India's drone privacy framework is wider than the DPDP Act. This guide explains which drone data is personal, who is responsible, what breach deadlines mean and how to build compliant workflows.

In India, the Ministry of Defence raised delegated financial powers for revenue procurement and Maharashtra approved a five-year unmanned systems policy targeting Rs. 25,000 crore in investment. Abroad, the FAA turned every FIFA World Cup stadium into a No Drone Zone as enforcement operations brought down eight aircraft in a single day, the Ruler of Sharjah issued an emirate-wide drone law, Transport Canada proposed mandatory Remote ID, and a Seoul court added a 30-year term

The May 2026 Drone Law Brief covers 17 developments across nine jurisdictions. The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a DGCA Deputy Director General and a senior Reliance executive over pending drone-import approvals, and the DGCA issued a new circular for remote pilot training organisations. Abroad, the FAA eased flight restrictions near federal mobile assets, and China's drone registration and remote-identification standards took effect.

India restricts the import of complete drones while keeping components free, with the aim of building a domestic manufacturing base, and allows civilian exports under a one-time licence while subjecting military and dual-use systems to SCOMET and Ministry of Defence clearance. This guide maps the import and export framework for manufacturers, exporters, defence contractors, and compliance teams.

Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Limited (‘ DJI ’), a Shenzhen, China-based company, accounts for 90% market share in the global consumer market of drones and this market share has shaped public perception and regulatory discourse not only in India but also across multiple jurisdictions worldwide. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission has barred DJI (and other foreign companies) from importing new drones over concerns pertaining to data tr

The year 2025 marked unmanned aviation's transition from emerging technology to strategic infrastructure. Across three continents, combat drones reshaped modern warfare - from Ukraine's swarm deployments to the precision strike operations in the Middle East - forcing governments worldwide to reckon with a technology they could no longer afford to regulate experimentally. What followed was a coordinated regulatory hardening: lawmakers replaced permissive frameworks with perman

Updated guidance: This January 2026 note has been superseded by our comprehensive August 2026 guide, Privacy Laws for Drone Companies in India: DPDP Act Compliance Guide, which distinguishes the current and scheduled regimes and addresses drone footage, role allocation, security, breach reporting, retention and geospatial requirements. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (‘DPDP Act’) and its implementing rules - Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (‘DPDP R

Editors' Note In this edition of the Drone Law Brief, the most significant developments of the past weeks are covered: SEBI has fined and barred Droneacharya, one of the few listed drone companies in India, along with its promoters and associated entities, from accessing the securities markets. This action followed an investigation into misleading corporate announcements, misrepresentation of financial statements, and mis-utilization of IPO proceeds, among other issues. Joby

INDIA Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025: Extended consultation period ends The Government of India, through the Ministry of Civil Aviation, released the Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025 (“Bill”) for public consultation on 16th September and provided a period of 2 weeks till 30th September for stakeholders to send their comments. This was later extended till 15th October 2025. The Bill proposes to replace the Drone Rules, 2021 (made

The Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025 ('The Bill') is a welcome step in the transition to a dedicated ecosystem of regulations for drones (i.e. Unmanned Aircraft Systems or UAS). Given that The Bill will be followed by various rules that will govern different aspects of manufacturing, owning and operating drones, The Bill naturally dials back on how prescriptive it’s language is in comparison to The Drone Rules, 2021 ('The Rules'). However, it leaves way too

Indian drone regulations have evolved from a 2014 blanket ban on civil UAV use to today’s liberal “trust-and-verify” regime built around...