Drone Yatra 2.0: India to become a drone tech hub, will need 1 lakh drone pilots by 2023

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07/12/2022

According to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, India, will become a hub for drone technology and will need at least 1 lakh drone pilots by the end of 2023. He was addressing the gathering following the ‘Drone Yatra 2.0’ launch on December 6th, 2022, in Chennai.

Technology is transforming the world rapidly, and it has never been more relevant than now since its applications are solving some of the world’s most serious challenges, according to Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur. He stated, “Prime Minister Modi once stated, ‘India has a billion solutions to a million problems.’ India, a country of more than a billion people, is increasingly using technology to stay ahead of the curve.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur stated that during the Beating Retreat, the stunning display of 1,000 “Made in India” drones by Indian start-up “Botlab Dynamics,” led by an IIT alum, enthral the entire country. Drone surveys of the land and homes are being prepared in the villages as part of the SWAMITVA scheme (Survey of villages and mapping using improvised technology in rural areas), he added. Pesticides and nano fertilisers are increasingly applied to fields in rural villages using drones.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur said, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently obtained a conditional exemption from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the use of drones for live aerial filming of the India Cricket Season in 2021.”

He mentioned that 100 Kisan Drones were despatched to villages nationwide to spray pesticides as part of the “Kisan Drone Yatra” launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur cited a quote made by Prime Minister Modi that “Kisan Drone is now the beginning of a new age revolution in this direction.”

Garuda Aerospace, India’s largest drone manufacturing facility, was recognised for its exceptional efforts. The minister saw the state-of-the-art technology and manufacturing processes used to create the Garuda Kisan Drones that PM Modi had earlier this year inaugurated.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur highlighted the facility’s achievements in such a short period. Engineers at the facility took the minister through a detailed explanation of how the advanced “Make in India” drones operate.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to promoting technology use in agriculture to boost production on farms, Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur said, “These drones expect to aid in accelerating the use of pesticides on farms, which would increase the farmers’ profitability even further.”

PM Modi interacted with Kisan drone pilots while launching Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022, India’s largest drone festival, in May of this year. Another means of strengthening our commitment to good governance and ease of living is promoting drone technology.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur said, “Drone technology is important in various industries, including defence, agriculture, health, and entertainment.” “Through schemes like Production Linked Incentive (PLI), India is also working to establish a robust drone manufacturing ecosystem in the country,” he added.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur stated, “The Modi administration has a three-pronged approach to boost demand for advanced drone technology and services. Effective policies, such as the New Drone Rules, 2021, provide incentives in the form of PLI for Drones and Drone Components and promote indigenous demand; 12 Ministries of the Central Government have been tasked with advancing this regulation.”

According to Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, “India would need at least 1 lakh pilots by 2023, each earning between 50-80 thousand a month. For the Conservative Average, even Rs 50,000 x 1 lakh youth x 12 months = Rs. 6000 crores in jobs might generate in the drone sector.”

In addition, this will impact businesses and governmental agencies that use drones. Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur appreciated Garuda Aerospace’s plan to make one lakh ‘Made in India’ drones in the next two years.

Garuda intends to reach 10 lakh youth with its Drone Skilling & Training Conference, which will be held in 775 districts nationwide. This initiative aims to teach 1 lakh youth, to substantially impact the drone ecosystem and youth employment and agriculture, mining, governmental organisations, and other industries.

The minister noted that more than 200 drone start-ups are presently operating in the country. However, he predicted this would increase, creating thousands of new job opportunities for youths.

Appropriate legislation, incentives to industry, and ‘ease of doing business’ provide much-needed momentum to the Drone Industry, which has vast potential in India. In line with PM Modi’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision, he continued, “I am confident that the increasing innovation and advanced drone technology ecosystem would ensure a self-reliant and self-sustainable New India in the Amrit Kaal.” said Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur flew a drone to commemorate the launch of the First Drone Skilling & Training Conference. Students who successfully finished their drone pilot training received certificates from the minister.

‘Medicine from Sky’ through Drones – Making Healthcare Accessible

By

S. Divya Sree

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06/12/2022

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“Drones are going to be the next big thing in healthcare industry in India, as we move towards achieving universal healthcare”, said Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh, Researcher, Public Health Foundation of India.

To learn and understand various application of drones in the healthcare indsutry, building drones specific to the healthcare needs, the need for a skilled workforce in the drone sector, and the potential to fly drones in remote areas, we spoke to Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh, Researcher, Public Health Foundation of India.

Here are the excerpts from our conversation; you can watch the full video interview on our YouTube channel.

About Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh

Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh is one of the early women drone pilots in India who completed her drone training at the Telangana Aviation Academy, Hyderabad. She works as a researcher at the Public Health Foundation of India in a department dedicated to human resources. The department’s top priorities are universal primary healthcare and taking healthcare to people’s doorstep. However, while researching on universal healthcare, they discovered that there were several logistic issues which could be addressed with the help of drones.

