To foster innovation and adoption of drones for public services, and experience studio on drones was launched by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia at Niti Aayog yesterday.

The Civil Aviation Minister said, ‘We have the potential to make India a global drone hub by 2030. It is imperative for us to boost the usage of drones in different industrial and defense-related sectors.”

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“We are actively working towards making drone services easily accessible. India will soon witness a higher number of industries embracing drone innovation,” Scindia said.

This will eventually lead to a revolution that will touch the life of every citizen, thereby realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of an Aatmabirhar Bharat, he said.

He said ‘With the active participation of the stakeholders of the drone industry and the Government of India, the drone industry is set on a path of exponential growth.”

The government will enable the continuity of this accelerated drone adoption by easing drone regulations and through drone literacy via programmes such as Drone Shakti and Kisan Drones.

He said, “the cutting-edge experience studio at Niti Aayog is a symbol of technology excellence, which I am sure, will inspire curious minds to resolve real-world problems.”

Niti Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery said, ‘Drones are expected to be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas.”

The experience studio launched today shall help promote various applications of drone technology to public and private stakeholders as well as help them fast-track adoption of drone technology within their organisations and aid in building a robust drone industry in India.’

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, ‘Through the experience studio, start-ups and enterprises will be able to showcase their innovations and next-gen technology-enabled solutions.”

It will allow various government departments to experience these technologies first-hand and think about how they can be contextually used on the ground in public services, he said.

The Union Minister announced challenges to be held by Niti Aayog in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). These include ‘Drones for Social Impact Competition’ for the start-up community to showcase their capabilities to solve critical problem statements in various use cases.

There will be a ‘Robotics Workshop and Competition’ for students of Atal Tinkering Labs to foster the spirit of innovation and problem-solving.