India’s drone industry is flying high, poised to hit a $13 Bn market size by 2030, growing at a robust 21% CAGR. From restricted beginnings to a full-blown innovation playground, Indian startups are reshaping industries — from agriculture and healthcare to defence and logistics.
What’s Fueling the Boom?
- Government Push: Schemes like Drone Shakti, Kisan Drones, Drone Didi, and PLI incentives are making drones mainstream.
- Regulatory Support: The Drone Rules 2021 and programs like SVAMITVA are giving wings to innovation.
- Investment & Jobs: The sector is expected to contribute 1-1.5% to GDP and create 5 Lakh+ jobs by 2030.
Startups Leading the Way
Here are some of the 42 buzzing drone startups that are skywriting India’s UAV story:
- Aereo: Mapping 600K+ villages with enterprise drone solutions.
- Aero360: Building hybrid UAVs for surveillance and agri-spraying.
- Airbound: Revolutionizing logistics with ultra-efficient delivery drones.
- Amber Wings: IIT-Madras incubated eVTOLs for mid/last-mile logistics.
- BonV Aero: Heavy-lift eVTOLs tackling terrain for defence and disaster relief.
- Dhaksha Unmanned Systems: Backed by Coromandel, big on agri and surveillance drones.
- DroneAcharya: From training to enterprise drone ops, now publicly listed.
- Enercomp: AI-integrated drone analytics across sectors.
- Flying Wedge: Defence-first drone maker with indigenously built components.
- FlytBase: Global leader in cloud-connected drone automation — powering remote, scalable drone operations for security, inspection, and emergency response.
- Schmick Tech: Advance Manufacturing & Defence Technologies
- Axesmap: End-to-end drone survey solutions
What’s Next?
Startups are calling for an expansion of the PLI scheme and streamlined regulations to scale globally. With increasing investor interest, startup momentum, and government backing, India could very well become the global drone hub by 2030 — as envisioned by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