Drones – The “Next Big Thing” in Healthcare

Talking about why drones are going to be the next big thing in healthcare, Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh enthusiastically said, “We were the first in India to fly a box of pharmaceuticals with the help of drone in 2015. Since then, we have been figuring out certain challenges in using drones for healthcare, like the availability of specialized drones that can take the necessary load, the distance it can fly, etc. There is a huge requirement for drones in the healthcare sector.”

Difficulty in accessibility like the poor road infrastructure in faraway villages makes it difficult for people to travel by road and delivery medicines, vaccines or other medical devices. This makes the way for drones in healthcare. Short-range drones cannot be used for long distances and this makes availability of long-range drones a necessity. In an ideal situation, drones should be modular or at least be able to indicate the temperature level. Each medicine and vial should have a varied temperature so there cannot be a single cooling box. There is a need to develop long-range, heavy-payload drones for healthcare in the future.

With government initiatives like ‘medicines from sky’, there is a significant room for thinking outside the boundaries of various applications of drones like photography, videography, and surveying. “People’s interest has also grown beyond capturing pictures or videos using drones to more practical uses, like carrying medicines and vaccines, which is much needed in India,” expressed Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh.

Building drones specific to healthcare industry

There is a need to think of various applications of drones in healthcare and build drones specific to the industry. Unlike the drones used in photography and videography, the medical drones have to carry certain loads to long distances. Therefore, drone manufacturers should keep these applications of drones in mind while building them.

For using drones for medical purposes, there are particular requirements and specifications that must be met. For example, to send medicines from a district hospital to Primary Health Centers (PHCs), one should have all the information needed to fly a drone.

The requirements needed to fly medical drones:

Specific temperatures for each item (medicines, vials, injections, glucose, or other devices)
Control boxes with specific temperatures should be very rigid and not loose
Making sure how many medicines that PHC requires and how many items can fit
After the requirements are known, a plan for how many times the drone can fly is needed

Flying drones for a long distance

Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh noted that, for using drones to transport medicines and related materials, time and distance are critical. Every hour counts as a “golden hour” to make things reach quickly. Thus, the need to create a green corridor to fly the drones.

“Though time is an important factor, drones to be able to fly long distances is also crucial. The next important thing that the government and people from the industry need to focus on is to build drones that can fly long distances. Now, we fly drones for the visual line of sight, so the next step should be able to fly drones beyond the line of sight,” emphasized Ms. Priyadarsini Suresh.

Drone Pilot Training at the Telangana Aviation Academy

“The people in the academy train you one-on-one. Right from teaching how to hold the drone, what are various functions available, etc. It was a good experience for researchers like us to explore drones, drone technology and get hands-on experience on it”, expressed Ms. Priyadarshini Suresh.

The need for skill training in the drone sector

Skill development programs are the need of the hour in the drone sector. For any drone to fly in sky, there is a need for skilled and trained professionals. In healthcare industry, flying and handling a drone requires at least 6 to 10 people. As the drone sector expands and grows, there will be a need for more trained professionals. There are many training centres in India, where interested people can train and get skilled in different areas.

Some of the in-demand job roles in the drone sector would be –

Drone pilots
Technicians
Drone maintenance workers
Drone Assemblers, among others.

Weekly news wrap-up on the emerging drone ecosystem in India – 06122022

By

S. Divya Sree

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06/12/2022

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Our weekly news wrap-up on the emerging drone ecosystem in India will give you an insight into the training, skill development, capacity building, technology and industry updates. Apart from keeping you updated, the news snippets from the drone ecosystem could help you generate leads and opportunities to develop your business in the sector.

Here we go with the top headlines of the week from the drone ecosystem in India

Updates from the drone ecosystem in India

Shri Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the first drone skilling and training conference at Garuda Aerospace in Chennai.
To develop a drone innovation centre on its campus, Andhra University and Rosys Virtual Solutions Pvt Ltd inked a memorandum of understanding.
The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Kulgam has demonstrated drone technology in order to encourage farmers to use it and reduce the cost of input for varied crops.
To meet the growing demand, the MIT campus plans to open drone flying training centers within Tamil Nadu. The RPTO of the institute intends to open 50 centres in a year.
Tata 1mg launches drone delivery in Dehradun. The drones will be used to transport medicines to remote locations and collect medical samples from various locations throughout the city.
Anadrone Systems has announced plans to establish a state-of-the-art research and development centre for advanced drones in Odisha.
The operational guidelines for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components have been announced by the Civil Aviation Ministry and will go into effect from 2022–2023 to 2024–2025.
SKUAST and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir have developed high-tech drones to spray chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides in the orchards to assist the farming community in Jammu and Kashmir.

Also Read: Weekly news wrap-up on the emerging drone ecosystem in India – 02122022 https://dronefluence.com/weekly-news-wrap-up-on-the-emerging-drone-ecosystem-in-india-02122022/

*IMPORTANT:

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