The company is consulting the government and cooperatives to invest in manufacturing drones for agricultural purposes.
Optiemus Infracom intends to invest approximately Rs 140 crore in a drone-as-a-service initiative. The company has initiated talks with the Indian government and cooperatives to deploy as many as 6,000 drones in the agriculture sector by 2025.
The Indian tech conglomerate plans to implement this project through its Optiemus Unmanned Systems (OUS) subsidiary. By the end of 2025, it is expected to generate revenues between Rs 600-900 crore.
The company revealed its plan to offer drones with a 10-litre payload capacity at approximately Rs 2.25 lakh each. It was also highlighted that these drones will be able to spray urea and other fertilisers across one acre of land in 7 minutes, a task that typically takes 6 to 7 hours manually.
Optiemus Infracom Chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta revealed that they aim to shake up market pricing with their drones, noting the high costs of imported quadcopters in India. He looks forward to deploying these drones for agricultural spraying next year.
Optiemus Unmanned Systems (OUS) is increasing the local content in its drones from 65 per cent to 75 per cent by indigenising components such as the power distribution board, anti-spark switch, flight controller, airframe, and motor.
Established in 2023 with an initial funding of Rs 25 crore, OUS plans to expand its drone lineup by introducing models with payloads exceeding 30 kilograms within six months, in addition to its current offerings of drones with 10—and 16-kilogram payloads.
The company is expanding its scope to include the defence sector and plans to engage in upcoming tender opportunities. As the chairman revealed, they are participating in multiple requests for proposals (RFPs), are prepared to conduct trials, and are awaiting success.
