The production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme will help create a turnover of Rs 900 crores from drones manufacturing in the next three years, which would help in creating employment for 10,000 people in this sector. Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday expects that the drone industry will have a total turnover of up to Rs 15,000 crore by 2026.
Addressing a press conference, Scindia said that the current size of the drone manufacturing segment in India is around Rs 80 crores and the Government will work towards making India a drone manufacturing hub by 2030. Scindia said that the drone sector will see investment worth Rs 5,000 crores in India in the next three years.
“Over a period of three years, Estimated investment worth Rs 5,000 crore for manufacturing sector drones will be done which in turn will bring a turnover of Rs 900 crore, and 10,000 job opportunities will be created,” Scindia said.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a PLI scheme for drones and drone components with an allocation of Rs 120 crore spread over three financial years. The PLI scheme comes as a follow-through of the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021, released by the Centre on August 25.
Experts say Drones offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy. These include– agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement to name a few. Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas.