New Delhi. 11 December 2021. Gwalior Drone Mela was organised today jointly by Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) at Madhav Institute of Technology & Science (MITS), Gwalior. This is part of the series of events planned under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration.
The programme was the biggest congregation of drone manufacturers, service providers, drone enthusiasts and user communities, especially students, farmers and common man of the city. Programme included drone exhibition, demonstration, drone spardha, industry – user interactions and launches.
Chief guests of the programmes were Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh; Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India and Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India. Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said that Drone Mela is a historic day for Gwalior. Through this we have become a witness to the new revolution. He said that in the coming future, drone technology will bring significant changes in the world’s economy. It is a matter of pride that Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country in advancing the use of drone technology at such a big scale.
Dignitaries on the dais include –
- Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India
- Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India
- Various Ministers and senior officials from Govt of Madhya Pradesh
- Dr. Rajindra Kumar, Director, MITS Gwalior
- Rajan Luthra, Chairman, FICCI Drones Committee
- Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Spicejet Ltd.
- Vivek Shejwalkar, Member of the Parliament, Lok Sabha
Participants witnessed –
- Launch of SpiceXpress Drone Airlines program
- Inauguration of Centre of Excellence for Drone Technology
- Exchanging MoU between FICCI & MITS on strengthening industry academia collaboration
Over 30 exhibition stalls were set up to showcase drones, drone applications, services, use cases etc. 12 demonstrations conducted by following organisations on various drone based applications including pesticide spraying, afforestation, vaccine/medicine delivery, surveillance etc. –
- SpiceXpress / Throttle Aerospace
- Asteria Aerospace Ltd
- Marut Drones
- Drone Destination
- S. Agri Udaan Pvt Ltd
- ORC tech electronics promoted by MPSEDC
- BISA CIMMYT
- SkyLane Dronetech Pvt Ltd
- Aarav Unmanned system promoted by MPSEDC & Revenue Dept Govt of MP
Participants and youth enjoyed drone acrobatics presented by various drone companies and high speed drone race towards the end of the programme. The programme was attended by over 10,000 people.
