The Drone Industry in India has recently flourished due to various uses in the Defence sectors along with civilian and commercial organizations. One of the major Defence Laboratory in India DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation has invested greatly in the Research and Development of Drones with a focus on the needs of Indian Defence scenarios.
In India, Revenue in the Drones segment amounts to $23.62 Mn in 2023. The market will show annual growth of 8.12% (CAGR 2023-2027). The drone volume is expected to amount to 100,000 pieces by 2027 and will show a growth of 14.6% in 2024.
Modern drones are easily accessible, and the market is full of brilliant flying machines. If you’re looking to buy a drone, then you have to know the functionalities and features of the drone.
Drones are of major use in:
- Assisting aid agencies during humanitarian crises and disaster management,
- monitoring wildlife activity, animal tagging, and conducting anti-poaching patrols,
- helping farmers with their fields with a simple bird’s eye view of their field,
- providing a new perspective to journalists.
Thus, there is a huge spike in the use of drones in sectors like GIS Mapping, Topographical Surveys, Industrial inspections, Powerline inspections, pipeline inspections, railway line inspections, etc.
Here is a list of the Top Drone Startups in India which have gained acceleration in the past few years:
Aarav Unmanned Systems
Aero 360
IdeaForge
CRON Systems
DeTect Technologies
Drone Tech Lab
Indrones Solutions
Aarav Unmanned Systems
| Founders | Vipul Singh, Yeshwanth Reddy, Suhas Banshiwala, and Nikhil Upadhye |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2013 |
| Headquarters | Bangalore |
AUS builds autonomous drones that come with ease of operation and can be operated by any user without any specialized training. AUS is the undisputed leader of commercial drones in India as it has served key players across private and public sectors. Aarav Unmanned Systems has also developed and designed Nayan, a quadrotor for developers and researchers.
AUS claims to be performing 3D mapping & Image Processing, precision agriculture, geographical mapping and survey, aerial photography, disaster/event management, and defense surveillance.
ATHUL C K
Aero 360
| Founders | Pragadish Santosh |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Chennai |
Aero 360 provides end-to-end drone solutions for enterprises including Turnkey services, Drone tool kits, Data Processing and analysis, Training, and consulting Drone repair services. It also provides high-resolution aerial images & videos to enable better scoping, assessment, planning, surveying, design, inspection & maintenance decisions.
It provides extensive local support for repairs & maintenance through a network of drone repair centers for your Drones. The company also provides solutions including data acquisition, processing, and analysis globally through Pilot Partner Network & Centralised Data Processing for your projects.
IdeaForge
| Founders | Ankit Mehta, Rahul Singh, Ashish Bhat, and Vipul Joshi |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
IdeaForge was founded in 2007 by Ankit Mehta, Rahul Singh, Ashish Bhat, and Vipul Joshi and is engaged in the development of unmanned aerial systems that offer usability to user-centric innovations and designs. The organization is also a licensed manufacturer of UAVs approved by the Ministry of Defence. It also provides the flexibility to customize products for an array of requirements.
Its first product, Netra, is a man-portable autonomous UAV for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance of moving and fixed targets. It also offers Netra V series autonomous and a man-portable small unmanned aerial vehicle that weighs less than 3 kgs.
CRON Systems:
| Founders | Tushar Chhabra, Saurav Agarwal and Tomer Ktzenellebogen |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Delhi |
A defense technology startup, Cron Systems was founded in the year 2015 by Tushar Chhabra and co-founders Saurav Agarwal and Tomer Ktzenellebogen, which builds Multi-sensor enabled intrusion detection systems and drones, and perimeter defense equipment. It is a leading provider of sensing products and perception software that brings vision to UAVs, automobiles, mapping, security, and other industries to enhance situational awareness.
Lakshya Singh
Indian Border Security Force also installed several Cron laser walls along borders to keep a vigil on intrusion attempts across Indian borders. Cron also holds top strategic partners and investors which include YourNest Venture capital, Techstars Adelaide, and Cisco Launchpad. CRON systems offerings also include the Kavach series of advanced multi-sensor scanners and SenseEdge perception software.
DeTect Technologies:
| Founders | Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R, Tarun Mishra, and Krishnan Balasubramanian |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Chennai |
DeTect Technologies was founded by Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R, Tarun Mishra, and Krishnan Balasubramanian in the year 2016 in Chennai with a vision of providing infrastructure services to the industrial sector including drone-based monitoring of critical infrastructure.
The company focuses on developing products that help in predicting the maintenance of oil and gas pipelines and predicting leakages. DeTect also develops a semi-autonomous drone called Noctua for the inspection of boilers and other O&G components.
Drone Tech Lab
| Founders | Biswajit Dey, and Ritesh Kanu |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Kolkata |
The company Rchobbytech Solutions Private Limited has been greatly functioning and is excelling by offering outclassing products and services. The company manufactures Agricultural Drones, Pesticide Spraying Drones, Crop Monitoring Drones, Surveillance Drones, Drones Cameras, and Photography Drones.
Being a service provider, the company has gained expertise in offering Drone Manufacturing, Aerial Photography, Surveillance Drone, and Digital Photography services to customers. The company has also gained expertise in offering Drone Manufacturing, Aerial Photography, Surveillance Drone, and Digital Photography services to customers.
Tanusha Verma
Indrones Solutions
| Founder | Pravin Prajapat |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
The company provides intelligent data using drones. Data collected from a drone’s view using required sensors help you to take a necessary decision about your construction project, industrial premise, historical architecture, agricultural field, or any other land. Indrones solutions also like to consider UAVs as a tool that can be used, by soldiers to gather real-time situational awareness, by a surveyor to get better data, by a farmer to assess crop health, and by filmmakers to bring in shots that were never possible before.
While being a revolutionary tool, UAVs also need to be easy to use, affordable, and most importantly, reliable, and safe. The sensors in drones can estimate dimensions like the breadth and height of any structure like a water tank or warehouse giving us an approx idea about the volume.
Conclusion
Innovation has made us believe that great things can happen and will happen. People around the world are innovating new and exciting things that will make our lives easier. Every entrepreneur has a firm belief to make this world a little better. This has led to some exciting and emerging innovations. Drones are one of them. Be ready to get a parcel delivered to your doorstep by a drone in the future. Isn’t it exciting? This has given rise to a lot of startups that investing their time and energy in making wonderful drones. Let’s wait and watch what new device or machine gets innovated in the future.
FAQs
Are drones allowed in India?
UIN for drones mandatory: No drone can be owned or operated in India unless it has been allotted a Unique Identification Number (UIN), which will be issued by the DGCA.
Are drone cameras banned in India?
According to India’s national aviation authority, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, flying a drone is legal in India, but we recommend being aware of and compliant with the drone regulations listed below before doing so.
Are drones worth buying?
If you wish to enhance your photos and/or videos, are looking for unique ways to simplify the way you do business, or are just searching for a fun weekend project, then a drone may be worth your time and money. The decision to purchase your very own drone can be difficult, especially if you’re on a budget.
Do I need a license for a drone in India?
All drones except those in the Nano category must be registered and issued a Unique Identification Number (UIN). A permit is required for commercial drone operations (except for those in the Nano category flown below 50 feet and those in the Micro category flown below 200 feet).
