PM Modi to inaugurate India's biggest drone festival at Delhi's Pragati Maidan today

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today inaugurate the country’s biggest drone festival at Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

After the inauguration at 10 am, the prime minister is scheduled to interact with Kisan Drone pilots and startups in the drone exhibition centre, a statement from Prime Minister’s Office said. He will also witness open-air drone demonstrations, it said.

At 10 AM tomorrow, 27th May I will take part in the Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022. This forum brings together key stakeholders including StartUps with the aim of increasing India’s presence in the sector. I’d urge all those interested in tech and innovation to watch the programme.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2022

"At 10 am tomorrow, May 27, I will take part in the Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022. This forum brings together key stakeholders including StartUps with the aim of increasing India's presence in the sector. I'd urge all those interested in tech and innovation to watch the programme," PM Modi tweeted on May 26.

As many as 1600 delegates comprising government officials, diplomats, armed forces, central armed police forces, PSUs, private companies and drone startups are expected to participate in the two-day event. More than 70 exhibitors will display various use cases of drones at the exhibition," the statement.

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“The Mahotsav will also witness a virtual award of drone pilot certificates, product launches, panel discussions, flying demonstrations, display of a Made in India Drone Taxi prototype, among others,” it said.

The festival comes amid the central government's push for extensive use of drones in various fields, including agriculture. The civil aviation ministry passed the Drone Rules, 2021 last August to ensure ease of using drones.

Earlier this month, Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched a drone experience studio at the state-run think tank NITI Aayog where he unveiled two policies — Drone Shakti and Kisan Drone. The government said that studio was aimed at facilitating a collaborative ecosystem to foster innovation and adoption of drones for public services.

Scindia said at the event that fees for drone pilot training courses will significantly decrease as more institutes will get the necessary certification from the civil aviation regulatory body.

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‘We have the potential to make India a global drone hub by 2030. It is imperative for us to boost the usage of drones in different industrial- and defence-related sectors to leverage the benefits of this technology, as highlighted by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are actively working towards making drone services easily accessible. India will soon witness a higher number of industries embracing drone innovation,” Scindia had said at the event on May 10.