Indian Government Approves PLI Scheme for Drones

Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India on 15th September 2021, has approved a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components. The PLI rate would be constant at 20% for all three years. This is an exceptional treatment given only to the drone industry.

In PLI schemes for other sectors, the PLI rate reduces every year. The Indian Government has kept eligibility norm for MSME and startups in terms of annual sales turnover at ₹ 2 crore (for drones) and ₹ 50 lakhs (for drone components). The eligibility norm for non-MSME companies in terms of annual sales turnover has been kept at ₹ 4 crore (for drones) and ₹ 1 crore (for drone components).

Together with the Liberalized Drone Rules 2021 enacted last month, the Aviation Ministry expects drone manufacturing to attract investment of over ₹ 5,000 crore, and generate over 10,000 direct jobs over the next three years. The Ministry expects annual sales turnover of drone manufacturing industry to grow from ₹ 60 crore in 2020-21 to over ₹ 900 crore in FY 2023-24.