India’s domestic drones are preparing to take to the skies, but experts are concerned.
Experts say India’s drone sector could play a key role in public services such as agriculture, defence, healthcare, and infrastructure maintenance in the future, despite some reservations about the safety and privacy of these unmanned aerial vehicles.
Drones are small pilotless aircraft that may be controlled remotely using basic equipment such as a smartphone app.
These unmanned vehicles need significantly less work, time, and energy to operate, and can travel over long distances and through tough terrains while being controlled remotely by a single person.
Drone technology is gaining popularity and adoption across geographies and industries, and India is no exception. India will require around one lakh drone pilots in the coming years, according to Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Drones are small pilotless aircraft that may be controlled remotely using basic equipment such as a smartphone app.
These unmanned vehicles need significantly less work, time, and energy to operate, and can travel over long distances and through tough terrains while being controlled remotely by a single person.
Drone technology is gaining popularity and adoption across geographies and industries, and India is no exception. India will require around one lakh drone pilots in the coming years, according to Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Over 1,600 delegates attended the Bharat Drone Mahotsav, a two-day event held in the capital on May 27 and 28, comprising government officials, foreign embassies, PSUs, private firms, and drone startups, among others.
The firms displayed unmanned vehicles that are ready for use in industries such as defence, agriculture, and survey mapping, as well as prospective cutting-edge concepts that would see drones carrying patients in crises and delivering goods and supplies on a large scale.
Theta Enerlytics, a drone manufacturer based in New Delhi, and Vega Aviation Products displayed their endurance and hard body drones during the festival.
“These drones can be used for a variety of applications, including agriculture, forest management, town and city planning, revenue and planning departments, police services, smart cities in the public sector and industries, power plants, mining companies, and construction companies, to name a few,” said Karan Dhaul, Chairman and co-founder of Theta Enerlytics.
“Our drones are composed entirely of composite materials, allowing them to fly longer than any other drone in their class. Our Theta Falcon can fly for up to 150 minutes and carry up to 1 kilogramme of sensors and payloads in a single flight “Dhaul said to PTI.
‘Theta Falcon’ is perfect for mapping applications, monitoring, and border security, according to him. The drone takes off vertically, similar to a helicopter, before transitioning to horizontal flight, similar to an aeroplane.
The ‘Hexacopter Theta Lotus,’ another drone on display at the event, can carry a weight of up to 10 kg in optimum conditions and is also capable of stringing guidewires for transmission lines, ropeway bridges, and cable cars.
“On a single charge, the Lotus can fly for up to 70 minutes,” Dhaul claimed.
According to Suhas Chandak, proprietor of Karnataka-based Vega Aviation Products, “many of the drones shown at the festival have a distinct and strong use case and would sell well due to the burgeoning demand in the country.”
“Drone companies in India are already providing services worth 100 crores, and that number is expected to grow tenfold,” Chandak told PTI.
“As a result, it’s feasible that India could soon have very cost-effective services in numerous areas such as agriculture, delivery systems, project monitoring, and the health sector,” he added.
Singh believes that extremely stable and precise drones with good coverage capability could play an important role in public services as India strives to become a global powerhouse for drone technology by 2030.
The professor stated that India has adequate infrastructure, a strong supply chain, and high technical capacity for drone deployment, but that there are still certain problems.
“Privacy, hidden monitoring or eavesdropping, and drone crashes are some of the risks that could stymie their widespread use,” he added.
According to Chandak, the government is well aware of these worries, and the country’s zoning into green, orange, and red zones has handled the majority of anxieties and concerns, particularly those related to privacy.
“However, as an industry, we must ensure failsafe against equipment failure or human error, because a single accident can change an operator’s fate,” Chandak said.
“It would be useful if the government made it simpler for indigenous production and deployment of anti-drone systems and jammers to assist protect infrastructure from antisocial elements as a deterrent to rogue drones,” he added.
