Caught in a drone race with Pakistan, India reportedly gears up to boost its UAV industry with a $234 million plan to power domestic innovation and self-reliance.
India is set to roll out a ₹20 billion ($234 million) incentive programme aimed at strengthening its domestic drone sector, according to a recent report by Reuters. The three-year scheme targets manufacturers of drones, components, software, and counter-drone technologies to boost self-reliance in unmanned aerial systems.
This fresh investment reflects a broader effort to reduce India’s dependence on foreign suppliers, particularly for key drone parts such as sensors and motors, which are still sourced mainly from China. The report highlighted that the scheme also responds to growing regional security challenges, especially after a recent military standoff with Pakistan, where both sides employed drones extensively for the first time.
The civil aviation ministry will lead the programme, with support from the defence ministry and financial backing from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which will offer concessional loans for research and development (R&D) and operational costs.
The goal is to have 40 per cent of critical drone components produced locally by the end of the 2027–28 financial year.
India’s previous drone incentive programme, launched in 2021 with a modest ₹1.2 billion outlay, struggled to gain traction amid funding constraints and limited industrial capacity. In contrast, the new initiative represents a major scale-up and is expected to provide a boost to more than 600 firms already active in the sector.
In the report, defence officials acknowledged that lessons from recent border tensions had underscored the need for a stronger, home-grown drone ecosystem capable of supporting both civilian and military needs.
Over the next two years, total government investment in drones could reach $470 million, as India positions itself in a fast-evolving technological race in the region.
