Generic Rules
Drone Owner or 
Manufacturer or Importer
R&D Organisation1. Create a prototype drone
A working model of a drone is to be made and submitted for Type Certification to the DGCA.
Approval from authorities would mean that a manufacturer would be able to sell his/her drones for commercial purposes and a UIN could be issued against that drone model.
2. Safety Features in the drone
The Central Government recommends and promotes the use of Made-in-India components and Indian regional navigation systems on the UAVs.
Other safety features that would be notified in future and would have to be implemented by the manufacturer in future are:
NPNT
Real time tracking
Geo-fencing
However, these features are not a mandate at present.
3. Type Certifications
A Drone of particular make and model needs to have a type certificate of its own.
Type Certificate is a quality certification from the authorities ensuring that these models can be sold in the market and UIN can be readily issued to them. For Eg: Throttle’s Drone Lookout VTOL Lite will have a unique Type Certificate number.
4. Applying for
Type Certificate
Any manufacturer who wishes to apply for type certificate needs to apply using Form D1 in the Digital Sky Portal (https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in/home) with the following details:
Applicant’s information
Documentation of the prototype drone
Physical handover of the prototype to the authorized testing agency (after submission of form)
Application fee is INR100.
5. For manufacturers with approvals from foreign regulators
Any manufacturer who has already received an approval from a foreign aviation regulator for his/her drone model may directly apply to the DGCA for type certificate approvals.
6. Type certificate
Exemption
No Type certificate is needed for manufacturing a nano drone
Also, a Model RPA won't require a type certificate. A model RPA is a drone developed for educational, research, design, testing or recreational purpose only and operated within visual line of sight.
Manufacturer
Creates a profile in Digital Sky as “Manufacturer/Importer” and fill the form D1.
After submission of the application, Authorized Testing Agency would contact you for physical handover of the prototype.
QCI or authorised testing agency
Examines the prototype and submits the test report to DGCA
1-60 days
DGCA
Receives the test report and issues the test certificate
1-15 days
Manufacturer
Receives the Type Certificate Number, can sell the drone in the market
Know about all drone rules and regulations generic to all stakeholders in order to operate in Indian airspace.
Read Generic RulesYou have got questions; we are happy to help with answers
Q: Is NPNT mandatory for my prototype?
A: NPNT stands for No Permission No Take-off. At present, there is no mandatory requirement for NPNT. However, a manufacturer has to be complaint if such a notification is released in future.
Q: How do I submit my prototype drone for type certification?
A: Quality Council of India or its authorized representatives would physically test your prototype. Visit this page for more info:
https://qcin.org/RPAS
Q: My drone has been approved by FAA. Do I still need to submit my prototype to QCI?
A: If you drone has been approved by a foreign regulator, you should contact DGCA officials to directly apply for a Type certification.
Q: I made a drone for my engineering project. Do I apply for a type certificate?
A: Model Drones made for educational purpose are exempt from type certification provided they are being operated in controlled Line of Sight conditions.
Q: I want to sell a drone model that I manufactured. How do I do that?
A: If you have manufactured a drone for commercial purpose, you should be applying for a Type certifcation as per the steps explained above.
Q: I don’t have a type certificate. Can I sell my drone in India?
A: As per the drone registration process mentioned here, you need to have a UIN to operate a drone. A UIN can only be issued if a drone model has a type certification number. Thus, you can’t sell a drone if it doesn’t have a type certificate.
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