[Ragul]

Nice! This is the kind of personal experience blog that gives me confidence to buy my own drone someday.
PS- The new drone policy has removed the 50m limit IIRC. I am not sure if the App needs updating to allow flight higher than the limit?

[izzikio_rage]

Originally Posted by Ragul

The new drone policy has removed the 50m limit IIRC. I am not sure if the App needs updating to allow flight higher than the limit?

I don't think thats the case, checked some YouTube vids and apparently since a nano drone does not need registration the limit stays to ensure that it does not become a high risk drone.

Its a massive bummer though, since the mini and mini2 are very very capable drones

[izzikio_rage]

Small addition, this guy covers the process to register the mini drone.

https://youtu.be/0FfcGbPjJTU

Apparently the last date to register a drone is 30th Nov, also no GST bill is asked

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by ambarkhan

Congratulations on your purchase

@ambarkhan - Professional Photographic Store, Metro Gully, Kolkata

Originally Posted by desidino

Congratulations !

@desidino: Not sure buddy! But I think no permissions are required to import nano drones from Dubai. Please dont take my words and research on this.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Well the only time I saw DJI Mini getting sold by Amazon Official Seller (Appario) was a couple of yrs back i think and it had a mouth watering price of 30K only through some lighting sale !

@Samfromindia - Thank you!! I know!! I missed that mouthwatering deal too! I thought it will come down again but that was never the case.

I am posted in Bangalore but have been in Kolkata since October last year (WFH situations). Just the Mini 2 without the combo will cost you 45k. One guy had enquired when I went to purchase, that's how I got to know. But in my opinion, the Fly More combo is worth, especially for the extra batteries.

The 50ft restriction is sad. The new drone rules talk about 400 ft in green zone, but they havent specifically mentioned if it applies to nano drones as well. Also since your wish is reignited, please do get one

Originally Posted by Ragul

Nice! This is the kind of personal experience blog that gives me confidence to buy my own drone someday.

@Ragul: Thank you! Yes the new policy talks about 400 ft but doesnt explicitly say it applies to nano drones as well. Confusing! I saw some tweets to DJI where an user asked if it would be removed following the new rules. DJI gave a stock answer! I last updated the app day before yesterday and the limit was still there.

Originally Posted by izzikio_rage

Small addition, this guy covers the process to register the mini drone.

@izzikio_rage: Yes, I registered my drone already though it's not required for nano-drones now. However few well wishers advised me to do so as there is no harm. Also apparently, people in remote villages and cops at times create issues. So once you show that its registered, they apparently dont bug you anymore! We live in a strange country!

[nightraven]

Congratulations on your purchase! It's definitely a lot of fun flying a drone around and getting aerial shots. I flew my friend's Mavic pro for quite a while and gifted myself a DJI FPV drone about 1.5 months ago. Wish I could get it to India for some FPV shots this year end but seems tough due to bigger size of the drone, non-foldable arms and lack of ETA. Happy droning!

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by nightraven

Congratulations on your purchase! Happy droning!

Hi nightraven, congratulations to you too! India has so much to offer in terms of photography and the stringent drone rules are absolutely counter-productive. I hope the government realises this soon! Happy flying to you too, do post some FPV shots

[Devansh88]

Originally Posted by desidino

Congratulations !

Any idea on how to bring drone in India from outside (UAE specifically)?

Apparently permission is needed from Ministry of Communications (Wireless Planning and Coordination Department). But, can't find anything on the Ministry website on how to get the permission.

Please find the link to the WPC portal. I was able to find mine already approved, so can't guide you on the process.
SaralSanchar

[Devansh88]

Originally Posted by meetarin

@Devansh88 - Yes, thank you! Another friend also advised me to do the enlisting to avoid potential troubles. Can you advise if an invoice is required to go about the process, coz I dont have one.

No, the invoice is not required. They need photos of the serial number printed on the drone and the remote.

[niranjan94]

Congratulation on the purchase @meetarin.
I too recently got a DJI Mini 2 and it has been quite fun flying it.

