Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Government of India said that Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) has the potential to transform many sectors and modernize India rapidly. Speaking at the conference on ‘Make in India for Unmanned Aircraft Systems – Promoting UAS Industry in India’ organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India, Mr. Kant added that integrating UAVs in civilian space is a challenging job, and therefore, requires an appropriate regulatory framework. “It is important for India to facilitate and promote the development in UAS industry and strive towards global leadership in this sunrise industry and also aspire to become a global manufacturing hub in times to come. Widespread adoption of the UAS through a facilitative framework would be a transformation step in ease of doing business,” he said. He reiterated that drones are going to replace 80% of the operations presently carried out by the manned aircrafts. “Indian market for UAS will be US $50 billion over the next 15 years. India must realize the full potential of this technology and leverage it as a powerful tool not only for the security and safety, good governance, increased productivity, but also to encourage consumer in commercial applications to develop a sophisticated UAS industry sector and make a new India by 2022,” he added.
He also recommended that:
- The sector must aggregate the demand and push for MAKE IN INDIA;
- India should aspire to be a global hub for design, development and manufacture for all types of UAS;
- The regulatory framework for opening up UAS operations for civil and commercial services be promulgated early in line with the global best practices.
Anil Aggarwal, Joint Secretary,
DIPP, Govt. of India said that the Civil Aviation ministry is likely to begin the registration process of drones soon. “We need regulations for usage of drones in terms of altitude, endurance and categorization. UAS industry is at the cusp now. As per the estimates, by 2023, UAS industry has US $1 billion opportunity in India. He added that the policy is going to be comprehensive, “we must have the capabilities of designing and manufacturing in India so that the IP stays with us.” Rahul Chaudhary, Chair, FICCI Homeland Security Committee and Former CEO, Tata Power SED said that if the regulations are right, UAS industry can be a growth driver for the Indian economy in times to come. He added that the Indian UAV market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18%.
