ગુજરાતી
English
There is not a single private company making drones in Gujarat
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, 22 July 2023 (Google translation from Gujarati)
Kaushalya University Drone Mantra Lab in Raipur, Ahmedabad has been approved for drone production. It has been awarded a type certificate by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. This is the first university in the country to get such a certificate. Which is a university owned by the Government of Gujarat.
100 drones have been manufactured at Drone Mantra Lab Raipur Ahmedabad. D.G.C.A. There should be at least two drones with UIN number for remote pilot training
The drones are small. Which has been named ‘Kaushalya Drone’. The drone manufactured by Kaushalya University, Ahmedabad will be used to expand drone pilot training facilities in the state.
Training
Pilot training will be given to farmers in 19 industrial training institutes. Kaushalya Skill University has an RTPO i.e. Remote Pilot Training Organization in Kalol. The government has approved a new RTPO at Shilaj Campus, Ahmedabad.
Training for farmers
A remote pilot training organization will be set up by Kaushalya Skill University. Where farmers will be trained as drone pilots. Private companies charge Rs 100 for such training. Gives it for 50 thousand. Which is Rs. 1200 will be given for 7 days training here.
Spraying with drone technology for spraying chemical fertilizers and medicine in farmers’ crops is the demand of the agriculture sector at present.
Deaths can be prevented by preventing the adverse effects on the health of farmers. Excessive use of medicine can be reduced. Agricultural production will also increase. Drone pilot will be a revolutionary step for the agriculture sector.
Skill University has been established in the year 2021 with the aim of providing employment. Drone School runs various courses covering the entire spectrum of drones.
Chief Minister
On March 28, 2023, the Chief Minister launched the ‘Drone Mantra’ Lab. A national conference on drone technology was inaugurated in Ahmedabad. The state government announced the establishment of Kaushalya University School of Drones.
Arrangements have been made to train drone pilots in 50 ITIs of the state.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved the manufacture of 100 drones. The university hopes to reduce the cost of drones approved by the DGCA by about 40-50 percent. Generally, the cost of a certified drone is around Rs 6-7 lakh which was expected to come down to Rs 3.5 lakh.
Special incubation supports startups in drone technology. I-Kushal Incubation and Innovation Foundation has been created on the campus. Which provides innovation, research and development and support to start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Drones have become a means of providing doorstep delivery services in remote areas.
There will be new experiments and research of drones. Along with drone manufacturing, there are also drone data analysis and programming courses.
The central government wants to make India a global drone hub by 2030. Drone policy was to be brought in the states as well.
400 people including 50 drone manufacturing industries, the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the Central Government, researchers, drone startups attended the conference held in Ahmedabad in 2023.
Students of IIT-Guwahati have designed a smart drone.
What is the drone industry?
At present, the drone industry in the country is worth Rs 5,000 crore. In Gujarat, it is estimated to be Rs. 300 crore. In three years, the drone service industry will grow to Rs. 30,000 crore and more than 5 lakh jobs will be created. Till date, not a single drone has been made in Gujarat. Now 100 units are made by the Gujarat Government University.
False claims of the Chief Minister
Gujarati has also taken the initiative to spray medicine in the farmers’ field with drones. New uses and research of drones will also be promoted. But the Chief Minister’s claims are not hundred percent true. Which can be understood from the following details.
Use
The use of drones is increasing continuously from police to delivery of goods, disaster management, security, media, agriculture, business, shoot, home delivery, toys etc.
What is the implementation
On 5 August 2022, Gujarat started the use of drone technology in agriculture. A total provision of Rs 35 crore was made under the scheme “Use of Advanced Drone Technology (Agricultural Aircraft) in Agriculture Sector”. Rs 10 crore has been kept for promoting advanced drone technology in the agriculture sector for spraying nano-fertilizers and pesticides by 2023.
A total of 1.40 lakh acres of area is planned to be covered under this scheme. Farmers were to get assistance of Rs. 2500.
Agricultural University
A workshop on the application of robotics and drone technology in agriculture was organized by Junagadh Agricultural University on 2 March 2023.
Dairy
Banas Dairy is working on such drone technology that the cattle keeper will handle the drone through his phone, the milk company will be able to fill it by placing milk in the drone. But this proved to be just a dream.
Show-off
A drone show was organized in Ahmedabad on 29 September 2022. In which more than 600 drones made in India made special shapes. But the actual use of drones was avoided.
Drone Policy
Gujarat has made a drone policy on 10 August 2021. Drone manufacturers, users, pilots and co-pilots will be given digital license.
One has to register himself on the drone airspace platform and get a special number.
The drone will have to follow the demarcated area given in the airspace map as prescribed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Gujarat Police will have the right to prosecute criminal activities like drone traffic regulation and related accidents or violations of law. The state government has constituted an empowered committee of eight senior secretaries headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department for the implementation of the drone policy.
The government has not made serious efforts to increase private and public sector investment in drone manufacturing, testing, training and research.
Drone trade and business can provide employment to 25 thousand people directly and indirectly. According to estimates, about 5 lakh people got employment opportunities in India in the year 2021. Can play an important role in many areas like agriculture, environmental protection, electricity, water.
India’s purchase
India’s neighboring countries China and Pakistan both have armed drones. India is believed to have 18 armed Predator drones, MQ 9A drones from the US that will keep an eye on the 3,044 km border with China.
An unmanned aerial vehicle.
The South Western Railway has bought 9 drones at a cost of 32 lakhs for security and surveillance of the coach factory. Pesticide companies, security, oil companies, even their pipelines and real estate companies are using drones in big projects.
