Aerospace and Defence

Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025: Regulation curtailing Industry Growth?

Introduction

On September 16, 2025, the Government of India published the Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025 (‘Drone Bill’)[1] inviting suggestions from stakeholders and the general public. Through this Drone Bill, the Government seeks to revamp the existing regulation for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (‘UAS / Drones’) that are presently governed under the Drone Rules, 2021 and related amendments (‘2021 Rules’).[2] The new Drone Bill marks a paradigm shift for the civil UAS regulatory framework from delegated legislation to a separate standalone statute. Once enacted, it will replace the existing 2021 Rules.Continue Reading Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025: Regulation curtailing Industry Growth?

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) issued a notification on October 03, 2023 under Section 14(3)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”), exempting the applicability of moratorium under Section 14(1) of the IBC to transactions, arrangements or agreements under the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (“Convention”) and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (“Protocol”) (the “Notification”).Continue Reading Sky is the Actual Limit for IBC? – Exemption from Moratorium over Aircraft Objects during Insolvency

Indian Aerospace & Defence Sector Recent Changes and their Impact - Part 1

Part 1 of our blog post in this series discussed the evolution of the Aerospace and Defence (A&D) sector in India over the years and certain recent policy changes introduced by the Government during the Covid era, focused on making the A&D sector one of the major pillars of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.  In this second part, we analyse how these policy changes will impact various players in the A&D sector in India going forward.  
Continue Reading Indian Aerospace & Defence Sector : Recent Changes and their Impact: Part 2

Indian Aerospace & Defence Sector Recent Changes and their Impact - Part 1

The Indian military aerospace and defence (A&D) industry has seen a slew of policy decisions being taken and implemented during the Covid era. From increasing the automatic route limit for foreign investment in the sector, to imposing a ban on import of various defence items, it is clear that the Government is focused on the growth and development of the sector. This two-part post analyses the various policy decisions taken recently and their impact on the various players in the A&D ecosystem. In the first part, we analyse the existing A&D sector landscape and its evolution so far. In part two, we analyse the impact of the various recent policy changes and the changing role of the players in the sector.
Continue Reading Indian Aerospace & Defence Sector : Recent Changes and their Impact: Part 1

REVISED FDI LIMIT IN DEFENCE - Impact and Opportunity

On May 16, 2020, as part of the economic packages being announced to revive the Indian economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finance Minister announced that the automatic route limit for foreign investment in the defence sector will be raised from 49% to 74%. This had been a long-standing demand of the foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEM) lobby, stating unease in transferring high-end, proprietary technology to Indian entities that they cannot control. Therefore, the Government’s move is definitely a positive step, which should accelerate foreign investment in the sector, but the impact of certain other aspects of the present regulatory regime may dampen this positive sentiment. This post discusses the various factors that would impact OEM decision making around investing in the India’s defence sector, and further steps that should be taken to make high-end technology transfer to India a reality.
Continue Reading REVISED FDI LIMIT IN DEFENCE: Impact and Opportunity