Page 18 - ITLN March - April 2022 issue

Industry Update
Cargo Drones

India enters new era

of cargo drones;

more sectors to see

their deployment

The recent Indian Budget for fiscal year 2022-23 saw drones emerging not only as a
key talkabout, but also found its place in the GoI’s large scheme of Make in India, which
emphasized on encouraging drones’ development business in India. Various corporate sectors
have expressed interest in incorporating cargo drones into their operations.
Zinal Dedhia

he government's heightened has the product in stock, restocking
emphasis on the drone sector the first store.
was evident when Finance Swiggy's non-food delivery division,
TMinister Nirmala Sitharaman which includes Instamart, Swiggy Genie,
mentioned it in this year's Union and SuprDaily, accounts for around 25%
Budget. It was another step forward in of the company's total income.
the government's plan to make India a “Because the airspace is approximately
drone center by 2030. one-third the size of the road network, it
The drone business in India may saves a significant amount of trip time. So,
be in its infancy, but it has already if anything is on the road, it takes a long
piqued the interest of the government time, whereas everything via air is much
and major enterprises. Drone services faster. The second advantage is speed,
would be pushed for which the which is useful if someone has a time
government has already implemented limit or if it needs to be delivered within
various production-linked incentive We are willing to work an hour,” said Prem Kumar Vislawath,
programmes (PLIs) for the drone sector. with Swiggy so that Founder & CEO, Marut Drones.
other logistics and Previously, the government was
Drone logistics attract new business e-commerce companies involved in drone initiatives, but Swiggy's
sectors entry into the industry demonstrates the
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, can come forward and relevance of the technology, increasing
India's drone business would generate give an attempt to drone popularity among corporate sectors
a total revenue of ₹120-150 billion deliveries in India and the fact that many people can come
($ 1.63-2.04 billion) by 2026, up from forward and accomplish it.
its present revenue of around ₹800 Prem Kumar Vislawath Marut Drones is looking forward to
million ($ 10.88 million), reported in Marut Drones joining hands with Swiggy and has also
October 2021. submitted its bid response. “Swiggy
The government is also encouraging delivery firm Swiggy announced a call is a big company, and its entry into
start-ups and MSMEs (Micro, Small, for bids in the drone-as-a-services drone logistics is encouraging many
and Medium Enterprises) to invest in (DaaS) market to assist execute its companies in India. We are willing to
drone technology by lowering the yearly drone delivery ambitions for middle- work with Swiggy so that other logistics
sales threshold to ₹2 crore ($ 267.63 mile and B2B operations. and e-commerce companies can come
thousand) for drones and ₹50 lakh ($ What exactly would the middle- forward and give an attempt to drone
66.91 thousand) for drone components. mile operation involve? If a Swiggy deliveries in India,” said Vislawath.
On 22 February, a few days after InstaMart shop runs out of a certain “We also want to show the world that
the Union Budget was presented in product, a drone will be deployed to logistics in India is more than healthcare
the Parliament, Bengaluru-based food the next Swiggy InstaMart store that and is capable of e-commerce and

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