The drone industry can help boost the manufacturing potential in India to ~US$23 billion by 2030

In brief

• The government, private sector and startups need to adopt a strong collaborative approach to make India the drone hub of the world
• High-quality products and reducing dependence on imports to propel the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives
• Create an environment that encourages R&D, rewards innovation, and creates Indian IP ownership along with a financing mechanism to support startups or MSME companies working in the sector

India has shown exemplary resilience in emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Currently enjoying the macroeconomic tailwinds, it is now competent to deal with the challenges emanating from current geopolitical developments. 

Over the next decade, India has the potential to exploit an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss —the drone revolution. The drone and its components industry can significantly strengthen India's manufacturing potential to US$23 billion approximately by 2030, according to the latest EY - FICCI report titled, “Making India the drone hub of the world”.  Making India a drone manufacturing power would not only contribute to the country’s target of a US$5 trillion economy, but also largely focus on the Make in India mission, and once delivered, its success will contribute to national prosperity across multiple sectors.

The government needs strong action plans to create a robust demand, boost manufacturing, attract investments, and facilitate exports. This action plan can help India offer the most competitive and innovative manufacturing capabilities to the world. However, this is possible only when the government adopts a collaborative approach for ministries to synergize their efforts to ensure rapid progress, along with encouraging startups and supporting organizations for the industry to scale up. There is a need to create an environment that encourages R&D, rewards innovation, and creates Indian IP ownership along with a financing mechanism to support startups or MSME companies working in the sector. 

The nation has the potential and the opportunity to emerge as a drone hub on the global stage. A strong case exists for a symbiotic relationship between the government and industry to realize our vision of making India the drone hub of the world by the year 2030.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, envisages India to occupy its rightful place as a significant player in the global economy, largely through measures that will be self-supporting and self-creating. In this context, a strong case exists for India to emerge as a global powerhouse in drones, as there would be a tremendous demand for drone services and thrust on manufacturing. This coming of drones to the Indian skies is being eagerly awaited, much like the ‘second coming’, after the Internet and GPS technologies that have revolutionized the Indian marketplace.

The drone value-chain spans across manufacturing and value-added service components, impacting a large spectrum of industries and end-users, thereby having a significant manufacturing potential. Drones offer a large gamut of solutions across industries for aerial thermal inspection, aerial visual inspection, construction monitoring, surveillance and incident response e-commerce delivery, warehouse inventory management, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and as loitering munitions and target drones.

Some of the key recommendations and action points to transform this vision into reality include: