Budget 2022: Major boost with Drones-as-a-service and Kisan Drones

Kisan Drones to be used for crop assessment and Drone Shakti will facilitate varied applications.

A huge boost to the drone industry was announced in the Union Budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated Kisan Drones will be used for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients. Additionally, startups will be promoted to facilitate Drone Shakti through varied applications for Drones-as-a-Service.

Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy, CEO & Co-founder Skylark Drones states, "“The union budget and the initiatives announced by the honorable Finance Minister continue to provide impetus to the growth of the drone industry in India.

The introduction of drone shakti is a welcome move and will ensure business momentum and drive faster adoption of UAVs in the country. It is encouraging to see the government promoting Digital India and digitisation of various sectors through the integration of UAVs through varied applications and drones as a service. India with its vast natural resources spanning from agriculture, minerals, and great infrastructure is finally getting the much-required momentum to become digital.

The announcement to promote the use of ‘Kisan drones' in the agricultural sector as part of the Budget for 2022-23 will enable the drone industry to collaborate with our farmers to improve operational efficiency and maximize profitability. This is a welcoming move and will make India’s agricultural sector future ready."

Today, both enterprises and the government are realising the economic and social opportunities that India’s widespread and dispersed geospatial assets can provide to the nation. Becoming Digital First and creating a digital repository of India, will enable faster growth of our economy and the much-needed transparency thereby improved governance. UAVs offer an ideal compromise between scalability, economic feasibility, immunity to error, and productivity. The faster adoption of UAVs is therefore critical to realise the potential of these geospatial assets.

“The FM announced a very progressive budget keeping a horizon and outlook of 3-4 years. The budget has covered multiple avenues for drone industry to rise, the focus on promoting Agricultural Drones and NABARD fund to support startups will result in ensuring that the Drone Industry reach a new milestone.

The development of 100 new cargo terminals in the next 3 years will also add to the growth of Drones enabled to use for cargo deliveries within the terminals and terminals to delivery locations. The budget has been a very guiding force towards our Hon’ble PM’s vision for “Making India a Global Drone Hub by 2030,” said Swapnik Jakkampudi, Co-Founder, Skye Air Mobility.