Soaring to New Heights: Rise of Drone Startup Ecosystem in India

Promising Outlook of Drones in India

The future of Drones looks truly promising with vital development projected in diverse sectors. The Union Budget 2024 has launched a momentous boost for emerging deep-tech sector of India. It has announced a launch of Rs.1 trillion funding for research and development and Rs.1,000 crore venture capital fund for the space-tech economy. These initiatives significantly propelled the drone landscape of India to streamline for novel developments and innovations into the sector.

“Drones are now being used to conduct aerial surveys, inspect mines, and gather data that can be used to create 3D models of mining sites”. - Cyriac Joseph, Founder, Squadrone

By the year 2006, the drone industry of India is expected to generate an impressive turnover of Rs.12, 000 to 15,000 crore which is a major surge from the present value Rs.80, 000. Driven by the constant push of the government for indigenization via various initiatives such as PLI – production-linked incentive scheme, Indian start-ups are become forerunners by positioning themselves as a global players in drone technology.

In order to transform the industries and restructure the possibilities with each and every innovation, Drone startup ecosystem in India is taking rapid flight and spiraling to hasty heights!

Start-ups are magnifying the adoption and utilization of drones in various industries and playing a critical role for significant transformation. They are developing drone applications with much-needed features to serve for the clients over various industries. Also they are working towards delivering cost-efficient and more effective drone solutions and planning to expand the offerings in almost all the key areas. As they are focusing on diverse applications including precision agriculture, 3D mapping and disaster management, start-ups are innovating and partnering with government institutions and organizations such as ISRO and DRDO to boost their capacities and capabilities. Also the skyrocketing investor interests in the deeptech landscape further fuelling the development of the drone sector in India.

“Delivery of vaccines and medical supplies utilizing drones is not a new idea. World has already witnessed that the drones can be extremely helpful in remote locations where there's a lack of proper infrastructure, connectivity and motor-able roads”- Wing Commander S Vijay (Veteran), Chief Operating officer, Skye Air Mobility.