New Delhi: The Indian Government is in the process of formulating new Indian Aircraft Rules 2025, and on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, it issued a draft of those new rules, which it says will be modern and robust to ensure safe and secure airspace for aircraft that “fly over the country as well as are registered in the country”, which will cover “every component or object which is designed to derive support from the atmosphere”, whether commercial planes, civil and drones or helicopters.
The proposed rules are open for comments/objections from members of the public for 30 days from July 15, 2025, which must be sent by email or post to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on the basis of which the final rules will be finalised by the government for their implementation.
In the draft Aircraft Rules, 2025, the government has proposed definitions for various technical terms such as ‘aircraft’, ‘aircraft technician’, ‘apprentice pilot’, ‘aerial work’, ‘drone’, ‘international operations’, ‘line’, ‘operating agent’, ‘operating experience’, ‘parachute’, ‘remotely piloted aircraft system’, ‘rotorcraft’, and ‘unmanned aircraft’, etc., as the existing Indian Aircraft Rules, 1937, were draughted at a time when aviation itself was at a nascent stage, so they did not include a definition of newer types of operations such as drones and charter flights or inspections such as airworthiness.
As per the new draft rules, every aircraft, whether registered or to be registered in India, or not so registered but to be operated in India, should be registered under these rules and in force and carry with it the certificate of registration, which shall not be flown otherwise without valid and subsisting written permission from the government. Any person who carries any weapons, explosives or military stores on board such aircraft for any purpose shall not do so without valid and subsisting written permission from the government.
All the required documents shall be in electronic form, and all fees have to be paid through online mode, with the Aircraft Rules being extended to all aircraft registered in India and foreign aircraft operating in Indian airspace. All the rules have been simplified with due incorporation of “experiences gathered over the years of implementing the Aircraft Rules, 1937” in the Draft Aircraft Rules, 2025. The new changes have been incorporated in order to bring them in line with “International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards” and for uniformity for the safety of air navigation in Indian airspace.
The draft Indian Aircraft Rules, 2025, come at a time when India’s aviation sector is booming with demand for flying in the country, and with applications such as commercial drones flying into civilian airspace increasing exponentially in the country, the new changes as proposed by the government in the draft rules will help modernise the aviation sector in India with much-needed safety checks and better investor-friendly laws, making it a more attractive destination for foreign investors in the sector.