A big part of the exponential growth in the drone sector is attributed to numerous Government schemes and policies that are pushing local drone manufacturing. The Government has identified the scope of using drones in numerous business sectors and has created numerous policies to help businesses adopt and benefit from drones and their manufacture.
There are a lot of different Government initiatives, but the knowledge of these is still limited. This blog talks about different Government policies and how these are facilitating the drone revolution in India.
List of Government of India policies for Drone manufacturing
Production-linked Incentive (PLI)
The PLI scheme is one of the biggest boosters for the drone sector. The Govt. announced the scheme in 2021 and then again in 2022 and set aside ₹120 crores for the same. The scheme aims to promote the manufacturing of drones in India and make the country a hub for drone production in the world, in accordance with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Drone shakti scheme for startups
The drone shakti initiative aims to promote the use of drones as a service through startups. This would increase the penetration of drone use in different business sectors.
Drones events like the Bharat Drone Mahotsav
A lot of events linked to different drone concepts are taking place all over the country, with the biggest one being organized by the Government – Bharat Drone Mahotsav. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the festival, which featured a wide variety of drones and information about drone licenses and employment opportunities.
Ban on imports
The Government has banned the import of drones in India to promote local drone manufacturing. This ban excludes a few important categories like defence, R&D, and others. This makes services like Karkhana.io’s drone manufacturing more important as companies would need Indian manufacturers to manufacture drones and drone parts.
Schemes for drones in agriculture
To promote drones in agriculture, the Government has come up with various schemes such as the Kisan Drone scheme, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off 100 drones in different cities to spray pesticides over farms. Other schemes include drone subsidies to promote the use of drones in agriculture.
The Drone Rules, 2021 and the Digital Sky Platform
The Government has introduced The Drone Rules, 2021, to regulate the sector and simplify different procedures for drone manufacturers, operators, and other stakeholders. The Digital Sky platform launched by the Government can be used to apply for licences to fly, manufacture and other activities. It also provides information linked to drones, including areas where you can fly and where you cannot.
SVAMITVA scheme and use of drones
Under the SVAMITVA scheme, the Government is using drones to map land in villages. Drones will be used to demarcate land and complete land surveys. This gives us an idea of the wide use-cases of drones and how customisations in drones can help automate numerous tasks for businesses. Karkhana.io’s drone manufacturing helps companies manufacture all these different types of drones with specific use cases.
Various other initiatives
Along with all the above examples, the Government has launched numerous other initiatives that include setting up remote pilot training institutes, relaxations in the form of subsidies, reduced regulatory fees for different purposes, ease in getting certifications, allowing foreign participation, and other initiatives. Apart from this, the Government has also liberalised the export of ‘Made in India’ drones, allowing an easier process for manufacturers to export drones outside the country.
Role of Karkhana.io in simplifying drone manufacturing
All the schemes and different use cases of drones have given rise to numerous new startups in the drone space. However, manufacturing drones as per a specific idea for startups is currently a challenge because of limited knowledge in the industry.
Finding a reliable manufacturer to test/convert your drone idea into a reality is a challenge for almost all startups. Karkhana.io is simplifying this challenge with their digital manufacturing platform that takes care of every step of manufacturing just after you upload the CAD designs of the part/drone to be manufactured.
Karkhana.io drone manufacturing platform takes care of everything from manufacturability feedback via our in-house expert engineers, project management, transparent pricing, logistics, and regular quality checks, to audits of suppliers, order updates and more. We also help you with all kinds of digital procurement for your drone manufacturing needs.
Our flexible manufacturing services enable product efficiency and quality across orders of all sizes from small batches to large volumes, whilst solving complex product assembly and localization issues.
Want the same for your manufacturing needs? Let us help you reach the optimal outcome for all your manufacturing requirements. To get started, simply email Alay Shah on alay@karkhana.io with your specifications or fill out the form below.
