Drone Mahotsav 2022: UAV manufacturers strengthen resolve to achieve 900 cr turnover target

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the country's biggest drone festival in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan on May 27. Bharat Drone Mahotsav was a two-day event  where over 1,600 delegates consisting of officials, diplomats, armed forces, central armed police forces, PSUs, private companies and drone startups participated.

As part of the Make in India mission, drone tech startup Hoverit told IBNS that they have planned to initially start manufacturing from their garage in Gurgaon.

Co-founders at Hoverit Pawan Pandey and Saurabh Bhadhoria then started testing two models.

One of those models is a three kg drone that comes with a detachable pod and can be used for agricultural purposes such as spraying or for delivering food, medicine, and blood in villages.

Pawan said, "The clientele for such drones are usually hospitals and logistical companies.

Regarding the company's plans to boost production, he said, "We are working on setting up a plant in Gurgaon."

Talking about Hoverit's target audience, he said, "We are targeting training institutes but our main focus has always been farmers."

"Our next model, Albatroz will be utilised to spray fertilizers with a carrying capacity of 15 litres in 40 minutes."

Recently named in the first provisional list of beneficiaries under the PLI scheme for drones, hi-tech manufacturer Raphe mPhibr highlighted their air ambulance model which will be in use for military related purposes only.

The Noida-based company said its air ambulance has a payload capacity of 150 kgs and 100 kgs in high-altitude locations.

EA (Tech) to CEO at Raphe mPhibr Abhimanyu Arora said, "The air ambulance will also have a vital monitoring system that allows the vitals to be transmitted back to the base stations through radio frequency communications."

The current optimism in the UAV industry is due to change in the drone policy last year and the increase in green zones in India to 70 percent which allows the operation of drones without any prior permission.

(Reporting by Nitin Waghela)