as blood. Many industry players are also developing drones with high-definition cameras and advanced stabilization features which can be used for construction site mapping, structural inspections and high-speed photography and videography. For instance, the popular nature documentary "Our Planet" features spectacular overhead shots of marine life filmed with a remote-controlled drone.4
For regulatory purposes, different countries and international organizations have provided varied definitions of drones. In general aviation and airspace-related parlance, a "Drone" may refer to any vehicle that can operate on multiple surfaces and/or in the air without a human being on board to control it. They vary in size, shape, form, speed, and a host of other attributes. Most jurisdictions categorize and regulate them by weight. A drone could vary from a model aircraft / toy in a store to a large sized aircraft sent to a war zone.
The International Civil Aviation Organization ("ICAO") is the international body charged with the responsibility of codification and regulation of airways. While the ICAO does not define a drone, it identifies drones to be within the ambit of UAS and has coined the term Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems ("RPAS") for drones that are operated with the aid of a remote pilot. RPAS belong to the wider family of UAS. UAS essentially includes (i) the unmanned aircraft; (ii) the control system(s) on the ground; (iii) the control data link(s); and (iv) other support equipment.5 The ICAO Circular on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 2011 defines an RPAS as 'a set of configurable elements consisting of a remotely-piloted aircraft, its associated remote pilot station(s), the required command and control links and any other system elements as may be required, at any point during flight operation'.
Footnotes
1 Drone industry will have turnover of upto Rs.15000 cr by 2026: Scindia, (September 16, 2021), Available at: https://www.business-standard. com/article/economy-policy/drone-industry-will-have-turnover-of-up-to-rs-15-000-cr-by-2026-scindia-121091600945_1.html (Last accessed on September 21, 2021).
2 Drone services market by Type Report, Marketsandmarkets, (September 2021) Available at: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/MarketReports/drone-services-market-80726041.html (Last accessed on September 21, 2021).
3 Available at: https://www.icao.int/meetings/uas/documents/circular%20328_en.pdf (Last accessed on September 21, 2021)
4 See https://www.wired.co.uk/article/our-planet-netflix-david-attenborough (Last accessed on September 21, 2021).
5 See Unmanned Aircraft Systems, ICAO, https://www.icao.int/meetings/uas/documents/circular%20328_en.pdf
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