Policy
Drone startup companies with annual sales of Rs 2 crore will benefit from PLI, while drone component companies with annual sales of Rs 2 crore. They will get this benefit up to 50 lakh. While for large companies (non-MSMEs) this amount has been kept at Rs 4 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively for manufacturing drones and drone components. For a foreign company, this amount is 8 crore and 4 crore respectively. A company can get a maximum incentive of 30 crores in three years. By 2026, this drone manufacturing and components sector will grow to 1.8 billion i.e. about 15 thousand crores rupees.
Help of 120 crores in 3 years
In September 2021, the Center approved the production-linked incentive scheme for drones and their components. The government has allocated Rs. 120 crores (spread over three financial years) has been set aside.
Industry
The country’s drone industry will be worth 50 thousand crores in five years from 2022. It is expected to provide employment to 10 thousand people in the next 3 years and about 20 thousand people in 5 years. Smit Shah is the director of the Drone Federation of India. At present, the drone industry is worth 5,000 crores. The government estimates that in 5 years it will become an industry of 15 to 20 thousand crores. The industry believes that by 2026 it can reach a turnover of 50,000 crores.
India Drone Festival 2022 was organized. The drone services industry is expected to grow to Rs. 30,000 crore in the next three years and create more than 5 lakh jobs. The drone manufacturing industry is expected to grow to Rs. 5,000 crore direct investment may be seen. The government expects the industry to create 10,000 direct jobs.
The global market for drones is $28 billion. It can grow up to 8.45 percent.
Status of drone market in India?
India’s share in the global market is 4.25 percent. India is also importing a lot. As of 2021, India’s drone market was up to $1.21 billion. India’s drone and counter-drone market can reach $40 billion by 2030.
Ratan India Enterprises has acquired a 60 percent stake in Throttle Aerospace Systems Pvt Ltd (TAS), India’s leading drone manufacturing company.
Company
Mumbai-based ideaForge Technology has become India’s largest indigenous company to manufacture drones. It is the leader in the unmanned aircraft system market in the country with over 50% market share. The Indian Armed Forces, Police and Internal Security are developing drones. More than 90 percent of the company’s revenue is coming from government procurement.
The country’s first autonomous drone was launched in 2009. They have made tremendous profits in 2022. In the first 6 months of FY2023, the company earned Rs. 140 crore and its net profit was Rs. 45 crore including an operating profit margin of 44.5%. The company has grown 10 times in two years.
Top Drone Companies in India
Info Edge India
With InfoEdge India planning to enter the drone industry, InfoEdge India has invested and bought stake in Skylark Drones, a startup that is working to build the core infrastructure for the global drone ecosystem.
Zomato Limited
Zomato is a multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company founded in 2008 and listed on the Indian stock market in July 2021. The company is betting heavily on drone technology for food delivery to make the delivery process faster and more efficient. Tech acquired Eagle to build a hub-to-hub delivery network using hybrid multi-rotor drones, which concluded in June last year.
DGCA’s BVLOS has tied up with several startups and giants like Vodafone Idea to work on the sandbox.
Paras Defence and Space Technologies
Paras Defence is working closely on drone technology and has partnered with foreign UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) manufacturers. Drones are also capable of making parachutes and other aerospace technologies.
Working on drones.
Zen Technologies Limited
Founded in 1993, Zen Technologies is a small-cap drone-tech company in India. They are working on heavy lift logistics drones, and their anti-drone system works on detection, classification, and passive surveillance of drones to enable tracking, camera.
Threats can be neutralized by jamming sensors and drone communications. Received an order of Rs. 1.6 billion from the Indian Air Force to supply CUAS i.e. Counter Unmanned Aircraft System.
Ratan India Enterprises
Ratan India Enterprises Limited is the flagship company of the Ratan India Group for its new age growth businesses and a public listed company in India. In September 2021, RattanIndia Enterprises announced the launch of its drone business with its wholly-owned subsidiary NeoSky India Limited.
DCM Shriram Industries
DCM Shriram Industries is another top drone company in India working on drone technology. In August 2021, Indian company DCM Shriram Industries announced the purchase of a 30% stake in Turkish drone manufacturing, where unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Zyron Dynamics received a foreign investment of $1 million from India.
Drones and tractors reduced labor work
Nano urea and pesticides can be sprayed in the field by drones in 20 minutes in 25 liters of water in one hectare. Farmers will be able to reduce costs by 40 percent. Efficiency can be used up to 90%. 35 drones have been brought to the state of Gujarat by IFFCO.
One drone does the work of 800 laborers to spray medicine.
Out of 90 lakh hectares of land in Gujarat, there are 40 lakh agricultural laborers spraying medicine or urea in 50 lakh hectares. Farmers will be able to save the employment of 5 lakh laborers with drones.
Farmers do not need to protect 60 lakh bulls raised by tractors. Farming should be done with 70 lakh oxen, but 10 lakh oxen work in farming. 50 lakh oxen have reduced. 20 lakh farm labourers are working with tractors.
With the advent of new equipment in irrigation, now 10 lakh labourers do not have to be employed.
A small automatic machine, thresher, has started giving employment to 10 lakh farm labourers.
With the advent of tractors, small automatic equipment, drones and now robots, farmers will have to employ 51 lakh fewer agricultural workers.
In 2001, there were 6 lakh farms of half a hectare, it is estimated that in 2024, there will be 20 lakh farm labourers. There are 20 lakh farmers who work on 3 bighas of land. 17 lakh farm labourers have increased, they can be made drone pilots and can be made to do farming. (Google translation from Gujarati) 
