NOTHING MORE DRAMATIC HAS flown into our field of vision in the past decade than Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones. Their early use for commercial purposes was noted, and their use by the US in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan deemed by experts as the advent of a vital new instrument of making war.
Whether sci-fi worthy quadcopters or sinisterly sleek, fixed-wing military models, drones have only gained in prominence since then. It is also one of the fastest evolving technologies worldwide. In India, drones are being used for mapping highways and railway tracks, for watching over forests and for agricultural and administrative purposes. Most importantly, there is accelerating demand from the military for ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) capabilities as well as for machines that can carry out precision strikes on enemy targets. So vital is drone technology that the government's Drone Rules, 2021 sought to streamline and ease operations of drones, also giving a fillip to their manufacture and development in India. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has corroborated the move: it says the market potential of Indian drones is projected to be $40 billion in the next 10 years. With the Indian government's avowed intention to make the country a global hub for drone manufacturing, all this has driven a group of entrepreneurs to start ventures for manufacturing drones, where the pull of commercial profit meets the thrill of shaping new technology. In fact, there has been a 34.4 per cent surge in the number of drone start-ups between August 2021 and February this year from 157 to 221.
The Indian army is satisfied with our surveillance drones. Now our focus is on exports, as the military drone market is growing fast" NANDA KUMAR Founder, Garudan Drones
Denne historien er fra November 28, 2022-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra November 28, 2022-utgaven av India Today.
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The Game Changers
IN SPORTS, AS in life, highs and lows are part of the package. For the disappointment of the ODI World Cup final last November, there was the sterling victory in the T20 World Cup this June, a grand moment of redemption for many who were part of the earlier misadventure.
A Life IN MUSIC
To celebrate five decades of a storied musical career, Padma Shri Hariharan is headlining a special concert in Delhi on November 30
MURDERS MOST FOUL
SAMYUKTA BHOWMICK'S DEBUT NOVEL, A FATAL DISTRACTION, IS A WHODUNIT THAT GOES BEYOND MERELY PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE MASTERS OF THE GENRE
Jungle Book
Avtar Singh creates a compelling tableau of characters brought together and torn asunder by migration, epidemic and circumstance
BON VOYAGE
The award-winning stage adaptation of Yann Martel's Life of Pi is coming to Mumbai this December
Earning His ACTING CHOPS
HIS LATEST STINT IN THE BUCKINGHAM MURDERS, WHICH JUST RELEASED ON NETFLIX, CEMENTS THE MULTI-HYPHENATE RANVEER BRAR'S REPUTATION AS A FINE ACTOR
Strike a Pose
SOONI TARAPOREVALA'S SERIES DEBUT WAACK GIRLS ON PRIME VIDEO SHINES A LIGHT ON THE STREET DANCE STYLE OF WAACKING
FATAL ATTRACTION
In I Want to Talk, Shoojit Sircar continues his exploration of death with the portrait of a tenacious man who beats it time and again
LOVE LETTER TO THE MOUNTAINS
'Journeying Across the Himalayas' is a new multidisciplinary festival in Delhi with a focus on the Himalayan region and its communities
The Art of CURATION
Sunil Kant Munjal, founder patron of the Serendipity Arts Foundation, on how one of our biggest multi-disciplinary festivals came about and what to look forward to in this edition