---

I have also registered on DGCA's DigitalSky Platform and got a UIN for the drone. Though this is a Nano drone and does not technically need a registration, I did it anyway to be on the safer side. It is a two-stage process and quite simple.

First, enlist your drone at dronenlisting.dgca.gov.in and get a DAN (Drone Acknowledgement Number). For this enlistment you would need the following documents

1. ID Proof
2. Address Proof
3. Education Proof (example, graduation certificate). No idea why this is needed
4. Drone's Serial number (behind the battery compartment cover on the drone)
5. Serial number of Flight Control Module (same as above)
6. Serial number of Ground Control Station (behind the remote control)
7. Front-view photo of the drone (with a ruler next to it for reference)
8. Top-view photo of the drone (with a ruler next to it for reference)
9. Close-up photo of the serial number printed on the drone (behind the battery compartment cover on the drone)

Once you have enlisted and got the DAN, the next step is to sign-up at the DigitalSky portal as an Operator. You would need all the documents from the above step along with the drone's purchase Invoice (the invoice should have the seller's GSTIN number printed clearly on it). There would also be a UUID that you need to entered. I just entered the serial number here. You would also need to pay Rs. 100 for the registration. Once done, you will be issued a UIN which you can keep with you.

As an extra cautionary measure, I have a printed copy of my UIN registration & the latest 2021 Drone Laws in my Drone bag. You never know when an overzealous cop or citizen might take issue with you flying your drone in a location that you are legally allowed to fly at.

---

Regarding the 15m height restriction, as per the new DGCA Drone Laws, the height limit in green zones is 120m. But DJI has not yet updated their database of the same and have not given any ETA for the same either. (You can the relevant forum discussion here. 15m is very restrictive and dangerous even as you can't set a safe RTH height in a lot of cases and might cause the drone to crash into some building during an RTH as it can't goto a safe height.

So, I have used Drone-Hacks to remove the 15m height restriction on my drone and it works like a charm.

[meetarin]

Originally Posted by niranjan94

So, I have used Drone-Hacks to remove the 15m height restriction on my drone and it works like a charm.

Hey Niranjan94, congrats to you too on your purchase! I am just back from a 2 weeks vacation and flied the Mini 2 quite extensively. It was much fun

I do admit the 15 m limit was quite restrictive at times, especially in the Himalayas! Can you please help me with the process you went about to remove the limit in Drone-Hacks?

[niranjan94]

Originally Posted by meetarin

Can you please help me with the process you went about to remove the limit in Drone-Hacks?

The process is very simple

1. you need to goto https://drone-hacks.com/buy-license and purchase a license. Would cost 40 EUR (there are 10% discount codes floating around on the internet and in a lot of YouTube tutorials. I used one of them. The one I used is no longer active)
2. Download the Drone-Hacks desktop application and login with your account
3. Then can follow the step for India 500m Hack and Certificate Hack from here directly - https://drone-hacks.com/nfz-altitude-limit-removal#0

[izzikio_rage]

Originally Posted by niranjan94

Congratulation on the purchase @meetarin.
I too recently got a DJI Mini 2 and it has been quite fun flying it.

---

I have also registered on DGCA's DigitalSky Platform and got a UIN for the drone. Though this is a Nano drone and does not technically need a registration, I did it anyway to be on the safer side. It is a two-stage process and quite simple.

This is super helpful thanks a ton. Two questions related to the fact that this requires a seller invoice with a GSTIN no

1. Does this mean that there is no way to register drones purchaed on foreign trips
2. Sellers in india seem to add a massive price increase if you ask for a GST invoice, or is this only with the ones i asked?

Loving the amazing discussion here

[izzikio_rage]

Originally Posted by izzikio_rage

1. Does this mean that there is no way to register drones purchaed on foreign trips
2. Sellers in india seem to add a massive price increase if you ask for a GST invoice, or is this only with the ones i asked?

Got the answers, wanted to share
1. Currently you can register drones if you have a DAN already. Just input a word doc mentioning that seller did not provide GST invoice during the UIN registeration.

Apparently this is open for a limited time for now