Govt needs 10-year plan to boost drone manufacturing: WEF-Adani Aerospace report

Representative image.

The Indian government needs to create a "big picture" plan for the drone manufacturing industry for the next 10 years to strengthen the industry, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a report made in collaboration with Adani Aerospace.

To ensure the continued supply of different drone components for manufacturers, the report reviewed by Moneycontrol said that "this would require a detailed analysis of the ancillary industries and their supply chains."

“For drone services to thrive in India, the country needs a national level streamlining of production systems and production capacity, and rapid cycle manufacturing," the report said.

These recommendations come at a time when the Indian government is betting big on the drone industry, projecting a turnover of Rs 12,000-15,000 crore by 2026, up from around Rs 80 crore presently.

However, there still remain gaps in the supply chain, problems in the indigenisation of components and so on.

"Components such as batteries, brushless direct current motors (BLDC) and key avionics, such as flight controllers, must be manufactured locally," the report said.

The industry also wants a government advisory programme for the usage of drones in agricultural areas, the report said. It also proposed two different categories of ownership of drones -- private and community -- in the agricultural sector.

The WEF report compared private ownership to the investment big farmers make in buying tractors, but admitted that this approach would take longer to evolve.

For community ownership of drones, the report said, "Considering the existing perceived high cost of drones and their limited adoption, farmer produce organisations (FPO) /cooperatives can own the drones and share them with farmer members as-a-service."

In this regard, the report said that this model can be backed by the government or state institutions through grants or subsidies.

"Ownership of drones by framer produce organisations (FPOs)/cooperatives will help shorten the time required to create trust in the machine and its proposition; however, this would limit its uptake as a mechanization product for retail customers," it read.