Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder & CEO of Garuda Aerospace, is optimistic about the tremendous growth of the Indian drone ecosystem. Within the next one and a half to two years, he predicts it will exceed $3.5 billion in value.

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Jayaprakash, in an interview with CNBC-TV18, said, “Over the next a year and a half to two years, the Indian drone ecosystem alone would be upwards of $3.5 billion primarily contributed from drones as a services, especially in precision agriculture and the consumer demand.”

Jayaprakash confidently forecasts that the sales market alone could reach an impressive figure of Rs 800-1,000 crore in FY24.

“I believe that in 2023-24 the drone sales market alone would touch anywhere between Rs 800 to 1,000 crore and Garuda Aerospace will have a lion's share because we are already sitting on about 10,000 drones pre booked for our Agri Kisan Drones that has been endorsed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and at the same time, you are also seeing progressive government policies like Loan for drones and also 50 percent subsidies for these agricultural drones, which is driving that adoption.”

A pivotal catalyst behind the surging drone technology sector was the liberalization of drone rules in 2020-21. This regulatory change not only opened up new opportunities for private industries to integrate drone technology into their operations but also significantly reduced expenses.

Drones are getting increasingly more ubiquitous and the stock market's taken note of that too. Big money chasing investments in public companies like ideaForge and Droneacharya.

Jayaprakash added, “I believe that the liberalisation of the drone rules in 2020 and 21 had a lot to do with a lot of investors as well as the companies like Garuda Aerospace scaling up. We were also greatly benefited as a company as well as industry, when honorable Prime Minister launched 100 of Garuda’s drones in 100 different locations.”

The Indian government has played a crucial role in supporting the growth of the drone industry by relaxing several guidelines. Drone operations are now permitted in green zones, and non-commercial use of micro-drones no longer requires a remote pilot license. Moreover, there are no restrictions on Indian companies with foreign ownership or control operating drones within the country.

A key driver of this growth has been the "Make in India" initiative, which has fostered the development of the drone industry. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, aimed at attracting a $600 million investment and creating 10,000 jobs in the sector, has been instrumental in promoting self-reliance and domestic production of drones.

The 2021 amendment to drone rules and the ban on drone imports have further encouraged domestic production, contributing to the country's self-sufficiency in the drone industry. As the business and market opportunities continue to grow, Ankit Mehta, Co-Founder & CEO of ideaForge, sees the PLI scheme as an incentive for indigenisation, opening up more opportunities for technology development in the industry.

Mehta said, “As the business is growing and as the overall market opportunity is growing, the PLI scheme has to be looked at as an incentive for indigenisation for more, more and more technology areas and more and more opportunities, rather than it being looked at as the driver for profits in this industry. I think by the time the industry or the PLI scheme goes towards the sunset side of the house, we will see that the industry will be significantly larger.”

Additionally, the logistics and delivery sectors have experienced a paradigm shift with the integration of drones. Giant companies like Amazon and DHL are actively exploring drone delivery options to expedite shipping processes and reach remote locations more effectively. The efficiency and speed of drone deliveries hold the potential to revolutionise the entire logistics industry.

Also Read | ideaForge CEO says drone maker's peak revenue potential is 2-3 times the current figure

(Edited by : Vivek Dubey)