VIJAYAWADA: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Andhra Pradesh Drone Policy 4.0 (2024-29), giving the much needed impetus to the tech-driven future industrial needs of the State.
The recent Amaravati Drone Summit in Vijayawada attracted significant attention of the industry, academia and other stakeholders. The AP Drone Corporation collected feedback from delegates, participants and exhibitors, and evolved the one of its first kind drone policy to reflect the aspirations of the people and the vision of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Investment and Infrastructure Department Secretary S Suresh Kumar and AP Drone Corporation CMD K Dinesh Kumar, along with experts, thoroughly worked on the drone policy. The AP government recognises the drone manufacturing and services sector as one of the fastest-growing one.
As part of this initiative, the policy aims to foster the drone ecosystem, empowering startups and addressing local demand, capacity building and employment generation, regulatory framework and supportive environment, advancing research and development, and facilitating global market access for local drone manufacturers.
The government has announced allocation of Rs 500 crore to support the implementation of the drone policy.
The policy has targeted to set up at least 100 drone companies for manufacture, research and development, skilling and training and service providers. Through this establishment, the State aims to attract over Rs 1,000 crore investment, generate Rs 3,000 crore revenue from drones and its associated ecosystem services, and drone exports valued at Rs 1,000 crore.
It has also envisioned to establish 20 drone remote pilot training organisations, 50 Centres of Excellence at engineering colleges, polytechnics and ITIs. The policy has provisioned to train 25,000 drone pilots and creation of 40,000 jobs in the sector.
Increasing adoption of drone technology in public service delivery, development and implementation of new and innovative drone applications across 100+ use cases, integrating drone operations with real-time governance systems for enhanced efficiency and decision-making and popularisation of government schemes such as Drone Didi Scheme, etc., are salient features of the drone policy.
The government will also develop a Sandbox, a repository of all government data, to be made available to all the stakeholders to encourage innovative drone-based solutions for public use.
The policy aims to attract over Rs 1,000 crore investments in the drone manufacturing sector. The State government plans to provide substantial incentives to industries and companies that come forward to invest in this sector. A policy has been formulated to offer a 20% subsidy on the capital investment for companies registered or headquartered in Andhra Pradesh. The goal is to achieve revenue exceeding Rs 3,000 crore from drone manufacturing and services.
By prioritising and incentivising drone manufacturing, R&D and skill training, the government aims for significant growth in drone exports from the State. The initial target is to achieve exports worth Rs 1,000 crore and to aim for an annual growth of 20% in subsequent years.
Companies and industries that come forward to invest in the drone manufacturing sector will also receive subsidies on electricity consumption. The government will provide a subsidy of Rs 1 per unit on electricity rates, capped at Rs 1 lakh per year for two years.
Additionally, there will be a complete exemption of 100% SGST for initial three years on sales, up to 100% exemption of land conversion charges, change of land use and layout approval. The policy also provides 50% reduction on land lease rates for three years.
A user-friendly interface will be provided for businesses to submit applications related to proof of concept (POC) information, collaboration opportunities, and any required State-level permissions, which will be managed at the district level by the Collector or other designated authorities.
A dedicated portal will be developed for this purpose, featuring an approval system for companies, certification for use cases, and access to both national and international market data.
