Regulations · DGCA Drone Rules 2021
Fly legal. Fly funded.
Airspace zones, pilot certificates, and the exact one-time paperwork stack a Bihar operator needs before the first flight.
Airspace zones
Green Zone
Uncontrolled airspace up to 400ft AGL, no ATC permission needed but flight intimation via DigitalSky within 24hr
Max altitude
400ft AGL (120m)
Bihar example
Most rural Bihar farmland >5km from airport — Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya rural is Green. ~80% of Indian farmland.
✓ No prior ATC permission
Yellow Zone
Controlled airspace up to 200ft needs ATC permission via DigitalSky
Max altitude
200ft AGL
Bihar example
10-12km outer ring Patna JPNI airport, Bihta · 8km from Delhi IGI
⚠️ ATC permission required
Red Zone
No-fly — airports inner 10km, military, sensitive · RPC Small/Medium required
Max altitude
0 · No flight
Bihar example
Patna Airport 0-10km, Gaya Airport, military, international border 25km (Nepal)
⚠️ ATC permission required
Pilot licenses (RPC)
Nano-exempt
<250g
- Course
- 0 days
- Cost
- ₹0
- Validity
- 10 yrs
Training orgs
No need
Small
250g – 25kg
- Course
- 5 days
- Cost
- ₹35,000
- Validity
- 10 yrs
Training orgs
Patna FTO — Garuda Aerospace, Delhi — IGRUA
Medium
25kg – 150kg (Agras T40 90kg here)
- Course
- 7 days
- Cost
- ₹45,000
- Validity
- 10 yrs
Training orgs
Delhi — Drone Destination, Hyderabad — Thanos
Compliance stack · India
Total one-time cost: ₹9,000
UIN (Unique Identification Number) on DigitalSky
Required₹1,000
One-time registration per drone on digitalsky.dgca.gov.in
Portal →DAN (Airspace permission) — Green Zone
Required₹0
File intimation within 24hr after flight via DigitalSky app · auto-approved in Green
NPNT (No Permission No Takeoff) compliance
Required₹0
DJI Agras, XAG, Garuda, IoTech already NPNT-firmware
Remote ID
Required₹0
Inbuilt in DGCA-certified drones — broadcasts UIN + position
Third-party Insurance
Required₹8,000
₹8k-15k/yr for Small/Medium agri drone · mandatory under Motor Vehicles + Drone Rules 2021
Type Certificate
Required₹0
Manufacturer holds it · check cert number in models.ts DGCA_type_certified.certNumber
Global regulations · World benchmark
Same <400ft ceiling worldwide. Different paperwork.
FAA (USA), EASA (EU), ANAC (Brazil), CAAC (China), and ICAO benchmark — each authority's ag-drone rules, licensing route, and where they matter for our customers.
USA
400ft AGLFAA Part 107 + Part 137 Agri
Commercial <55lb needs Part 107 remote pilot cert + Part 137 agricultural operator cert · LAANC for controlled airspace
Pilot license
Yes · Part 107 knowledge test $175 · 2yr validity · online scheduling
Permission
Yes — LAANC
Iowa corn 1000-acre farms · California vineyard · 15% of corn belt now uses drones
Authority portal →EU
400ft (120m)EASA Open A1/A2/A3 + Specific
Open A1 <250g over people · A2 <4kg 30m from people · A3 <25kg 150m from residential · Specific category for spray needs operational authorization
Pilot license
Yes · A1/A3 online free · A2 STS-01/02
Permission
Yes — operational authorization
Bavaria vineyards · France wheat · EU Green Deal 50% chem cut by 2030
Authority portal →Brazil
400ft AGLANAC RBAC-E 94
Registration + pilot license + SARPAS NG authorization · BVLOS case-by-case for large farms
Pilot license
Yes · ANAC license + SARPAS registration
Permission
Yes
Mato Grosso soybean 10k-ha farms · swarm 3 drones / 1 pilot
Authority portal →China
400ft AGLCAAC UAV Cloud
Real-time cloud connection mandatory · pilot license + type rating · 50% of world agri drones
Pilot license
Yes · Type rating per platform
Permission
Yes — cloud tracking
Shandong rice · XAG / DJI dominate 50% of world agri drone units
Authority portal →Global · ICAO
400ft / 120m typicalICAO benchmark
Worldwide norm: <25kg easiest · 25-150kg medium needs cert · <400ft · VLOS unless BVLOS approved · no flight 5-10km near airports · insurance mandatory EU/India
Pilot license
Yes
Permission
Varies
Worldwide benchmark