Private Players Can Use Drones For Delivery Purposes, Says Government

The government said in the Rajya Sabha that private players are free to use drones for the delivery of food, groceries, courier etc. In response to a question, the civil aviation ministry said about the drone usage of private players for delivery purposes by following the Drone rules of 2021.

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"Drones offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy. These include agriculture, vaccine delivery, surveillance, search and rescue, transportation, mapping, defence and law enforcement to name a few," said V K Singh, minister of state for civil aviation general, in the statement.

He also added that, "The government is utilizing the services of drone service providers for vaccine delivery, an inspection of oil pipelines and power transmission lines, anti-locust operations, agricultural spraying, a survey of mines, land mapping under SVAMITVA scheme for issuance of digital property cards etc. Many of these have been in remote areas of the country. Private players are free to use drones for delivery purposes subject to compliance with Drone rules 2021."

The minister also notified about the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to promote drone manufacturing by private companies. It was, reportedly, announced in September 2021 with an incentive of INR 120 crore.

Commenting on the government's skilling programmes for drone manufacturing, repairing and maintenance, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship, has said in the Lok Sabha that, "The government has started short-term courses in 126 industrial training institutes across 19 states in the country, out of which 12 are in Maharashtra, 20 in Gujarat, 15 in Uttar Pradesh and so on."

As per market analysis, Indian drone industry revenue is estimated at $19.93 million in 2022 and is expected to grow annually at a CAGR of 10.12 per cent by 2027.