Deeptech startup DroneAcharya has big plans post BSE and NSE listing

Founder and Managing Director at DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations

On Thursday, Pune-based deeptech startup DroneAcharya’s initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 262 times, with bids worth Rs 6,016.78 crore for 109.61 crore shares. The startup’s IPO saw strong demand from high net-worth individuals (HNIs) and retail investors.

Founded by Prateek Shrivastava, and backed by Bollywood celebrities Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and market veteran Shankar Sharma, the startup is likely to list on the BSE and NSE on December 23. The IPO had a price band of Rs 52 to Rs 54 per share.

DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations primarily stands on a business tripod of training, services, and surveillance.

Speaking to CNBC-Awaaz, Founder and Managing Director Srivastava said, “India needs around 1 lakh certified drone pilots. However, there are few institutions authorised to certify drone pilots; we are among the first private companies in the country to do so. We offer a 10-year certification to pilot drones of up to 25 kgs.”

In May, at the launch of NITI Aayog’s Experience Studio on Drones, Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the country has the potential of becoming a global drone hub by 2030. “We are taking the drone sector forward on three wheels: policy, incentives and demand creation… Today, a drone pilot can be trained in 2-3 months. Close to one lakh (100,000) drone pilots will be needed in the years to come. The opportunity is tremendous.”

DroneAcharya AI is one of the first private players to receive a DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) certified RPTO (Remote Pilot Training Organization) licence in 2022. Since March 2022, the company has trained more than 180 drone pilots.

Manufacturing plans

The company also plans to enter the manufacture of customised 100% indigenous drones and offer land and underwater surveying services. “We will start drone manufacturing from the next financial year, which would be niche, as we intend to focus on just four to five products in the defence and industry space,” Srivastava said.

The government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was introduced in September last year as a follow-through to the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021, released by the ministry on August 25 last year.

Srivastava added that the startup is currently working on a carbon financing project in collaboration with the World Bank.

Myriad services

Elaborating on how the service model works, Srivastava explained, “With the help of drones, we provide data collection and modelling services to clients. For example, our services can provide the audit of an agricultural patch, crop health, produce forecast, etc. If it’s a mining site, we help in determining the excavation statistics, availability of minerals, etc. Our in-house pilots fly the drones while the data scientists interpret the data collected and provide it to clients.”

Meanwhile, surveillance services specifically track the infrastructure aspect of various sectors with respect to safety and security; for example, oil and gas refineries can use drones to monitor their facilities and units via videos and live feeds.

Tieups with union ministries

Highlighting ongoing projects and collaborations, Srivastava said that the startup has collaborated with several union ministries; for example, Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Mini Ratna public sector enterprise of the Government of India under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has partnered with DroneAcharya, which will provide drones, sensors, and other related hardware, software and services relevant to BECIL’s operations.

DroneAcharya has also partnered with the Rashtriya Raksha University. With this collaboration, it will set up a Remote Pilot Training Centre under the Public-Private Partnership model. The training is primarily designed for personnel from the Armed Forces, Paramilitary and Police Forces. It also offers programmes for citizens willing to acquire the skill.

Expansion on the anvil

Recently, DroneAcharya Aerial announced plans to acquire 100-plus new drones as a part of its expansion plans. The company aims to train 500 plus pilots and 25 instructors annually starting 2023. After the listing on the NSE and BSE, DroneAcharya plans to use the fresh funds to purchase and manufacture drones, sensors, and processing infrastructure.

According to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India’s UAV market was valued at $830 million in FY2020, and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.5 percent during the 2021–2026 period, despite the effects of the global pandemic on many sectors of the economy.

Between August 2021 and February 2022, India saw 34.4 per cent growth in the number of drone startups, taking the total to 221 startups, as cited by KPMG’s report on “India's emerging drone industry: A point of view.”