Betting On A Drone Boom

The government eases drone laws to allow the nascent industry to take flight. Can india’s drone sector now hit the rs 3 lakh crore mark by 2030?

- Rahul Noronha

Vishal Singh and Suhas Banshiwala had a particularly bright idea in 2013. They planned to use the then emerging drone technology for commercial applications such as carrying out land surveys. Their company, Aarav Unmanned Systems, which entered commercial operations in 2015, was only the second commercial drone company in the world. It has done well in the past six years, bagging contracts worth $4.5 million (around Rs 34 crore) from the public and private sectors. Aarav has an inventory of 40 drones right now and by next month will have augmented its fleet to 150 drones.

Vishal and Suhas were among several entrepreneurs of this nascent industry who were in a state of alarm when alleged Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists used two drones to drop bombs on the Jammu air force base on June 26. There were no casualties in the attack, but days later, the government banned drone flying in Srinagar with the administration asking owners to deposit all private drones at the police stations. FICCI estimates the drone industry in India to be worth $800 million (almost Rs 6,000 crore) and projected to grow to $40 billion (Rs 3 lakh crore) by 2030. Entrepreneurs had feared an era of tighter controls. The government, instead, went in the opposite direction. On July 14, it eased the Draft Drone Rules, giving in to many of the demands raised by the industry.