HYDERABAD: India’s drone sector is moving from policy experimentation to large-scale deployment, with government, industry and defence stakeholders calling for regulatory maturity, economic viability and stronger indigenous capabilities during a panel discussion at Wings India 2026.
The session traced the sector’s evolution from early regulatory reforms and manufacturing incentives to emerging challenges such as beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, airspace integration, and global competitiveness.
Opening the discussion, a senior government official outlined a three-layered vision for India’s drone sector—technological leadership, scaled mission-critical applications and regulatory excellence—calling the Production Linked Incentive scheme a turning point that drove multi-fold investment and jobs despite limited funding and positioned India as a global regulatory reference.
Officials said drone growth has progressed along two tracks—manufacturing and usage—with demand largely driven by public sector adoption. Government agencies account for about 55–65% of drone usage, including defence, disaster management, law enforcement and programmes such as SVAMITVA, with recent deployments underscoring drones’ role in governance and crisis response.
Industry speakers highlighted convergence of civil and defence technologies, saying the dual-use nature enables faster scaling and positions India as a potential non-Chinese supplier in global markets. Drone delivery was seen as promising but dependent on affordability, BVLOS approvals, communications infrastructure and airspace coordination.
Telecom officials pointed to 5G and private networks, citing nearly 100 government-supported 5G labs for controlled drone testing. Defence representatives flagged concerns over supply-chain security, indigenous engines, electronic warfare resilience and certification, calling for coordinated funding and traceability.
Regulators said the next phase will focus on safety, trust and standardisation and panellists agreed that aligning regulation, economics and security is key to sustaining momentum.