India Banned import of Drones except for R & D and Defense purpose

The government on Wednesday banned the import of drones with immediate effect, except for research and development, defence and security purposes.

The move aims to promote made in India drones, a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the Indian Trade Classification (Harmonised System), 2022 on Wednesday effecting the prohibition of drones for import.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that while exceptions were provided for R&D, defence and security, importing drones for these purposes will require “due clearances”.

However, import of drone components will not require any approvals.

Last year, the Ministry notified liberalised drone rules that abolished a slew of approvals with the aim to encourage R&D and creating India as a drone hub. The government also approved a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and their components with an allocation of ₹120 crore for three financial years.