Drones will soon be way of life: PM Modi

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, May 27

Vertical take-off drones, anti-drone systems and new technologies that will connect a drone with Indian-made satellite navigation system (NavIC) are among the technologies up on display at the two-day drone festival here.

Inaugurating the festival today, PM Narendra Modi highlighted the importance of drone technology in the fields of defence, disaster management, agriculture, tourism, film and entertainment. He said the use of this technology was bound to increase in the coming days.

“Promotion of drone technology is a medium of advancing our commitment to good governance and ease of living. In the form of drones, we have a smart tool that is going to be part and parcel of common people’s lives,” he added.

Zen Technologies, which is making anti-drone systems for the Indian Air Force, said everything in the system was local.

Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research & Technologies, which is contracted by the Army for its ‘swarm drone’ project, today announced to work with L&T on drones that can be launched mid-sea from an underwater submarine. In US, work is under way to use torpedo launch-tube of the submarine to release a drone from under sea for surveillance.

TM Aerospace, which is making vertical take-off drones using hybrid technologies, is working with the Army for providing rapidly deployable drones that can lift-off from small spaces.

Bengaluru-based Elena Systems announced its indigenous component that can be fitted onto any drone for further connectivity with NavIC. Chennai-based Zuppa is providing a system by which a tank commander sitting inside a tank will get a 360 degree view of the outside.

Meanwhile, PM Modi interacted with kisan drone pilots, witnessed open-air drone demonstrations and interacted with startups at the drone exhibition centre. He also gave away 150 drone pilot certificates.