The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (‘DPDP Act’) and its implementing rules - Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (‘DPDP Rules’) have established India's first comprehensive framework for personal data protection. Most drone operations involve some form of personal data collection, whether through imagery, operational logs, or customer information. When Drone Operations Involve Personal Data The DPDP Act governs data about individuals who are identifiabl

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 Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, notified  The Government of India notified the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 , on November 14 - over two years after the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, was enacted. For the drone industry, which relies heavily on capturing visual data (images, video, LiDAR) of public and private spaces, these rules provide the consent mechanisms required for data collection. This is a compliance watershed for dro

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  (

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 wa

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