Drone sales turnover soars 3.6 times to Rs 319 cr in 2021-22 on PLI policy

But a comparison with global data suggests that India still lags the industry's international peers in terms of funding

Last year, when the government announced new drone rules after years of deliberation, the objective was to promote the use of indigenous drones. The pandemic had provided a fillip to drone start-ups, with state governments utilising their services for delivery of medicines, sanitising public spaces and surveillance, but drone manufacturing was still at a nascent stage because the industry depended on imports.

In September 2021, the government announced a Rs 120-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for drone manufacturing to generate Rs 5,000 crore worth of investment and add 10,000 jobs in the sector and followed this up by imposing a