Drone laws in India (updated for 2020)

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height flight limit

150m max height

can't fly over crowds of people

Don't fly over crowds

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Don't fly near airports

Only line of sight

All Drone Laws in India in 2020 (Ultimate Guide)

This is a guide for Indian drone laws in 2020 (updated every year) where you'll get a clue about what you can or shouldn't do while flying and travelling through this country.

Contents

Are drones legal in India?

To fly any drone for that matter, you need to have it registered. A new policy directive from the Director-General of Civil Aviation mandated the registration. It is important to point out that foreigners are not allowed to fly drones in India. If the work involved a commercial task, the party has to lease the drone to an Indian entity who then has it registered so as to obtain the Unique Identification Number and UAOP.

 

Who do I contact?

The body responsible for drone-related information, news, regulations, and registrations are the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India.  

 

Here is the contact information:

 

Ajay Yadav, The Deputy Secretary

Email: a.yadav@ias.nic.in 

Tel: +91 011-2463-2950

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What are the drone rules in India?

In August 2018, the India Civil Aviation announced its first Civil Aviation Requirements their drone industry. The rules went into effect on the 1st of December 2018. Now, why am I sharing this? It is important to give a prologue of happenings as one might have traveled to the place before the changes and wonder why my review tells a different story. You can find out more about the drone laws here.

 

Here are the general rules:

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How are drones classified in India?

  • Nano drones – weigh less than 250 g (0.55 pounds)
  • Microdrones – weigh 250 g to 2 Kg (0.55 to 4.4 pounds)
  • Small drones – weigh 2 Kg to 25 Kg (4.4 to 55 pounds)
  • Medium drones – weigh 25 Kg to 150 Kg (55 pounds to 330 pounds)
  • Large drones – weigh over 150 Kg (330 pounds plus)
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How can I register my drone in India?

  • The body issuing the drone licenses in India is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. As of December 1, 2018, flying a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) is legal. 

    You can also register your drone on the DigitalSky website. There will be clearly laid out steps guiding you on how to register your drone.


    Part of the mandatory requirements for flying a drone is:

  • Anti-collision light
  • Return to home
  • GPS
  • ID Plate
  • RF-ID and SIM
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Frequently asked questions

Can I fly a drone in India without having it registered?

Provided you are using a nano drone and limit its use to recreational purposes, then there is no point in having it registered. 

What happens if my drone isn’t licensed?

You will be exposing yourself to trouble. Now, why again would you do that?

Can I travel with my drone to India by Airplane?

Unfortunately, no. If you come with a drone from overseas to India, it can be confiscated at the airport as it will be regarded as an import.  

 

What are the restricted areas for flying drones in India?

 

India has implemented one of the most aggressive drone policies in the world. It has launched the No Permission No Takeoff policy that required authorization from the Digital Sky Platform. 

For more information on drone laws and drone use in India, check out this here.

 

Sources

Digital Sky



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What are my top drones to fly safely in India?

My following two recommendations are 2 great compact drones that are quite silent and also small enough to travel with and not stand out as annoying.

1.Dji Mavic Mini - The best international travel drone (under 250g)

 2.7k

30min battery

4km

No follow me

DJI has surprised us with this incredible camera drone under 250g, which is half of the weight required for registering in the first place.

 

I have covered it much more in depth in my article review and even compared it with the DJI Spark and Mavic Air.

Check Price and reviews

Advantages

  • 30 min battery life
  • under 250g
  • super portable
  • 4km range
  • can edit videos in the app

DISAdvantages

  • no obstacle avoidance
  • no settings for iso and shutter speed

2.Dji Mavic Air 2 - My favorite drone overall

4k 60fps

34min battery

9km

Follow + obstacle avoidance

mavic air 2 package fly more combo
If you want more control over things like shutter speed, iso and such, the best professional drone that still falls under the 500g category is the DJI Mavic Air.
 
It's made mostly for people who want to play around with settings and enter into the pro category.
 

 

DJI lowered it's price since it was first released.

