Drones Scrambled

Developing an aatmanirbhar ecosystem of products and services is vital to becoming a global drone manufacturing hub

- MANISH PANT

EVEN AS THE CIVIL AVIATION MINISTRY looks to push India’s budding drone sector to become a $30-billion industry by 2030, disruptions caused by pandemic-induced lockdowns and geopolitical risks have led domestic players to seek self-reliance.

One area hit hardest by these headwinds is the supply of lithium-polymer and lithium-ion batteries, resulting in manufacturers migrating to graphene-based cells, whose weight weighs on the drones’ efficiency.

“We explored solar but it results in a trade-off with the payload capacity. There needs to be supported on battery technologies, where we can produce newer batteries in India,” says Samriddhi Pandey, Founder and CEO of drone-making start-up Defy Aerospace.