India’s Drone Ecosystem

• Drones / UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) are remotely piloted aerial vehicles regulated in India under the Drone Rules, 2021 notified by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• India has built a structured regime — 38,500+ UIN-registered drones, 39,890 DGCA-certified remote pilots, 244 approved RPTOs as of Feb 2026.
• High-yield UPSC topic spanning GS-II (governance schemes, SVAMITVA, Namo Drone Didi), GS-III (Sci-Tech, internal security, agriculture, manufacturing/PLI).