Imported drones banned from advertising Made in India, with exceptions
New Delhi:
The government on Wednesday banned the import of foreign drones with certain exceptions as part of an effort to boost domestic drone production.
Imports of drones for research and development, defense and security purposes have been exempted from the ban, but such imports will require proper identification.
“However, the import of drone parts will not require any approval,” the Department of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Wednesday.
The General Department of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued a notice banning the import of foreign drones.
“The import policy for drones in the form of CBU (Completely Built) / CKD (Completely Knocked Down) / SKD (Semi Knocked Down) … is prohibited with exceptions provided for R and D, defense and security purposes,” the DGFT said.
Import of drones from government organizations, central or state-recognized educational institutions, government-recognized R&D institutions, and drone manufacturers for R&D purposes will be allowed in the form of CBU, SKD or CKD. This will be subject to import authorizations issued by the DGFT in consultation with relevant industry ministries.
Imports of drones for defense and security purposes will be allowed to be imported in the form of CBU, SKD or CKD under an import authorization issued by the DGFT in consultation with relevant industry ministries.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that, to promote Made in India drones, the import of foreign drones has been banned effective February 9, 2022.
The department introduced liberalizing rules on drones in August 2021.
After the regulations were in place, the ministry issued the drone airspace map and PLI plan in September 2021, the UTM policy framework in October 2021. Besides, the aircraft certification program drones and the one-stop DigitalSky Platform was launched last month.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)