The Union Budget 2025 presents a transformative opportunity to propel India’s drone sector into global prominence. Key industry leaders emphasize the importance of strategic government initiatives, such as increased PLI scheme funding, dedicated R&D investments, and simplified regulations, to foster innovation in defense, logistics, and precision farming. With drones revolutionizing critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and national security, stakeholders advocate for enhanced allocations for indigenous production, tax incentives, and policy support. These measures, combined with advancements in AI and 5G-enabled technologies, aim to position India as a global hub for drones by 2030, driving economic growth, self-reliance, and technological leadership.
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According to Mr. Arpan Ghosh, Founder & Director at Gamma Rotors Pvt. Ltd
Union Budget 2025 holds the potential to accelerate India’s drone sector toward global leadership. With the market poised to generate significant economic value and employment opportunities, strategic government support can further enhance growth. Building on the ₹57 crore allocated under the PLI scheme in 2024, increasing this to ₹100-120 crore will boost indigenous production and innovation, particularly in defense, surveillance, and logistics.
Logistics drones play a critical role in ensuring rapid payload delivery and precise logistical support in routine and hostile environments, revolutionizing supply chains across healthcare, disaster relief, and defense. Armed UAVs, or attack drones, ensure precision strikes on high-value targets, reducing collateral damage, minimizing personnel risks, and maintaining operational secrecy.
To foster advanced drone technologies, a dedicated ₹300 crore R&D fund is recommended to focus on AI-enabled and dual-use drones, driving breakthroughs in autonomous navigation GPS denied and operational efficiency. Simplifying regulations, especially for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operations, will further enable widespread adoption across industries.
For self-reliance and global competitiveness, introducing tax incentives and custom duty waivers on critical components is essential. Additionally, a proposed ₹2,000-3,000 crore allocation for defense procurement will facilitate large-scale drone deployment for border surveillance, logistics, and national security.
According to Mr. Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, founder and CEO of IG Drones
As one of the leading and research-driven drone solutions platforms in the country, we expect Budget 2025 to take the emerging drone sector to new heights with a focus on innovation, R&D, training, and investment. At the same time, we anticipate more focus on ‘Make in India’ in the Defence sector to have indigenous solutions and reduce dependence on foreign imports. In addition, we expect the technological prowess of drones in sectors like agriculture and farming to attract the Government’s attention so that more funding can be generated for R&D. This will boost the already existing drone solutions in these sectors and further pave the way for accelerating the vision of making India a hub for drones by 2030. Apart from that, the much anticipated Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones in the upcoming Union Budget marks a significant step towards fostering a self-reliant and robust drone ecosystem in India. This initiative will provide a much-needed boost to local manufacturers, incentivizing the development of indigenously built drones and components, and aligning with the vision of ‘Make in India.’ We believe that such policy support is crucial for taking R&D to the next level and driving innovation in cutting-edge technologies like 5G-enabled drones. Expanding the PLI scope to include areas such as leasing, coding, and anti-drone systems will further enhance the value chain, attract high-value investments, and empower Indian enterprises to deliver innovative solutions across sectors while bolstering our exports to global markets.
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According to Ms. Preet Sandhuu, Founder and MD of AVPL International
As India is on its journey toward tech-driven agriculture, the 5% increase in the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget allocation to ₹1,32,470 crore for 2024-2025 was a bold step. And to stay on this pace to revolutionize rural livelihoods and agricultural productivity this year, we expect the government to focus on increasing investments in precision farming technologies, including drones and IoT solutions. We hope this year’s Union Budget will reflect a robust commitment to fostering a technology-driven agricultural ecosystem, offering targeted incentives for agritech startups and skill development programs for rural youth. Such measures would solidify India’s position as a global leader in sustainable and innovative farming practices.
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