Rs 60 Cr To Rs 4,000 Cr Revenue: Drone Federation Chief Credits Make In India And PLI Programs For Robust Growth

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) Hailing the government's push for indigenising drone manufacturing under the Drone Rules Policy 2021 and accelerating the growth of the drone ecosystem with schemes like Production Linked Incentives (PLI), the Drone Federation chief said on Friday that revenue from the sector has grown from Rs 60 crore in 2021 to Rs 4,000 crore in 2025.

On the completion of 12 years of Make in India, Smit Shah, President of the Drone Federation of India, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing the vision.“Because of initiatives like Make in India, the entire drone ecosystem of the country today exists,” he said.

Shah added that liberalisation of drone policy and the PLI scheme had strengthened the ecosystem. He said initiatives championed by the Prime Minister and supported by the Central Government ensured that the drone industry, in both the military and civilian space, had robustly proven its capabilities, including during Operation Sindoor.

He explained that three major changes in the drone sector have followed Make in India: ease of doing business through the Drone Rules 2021, financial incentives via the PLI scheme, and the ban on foreign drones, which encouraged domestic manufacturing.

“The drone sector's complete revenue, which was merely Rs 60 crore, has now reached Rs 3,000 to 4,000 crore, and in the upcoming years it is going to become a Rs 19,000 to 20,000 crore industry,” Shah said.

He emphasised that the biggest game changer was the combination of the Drone Policy of 2021, the PLI scheme and the import ban, all centred around the Make in India vision.

Introduced on September 25, 2014, Make in India completed twelve years on Friday. The initiative was designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation and make India a hub for manufacturing, design and innovation. It was promoted as the 'Vocal for Local' move, showcasing India's manufacturing domain to the world.

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