PM Modi to inaugurate Drone Festival in Delhi today. Details here

During the two-day Bharat Drone Mahotsav, over 1,600 delegates comprising government officials, foreign diplomats, armed forces, central armed police forces, PSUs, private companies and drone startups etc, will participate in the Mahotsav. More than 70 exhibitors will display various use cases of drones at the exhibition.

The festival will also showcase virtual awards of drone pilot certificates, product launches, panel discussions, flying demonstrations, display of a Made in India Drone Taxi prototype, among others.

The Central government is planning to boost the indigenous demand for drone services. Recently, UnionAviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India will need approximately one lakh drone pilots in the coming years.

The Centre this year invited applications from the drone industry for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to give a fresh boost to manufacturing and services in the drone sector wherein Adani Group’s joint venture company with Israeli firm Elbit, IdeaForge Technology, and 12 other drone companies were selected as the beneficiaries.

The civil aviation ministry also invited the second batch of applications for the scheme on May 5. The deadline for submitting the applications was May 20.

The government had on September 16, 2021, announced the PLI scheme for drones and drone components with an allocation of ₹120 crore spread over three financial years.

Under the PLI scheme, the incentive for a manufacturer of drones and drone components will be 20% of the “value addition” made by the company during the next three years.

The value addition is calculated as the annual sales revenue from drones and drone components (net of GST) minus the purchase cost (net of GST) of drone and drone components.