Big tension for China, Pakistan as India to boost domestic drone producing capacity, project worth whopping Rs…

The new initiative will be led by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, with backing from the Ministry of Defence.

India is gearing up to launch a USD 234 million (over Rs 2,000 crore) incentive programme to boost its domestic drone making capacity cross civil and military sectors, according to a report by Reuters citing people familiar with the matter. The move comes amid increasing use of drones in conflicts around the world and an escalating arms race with neighbouring Pakistan and other adversaries such as China and Turkey. The programme will run for three years and offer financial assistance for producing drones, components, software, counter-drone technologies, and allied services, the Reuters report said.

What inspired the project?

India’s focus on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) comes after a four-day conflict with Pakistan in early May, which marked the first time both the nukes-armed nations intensively used drones against each other. The confrontation is being seen as the main reason for New Delhi’s push to scale up domestic drone production. “During (the India-Pakistan) conflict, there was quite a lot of use of drones, loitering munitions and kamikaze drones on both sides,” Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said last week. “The lesson that we’ve learned is that we need to double down on our indigenisation efforts to ensure that we build a large, effective, military drone manufacturing ecosystem.”

What is the project timeline?

The new initiative will be led by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, with backing from the Ministry of Defence. The project aims to ensure that at least 40 percent of key drone components are manufactured in India by the end of the financial year ending 2028. This would cut down India’s current dependence on imported parts, many of which still come from China despite a ban on importing complete drones.