India To Become Hub Of Drone Technology, Will Require 100,000 Pilots By Next Year: Union Minister Anurag Thakur

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has said that India will become a hub of drone technology and will require at least 100,000 drone pilots by next year.

While addressing the gathering after flagging of the the Drone Yatra 2.0 event in Chennai on Tuesday (6 December), the minister said that the drone technology is essential for various fields from defence to agriculture and health to entertainment.

India is also moving towards creating a strong drone manufacturing ecosystem in the country through schemes like Production Linked Incentive (PLI), he added.

The minister discussed the various uses of drone technology in India, including for surveying land and houses in rural areas, spraying pesticides and fertilisers in fields, and for live aerial cinematography of the Indian cricket season in 2021.

He also praised Garuda Aerospace for its efforts to create India's largest drone manufacturing facility, and noted the government's commitment to promote the use of technology in the agriculture sector to increase farm production.

Stating that India will require at least 1 lakh pilots in 2023, he said that each pilot will earn at least 50-80 thousand a month.

If you take the conservative Average even Rs 50,000 × 1 lakh youth × 12 months is around Rs 6000 crores a year worth employment could be created in the Drone sector, he said, according to a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting release.

Apart from this, Industries and Government agencies which use Drones will also be impacted.

He appreciated the that Garuda Aerospace’s plan to make one lakh 'Made in India' drones in the next two years.

While noting that currently there are over 200 drone start-ups operating in the country, the minister said that this number will increase to generate lakhs of new job opportunities for the youth.