Local drone firms soar, but rare-earth roadblock a drag

Critical components—motors, sensors and flight controllers—also remain import-dependent

- Sakshi Sadashiv

India's drone ecosystem is ramping up local manufacturing amid rising defence demand and policy push, and a swelling base of domestic startups. While there's growing domestic capability in airframes, batteries, and software, critical components such as flight controllers, sensors, and motors continue to be largely import-dependent.

A key vulnerability lies in the reliance on rare earth magnets—essential for high-performance drone motors, which India currently lacks the capacity to produce at scale, industry executives said. With China tightening export controls on these magnets, especially for defence applications, industry executives warn this could become a bottleneck in India's goal of building a fully self-reliant drone manufacturing ecosystem.

The motors used in drones are made from rare-earth magnets, typically smaller brushless DC motors. "There are ongoing efforts to identify alternative options—both in terms of materials and designs—and to determine what can be used in place of Chinese-sourced rare earth magnets," said Sai Pattabiram, founder and MD of Zuppa, a drone-tech startup.

Garuda Aerospace invested in the company this year, and it is also backed by MapmyIndia.