Wings of change: India enters a new build era

Sweeping reforms, incentives, and service-led deployments are reshaping India's drone landscape, signalling a shift toward domestic design, build, and scale.

- BY PUNAM SINGH

For years, the Indian sky above bustling cities and sprawling farmlands was largely uncharted territory for advanced drone technology. A nascent industry, hindered by bureaucratic hurdles and heavily reliant on imports, struggled to find its wings.

Today, however, India is not just clearing its airspace—it is orchestrating a bold, multifaceted strategy to transform itself into a global drone powerhouse. Besides, it is not merely about cutting-edge tech but a profound strategic play in the B2B technology and ICT world, which is poised to redefine how industries operate across the subcontinent and beyond.

EARLY CONSTRAINTS AND RELIANCE ON IMPORTS

Just a few years ago, India's drone sector was a paradox. Despite immense potential across agriculture, infrastructure, and defence sectors, it was severely stunted. The restrictive Drone Rules 1.0 imposed a labyrinthine web of approvals, requiring up to 25 forms and 72 types of fees, effectively grounding innovation. This regulatory quagmire created a vacuum that was eagerly filled by a flood of fully assembled drones from abroad, primarily from China.

India, despite its engineering prowess, remained a 'screwdriver economy' in this sector. Critical components, such as high-performance sensors, sophisticated flight controllers, microchips, and specialised batteries, were almost exclusively imported. This dependency was not just an economic drain but also posed significant vulnerabilities, particularly in defence, raising alarms about data security and supply chain reliability. The market, a modest USD 2.22 billion in 2023, reflected a consumption-heavy, rather than production-led, ecosystem.

POLICY REFORMS AND RAPID EXPANSION

The turning point arrived in a cascade of policy reforms. The liberalised Drone Rules 2021 drastically simplified procedures, reducing the number of forms to five and the fees to four. This was the initial spark.