Aspirations and Expectations: How PLI Will Pave Way For India's Vision Of 2030 So far, 12 drone manufacturers and 11 drone component manufacturers have been approved by the ministry. A corpus fund of 120 crores has been allocated from 2022-23 to 2024-25, and the total PLI for a manufacturer is capped at INR 30 crores.

On Monday, civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal shared that the government would soon be announcing the first set of production-linked incentives for the drone and its component manufacturers at the CII International Conference and Exhibition on Advanced and Short Haul Air Mobility for All in Bengaluru.

India's PLI scheme was introduced in March 2020 to boost the manufacturing sector and reduce imports. The scheme now covers 14 sectors, including the deep tech industry of drones. The nation has constantly given a push to its start-up ecosystem and players. With the drone space, it aims to become a global drone manufacturing hub, and the PLI scheme aims to work towards the goal.

In December 2022, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued guidelines for implementing the scheme. The scheme will only cover drone and drone component manufacturers of indigenous status. So far, 12 drone manufacturers and 11 drone component manufacturers have been approved by the ministry. A corpus fund of 120 crores has been allocated from 2022-23 to 2024-25, and the total PLI for a manufacturer is capped at INR 30 crores.

Eligibility criteria for MSMEs and start-ups include an annual sales turnover of INR 2 crores (for drones) and INR 50 lakhs (for drone components), whereas non-MSME companies will be looking at INR 4 crores (for drones) and INR 1 crore (for drone components) as a prerequisite. Interestingly, this PLI rate is the highest among other PLI schemes, and its rate is to remain constant throughout the period, unlike the depreciating rate in other schemes.

"Expectations are to support and facilitate quarterly disbursements rather than annual disbursement as it would benefit drone manufacturers to get timely relief. Service-linked incentives for clients using PLI and DGCA-approved drones will also support the ecosystem," shared Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace, one of the approved drone start-ups under the scheme.

According to Tracxn, a market research platform, there are 236 drone start-ups in China as on March 12, 2023, with DJI being the world's biggest drone maker. On February 9, the Indian government, in a bid to highlight the homegrown drone start-ups, banned the import of drones from the leading global market- China. In fact, the use of homegrown drones is being encouraged for defence requirements.

"Despite the global silicon shortage impacting the Indian drone manufacturing industry, the Central Government's initiatives have facilitated market players in maintaining their business models. The initiative supports grounds-up Indian companies that have started from scratch and encourage them to continue tinkering and innovating," shared Prateek Srivastava, Founder and MD of Droneacharya Aerial Innovations.

A frequent expectation was the promotion and utilization of drones in various sectors. "(The PLI) initiative would promote local manufacturing and the use of drones in various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, logistics, and infrastructure, among others and hopes to create a favourable ecosystem for drone start-ups, which could help drone companies compete globally and contribute to the growth of the Indian economy," noted Rana Rajvinder Singh, Founder and COO, Scandron, a 2022- founded drone manufacturing company.

"The scheme should be allocated towards the utilization of drones in various sectors, including transportation, logistics, defence, mining, and infrastructure, with the added benefit of creating employment opportunities," added Jayaprakash.

The annual turnover of the industry is expected to cross Rs 900 crore, with the drone services sector exceeding Rs 30,000 crore by 2025, according to the Indian government. Additionally, the sector is expected to generate more than five lakh jobs.