According to recent reports, the government is planning to increase the quantum of the PLI (production-linked incentives) scheme for drones and their components.
“The quantum of the current PLI scheme is enough to boost the industry for the next few years, however, by the third year, a higher quantum will be needed as the industry’s revenues will grow multifold by then,” said Smit Shah, President of the Drone Federation of India.
Based on the ongoing discussions between the industry and the government, the quantum of the PLI scheme for drones is likely to be raised in the next three to four months, he added.
The PLI scheme was launched in 2021 with an incentive of 120 crore funds spread over three financial years.
“The drone industry in India has grown exponentially in the last eight months, and the government is looking to increase allocation under the PLI scheme as the allocation of Rs 120 crore will not be enough for the next three years,” a source said.
Now the turnover is expected to double every year for the next five years, so the drone industry wants a higher PLI quantum. The turnover for 2022-23 will double compared to 2020-2021 and cross Rs 150 crore. “The government used the industry’s turnover in 2020-21 as the base for the PLI scheme, which has grown multifold since then”, the official said.
The discussion about increasing the quantum of the PLI scheme for the drone industry is in the preliminary stage. The final decision on the same will be taken after reviewing the growth of the drone market in India.
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“Drone manufacturers in India, delivering some of the very good products to the country, have been offering services in the sector for a while. They have their own intellectual property (IP) and have seen increased demand for their products,” Vipul Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS), said.
Drone companies in India are multiplying and helping different sectors, such as hospitals, food delivery etc. A significant help saw during COVID-19 when drones were used to deliver vaccinations and other essentials in different non-accessible parts of the country
