Govt working on fast tracking drone usage: Jyotiraditya Scindia

The government will enable accelerated adoption of drone usage across sectors by easing regulations and through specialised schemes, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday.  

Launching a programme by policy think tank Niti Aayog to promote innovation in drones and its accelerated use, Scindia said that with the active participation of industry players and the government, the drone industry is set on a path of exponential growth.  

“The government will enable the continuity of this accelerated drone adoption by easing drone regulations and through drone literacy via programmes such as Drone Shakti and Kisan drones,” said the minister. Drone Shakti is a programme encouraging usage of drones as a service and Kisan drones is a government initiative to promote drones for crop assessment, digitisation of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients. 

Niti Aayog’s ‘drone experience studio’ seeks to promote various drone applications, fast-track adoption of drone technology and help in building a robust drone industry in the country. Through this initiative, start-ups and enterprises will be able to showcase their innovation.  

“This initiative will allow various government departments to experience these technologies first-hand and think about how they can be contextually used on the ground in public services,” said Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer at Niti Aayog.  

“We have the potential to make India a global drone hub by 2030. It is imperative for us to boost the usage of drones in different industrial and defence-related sectors to leverage the benefits of this technology,” the minister said, adding that the government was actively working towards making drone services easily accessible.  

“India will soon witness a higher number of industries embracing drone innovation. This will eventually lead to a revolution that will touch the life of every citizen,” the minister said.