New Delhi. 07 July 2022. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has released the second provisional list of 23 beneficiaries under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for drone and drone components. These include 12 drone manufacturers and 11 drone component manufacturers.  The Ministry invited applications from eligible manufacturers on 4th May 2022 and the last date for submission was 20th May 2022.

The provisional list of PLI beneficiaries has been prepared on the basis of the unaudited financial results for 2021-22 and other information.  The shortlisted beneficiaries have crossed the eligibility criteria related to sales revenue and value addition in FY 2021-22. Click here for MoCA’s public notice:

https://www.civilaviation.gov.in/sites/default/files/Second%20provisional%20list%20of%20beneficiaries%20under%20PLI%20Scheme%20for%20drones%20and%20drone%20components.pdf

The list of shortlisted drone manufacturers is as follows:

  1. Aarav Unmanned Systems, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  2. Asteria Aerospace, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  3. Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  4. EndureAir Systems, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
  5. Garuda Aerospace, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  6. Ideaforge Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra
  7. vii. IoTechWorld Avigation, Gurugram, Haryana
  8. Omnipresent Robot Technologies, Gurugram, Haryana
  9. Raphe Mphibr, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
  10. Roter Precision Instruments, Roorkee, Uttarakhand
  11. Sagar Defence Engineering, Pune, Maharashtra
  12. xii. Throttle Aerospace Systems, Bengaluru, Karnataka

The list of shortlisted drone component manufacturers is as follows:

  1. Absolute Composites, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  2. Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India, Hyderabad, Telangana
  3. Adroitec Information Systems, New Delhi
  4. Alpha Design Technologies, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  5. Dynamake Engineering, Hyderabad, Telangana
  6. Imaginarium Rapid, Mumbai, Maharashtra
  7. SASMOS HET Technologies, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  8. Servocontrols Aerospace India, Belagavi, Karnataka
  9. Valdel Advanced Technologies, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  10. ZMotion Autonomous Systems, Bengaluru, Karnataka
  11. Zuppa Geo Navigation Technologies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

The combined annual sales turnover of the afore-mentioned companies has increased from INR 88 crore in FY 2020-21 to INR 319 crore (unaudited) in FY 2021-22.

The eligibility criteria for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components includes an annual sales turnover of INR 2 crore for drone companies and INR 50 lacs for drone components manufacturers; and value addition of over 40% of sales turnover.

The PLI scheme for drones and drone components was notified on 30th September 2021. Under the scheme, a total incentive of INR 120 crore is spread over three financial year which is nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21. The PLI rate is 20% of the value addition which is one of the highest among other PLI scheme. A unique feature of drone PLI scheme is that the manufacturers who fail to meet the value addition threshold in 2021-22 will be allowed to claim the lost incentive in the subsequent year if they make up the shortfall in 2022-23. Click here for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components:

https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2021/230076.pdf

Apart from the PLI Scheme, Government of India has carried series of reforms to make India a global drone hub by 2030. These include notification of the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021; publishing of Drone Airspace Map 2021 which opens nearly 90% of Indian airspace as a green zone upto 400 feet, UAS Traffic Management (UTM) policy framework 2021; Drone Certification Scheme 2022 which makes it easier for drone manufacturers to obtain a type certificate; Drone Import Policy, 2022 which bans import of foreign-made drones; and the Drone (Amendment) Rules, 2022 which abolishes the requirement of a drone pilot licence for drone operations.