Coromandel Intl bets big on agricultural drone market through Dhaksha

Chennai-based Murugappa Group is betting big on the agricultural drone market in India through Dhaksha Unmanned Systems (Dhaksha), in which the group's company Coromandel International holds a 58 percent stake. Dhaksha is targeting sales of 3,500 drones out of a total industry sales of 10,000 units this year, driven by government initiatives like the Namo Drone Didi project.

According to the company, by 2030, the country's drone market is expected to grow to around $3 billion in size, compared to around Rs 800-900 crore now. The company captured attention in May when Coromandel International, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Coromandel Technology (CTL), increased its stake in the startup by 7 percent at a valuation of Rs 2,143 crore.

 

"Today, the size of the Indian drone market is around Rs 800-900 crore, and this is expected to touch $3 billion by 2030. Last year, the total number of manufactured drones in the country was around 4,000, and this is expected to cross the 10,000-mark this year," said Ramanathan Narayanan, Chief Executive Officer, Dhaksha. Based on estimates by the company, to cover 70 percent of the overall farm area, India's overall requirement for drones will be in the range of 300,000, with close to 600,000 trained pilots.

A regulatory framework for the delivery of cargo using drones is also set to get a boost this year, as the government is in the final stages of consultation with the industry on a policy regarding beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations. "The major drivers of industry growth to $3 billion by 2030 will be the BVLOS policy, and demand from the agriculture and defense sectors," said Narayanan.

Dhaksha, incorporated in 2019 and headquartered in Chennai, is a leading player in the drone space in India, providing a complete range of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technology solutions across agriculture, defense, surveillance, and enterprise applications. It also offers Remote Pilot Training Services (RPTO) and has trained several drone pilots to date. The company has its manufacturing facility at Sholavaram near Chennai, which can produce around 40 drones per shift or 12,000 drones per year.

"If required, we can go up to 25,000 drones. Our order book size for the agriculture sector now is around 3,500 drones, and the non-agriculture sector is around 500-600 units this year," he added. In value terms, this comes to over Rs 250 crore. 

It is believed that once nano fertilizers increase their share, drones will be required in greater numbers in the country. "The government is promoting drones through the Namo Didi project, through which they are talking about 15,000 drones in two years. The government wants to curtail spending on fertilizer subsidies through the use of nano fertilizers. The nano cannot be sprayed by humans; it has to be through a drone. So, drones are vital as unless nano is pushed, the subsidy on fertilizers is not going to come down," Narayanan added.

The company wants to reduce its import dependency for manufacturing from 30-35 percent now to around 10 percent by 2026 as the market evolves. India is mainly dependent on imports for electronic components and payloads like cameras.