The administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed intentions to transform India into “a global drone hub by 2030,” the Times of India reported.
“Today, there are 270 drones start-ups in India and the country will become a global drone hub by 2030,” Indian Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on May 27. He spoke during the inauguration of India’s largest drone festival in Delhi, known locally as “Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022.”
Scindia predicted that India’s drone industry will be worth roughly “Rs. 15,000 crore [$1,930,697]” by 2026, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, delivered his own speech at the drone event on Friday in which he praised New Delhi’s ongoing efforts to promote the use of the technology across several governmental sectors, including the fields of defense, disaster management, agriculture, and medicine.
“Drones will help in quick delivery of medicines. We have already seen it in delivery of vaccines in tough terrains [sic],” Modi said.
“Till a few months back, there were a lot of restrictions on drones. We have removed most of the restrictions in a very short time. We are also moving towards creating a strong drone manufacturing ecosystem in India through schemes like PLI,” the prime minister noted.
“PLI,” which stands for “production linked incentive,” is an economic initiative of Modi’s administration. PLI encourages Indian companies to boost domestic manufacturing and exports. India’s federal government announced 13 PLI projects in 2020 in the wake of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. The program is part of a larger effort to help New Delhi become less reliant on foreign supply chains, especially those based in neighboring China. PLI projects offer financial incentives to various Indian companies, such as those involving electronics, telecommunications, automobile supply parts, pharmaceuticals, and textiles.
The Indian oil, gas, and metals conglomerate Vedanta announced on May 25 that it was finalizing a deal with the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer Foxconn to produce microchips within India by 2024. Vedanta partnered with Foxconn after it was inspired to diversify into semiconductor manufacturing by Modi’s PLI program, which aims to transform India into a global hub for microchip production in addition to boosting its drone output.
“Vedanta is seeking incentives from Modi’s government and is also in talks with several Indian states on the [semiconductor] unit’s location,” Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal told Reuters on May 25.
“Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022” takes place from May 27 to May 28 in Delhi, India’s National Capital Territory. Top ministers of the Indian federal government — including Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, and Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh — attended the event’s inaugural ceremony on Friday.
“Over 1,600 delegates, comprising government officials, foreign diplomats, armed forces, central armed police forces and representatives from PSUs [Public Sector Undertakings], private companies and drone start-ups are participating in the mahotsav [festival],” the Times of India reported on May 27.
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