Check Price and reviews

Advantages

  • 3 way sensors
  • 68kph (fastest among the 3)
  • follow me mode(quite a few options)
  • 8gb internal storage
  • ISo & shutter speed settings
  • 6 photo modes
  • takes RAW photos
  • 100mbps bitrate

DISAdvantages

  • battery life ins't that amazing
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Restricted Areas and Geofencing (drone FLying map)

The best way to figure out what areas you can fly in, while you're here is by consulting DJI offilicial map.
They do a great job mapping the places that one should avoid while flying in every country:

  • airports
  • military bases
  • prisons
  • power plants
  • any high risk areas
romania flying map dji
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Make money with your drone

  • Only if you're serious
  • No experience required
  • I make up to 200$/h after it
  • Yes, it's a course
  • Yes, It's the best I know
  • Everything from A to Z
how-to-make-money-with-drones
Get $100 off the course

How do you make money with your drone, though?

Okay, so you got your new and fancy drone, but how do you stand out from any dad out there who has the same drone and watched some tutorials online?

I did exactly that and barely had any success. 

But now I’m charging 5x as much as before and even have to refuse clients from time to time.

I even bought about 7 online courses… and I didn’t make much progress.

So how did I finally make it to this level?

If you want the short answer, I learned everything from this guy Alex, who’s making $200 per hour with his drone. And he’s even teaching exactly how to do that.

This is pretty much what you need to know:

how-to-make-money-with-drones

1. Make sure you have a proper drone.

If you have any of the latest DJI Drones, like the Mavic Air 2, for example, you’re ready to start making money.

No need to overthink this, but if it’s any help, check this comparison of the best camera drones compared in 2020.

types of drones

2.Learn how to create the best content to stand out

You won’t stand out from the next dad who bought a DJI drone for Cristmass in the eyes of your clients if you don’t do this.

It’s WAY more important to know what you’re doing than the gear you have.

You’ll need to learn and master the following:

  1.  
  • Flying your drone(to stand out from people with basic drone shots)
  • Preparing for the flight and weather in advance
  • Learn the best drone settings (you need a proper setup template)
  • Create the Video Script (it's way easier if you know what to shoot)
  • Have a set of great cinematic shots you know how to do
  • Know how to edit the video so it stands out
  • Learn how to color grade

This is why you HAVE to invest in a proper way to learn things (instead of watching tutorials here and there).

3.Find clients that pay 5x more than regular

But not so fast.

You won’t make a penny if you don’t know how to find your clients.

I have struggled finding clients even when my videos were getting pretty good.

Until I learned a few tricks and how to find and approach them so they won’t be able to say no.

And what’s best, I learned how to get the price I asked for.

How can you do the same?

I have tested quite a few courses online and watched tons of videos on youtube, but frankly, I have learned more from one single course than from everything else… and all that in like a weekend.

Made back the money from this investment in myself in a single week and then much more.

 

How do I learn all of this? From youtube?

You could simply go online and learn everything in terms of video from youtube, forums, facebook groups etc.

However, let me tell you, it’s the worst way to learn all of this(and the slowest).

You won’t have a Complete Step By step guide on how to do everything.

I found myself frustrated, even after I learned how to do most of the video stuff that I still lacked some knowledge and I didn’t know why my shots weren’t standing out.

I got some general promotion ideas from some articles online, but again… I didn’t have much success and was charging too little for my time.

This is exactly where I learned how to make $200 per hour with my drone (From A to Z)

This course is hold by Alex Harris, who’s an international video creator, director, and drone operator with tons of experience.

And I had a great time stealing his know-how(and greatly profited from it, lol).

I recommend you watch his video presentation bellow and check out the course sales page. It’s quite cheap, considering you’re getting 320+ minutes of everything you need to know, step by step and 80+ minutes on how to actually find the ideal clients for you.

Click Here to Get $100 off the course

I'm a big drone enthusiast, the owner of DronesGator.com and I also make weekly videos on my drone YouTube channel.

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