The latest findings are serious regulatory breaches, making the registrations liable for suspension or cancellation.
In a move aimed at tightening compliance, India’s aviation safety regulator has decided to scrutinise drone permits that were issued on the wrong pretext.
The action follows businessline’s July 29th story, which cited sources stating that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has registered more than 8,700 Chinese drones to date, despite a ban on their import since 2021.
According to the DGCA notice, the latest findings are serious regulatory breaches, making the registrations liable for suspension or cancellation.
Besides, the regulator has warned that operating any drone with a suspended or cancelled registration is prohibited and could attract penal action.
Meanwhile, DGCA has provided affected owners with a month’s time from August 12, 2025, to submit a written explanation, supported by relevant documents such as invoices, DGFT permissions, and drone photographs, to justify their registration.
In addition, the DGCA has emphasised that this exercise is being undertaken in the interest of national security, public safety, and the integrity of civil aviation regulation.
To date, many of these drones carry DGCA-issued Unique Identification Numbers (UINs) without undergoing the mandatory type certification process, raising security and compliance concerns.
Accordingly, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has warned that such registrations may be cancelled if found to be based on false declarations.
In a notice, DGCA said that it has detected instances where entities misused the self-generation of UINs on its Digital Sky and e-GCA platforms to register illegally imported drones.
Reserved usage
Some applicants wrongly categorised their drones under the “Model RPAS” sub-category, which is reserved for educational, research, testing, or recreational purposes.
DGCA revealed that several drones were manufactured overseas and brought into India without mandatory import authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
In a 2022 notification, the DGFT had prohibited the import of such drones except for research and development, defence, and security purposes.
Speaking to businessline, Smit Shah, President of Drone Federation India (DFI), said cancelling the UINs of illegally imported drones is a much-needed step to enforce the law and protect India’s security, innovation, and manufacturing ecosystem.
“We welcome this action by DGCA, which sends a clear message that violations of the import ban or illegal registration will not be tolerated and that compliance with regulations is non-negotiable for the safety and sovereignty of our skies,” he said.
Published on August 14, 2025
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