First tranche of drone PLI allocation soon: Aviation Secy

The Government will be announcing first set of production linked incentives for drones soon, Union aviation secretary Mr Rajiv Bansal said today at the International Conference and Exhibition on Advanced and Short Haul Air Mobility for All (ASHA): Technologies for Ease of Air Transport in Bengaluru. The two-day event is being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Government of Karnataka.

Mr Bansal said the government has been focusing on drones and so far 15 drone categories have been certified. This number, he said, would go up to 50 this year.

Mr Bansal said eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) offer a whole new solution to mobility. On the specific technology of eVTOL, he said it was not as far as it seems and is much closer.

Mr Bansal said the government was promoting a scheme for creation of airports, heliports, and seaports (water aerodromes). The Secretary said that a lot of progress has been made on small airfields and work is in progress on heliports.

“The most challenging have been the seaports. That is our focus area. We are working with the Ministry of Shipping. This year, we should be able to complete a few of them in different locations. One of the biggest challenges in seaport is environmental clearance as there are huge environmental concerns around it. Some of the seaports being built in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep should see the light of day in FY23-24,” Mr Bansal said.

Talking about advanced and short haul air mobility, the Secretary said that the market is an emerging space globally and the air traffic management rules haven’t settled in globally. He sought the expectations of the industry from the government and the regulatory agencies in India like safety regulators, security regulators, air traffic regulators and air traffic management system operators.

Noting that only users can drive transition to this new alternate means of transport, the Secretary said that there is a huge demand from consumers in India. To succeed in India, Mr Bansal suggested OEMs to put up pilot plants in different regions of the country. “Seeing is believing. This is a very good model that succeeds in India. If they are willing to put up pilot plant in some cities, normally the local governments will support and provide land or investment or both. That is a very good entry point in India as you will get buy-ins from the government and the consumers,” he added.

Mr Simon Briceno, Chief Commercial Officer, Jaunt Air Mobility said that there is a need for harmonization among the leading certifying agencies worldwide. He said that the industry wants to find the fewest amount of certification barriers to get these aircrafts to the market safely and show to public that these vehicles are using technology and equipment that are highly safe.

Mr Patrick Buckles, Chief Revenue Officer, Beta said that companies and the governments need to keep an open mind and look for a way to work together. He said that companies spearheading the industry can provide an incredible amount of data to the regulators to help through the certification process. Noting that safety is paramount, Mr Buckles said this has to be safe and implemented in a way that makes sense and has confidence of the consumers.

Noting that consumer demand and experience will determine the future of the industry, Mr Adam Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer, Archer said we need to create a product that is such a good experience for consumers that they demand that these vehicles are brought to their cities, which will help a lot of the infrastructure problems. He underlined the infrastructure challenge for the advanced and short haul air mobility as there are limited or no unused lands in congested areas like cities.

Mr Augustine Tai, Head of Business Development (APAC), Eve Air Mobility said that private sector doesn’t have the muscles to push through the infrastructure challenge for the industry and suggested the involvement of local governments. He said that the harmonization of standards is the biggest challenge facing the industry. “We are trying to simplify the certification process. We are trying to build an aircraft that can fly in every part of the world,” he said.

27 March 2023

Bengaluru