India continues to strengthen its home drone ecosystem, with a rising deal with constructing not solely airframes in-country, but in addition the elements that energy them. That development was highlighted this week as Garuda Aerospace inaugurated a brand new Drone Battery Manufacturing Facility in Chennai, alongside an growth of its DGCA-approved Distant Pilot Coaching Organisation.
The announcement comes at a time when governments worldwide are taking a better take a look at drone provide chains and expertise sourcing. In the USA, latest Federal Communications Fee (FCC) actions have accelerated a push towards safe, domestically managed manufacturing and element sourcing. India is advancing the same objective via its “Make in India” and Manufacturing Linked Incentive initiatives, encouraging producers to localize manufacturing and scale back reliance on overseas components.
Garuda Aerospace’s new facility displays that shift towards deeper industrial self-reliance throughout the drone sector.
The inauguration was led by Shri Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director Normal of India’s Directorate Normal of Civil Aviation (DGCA), throughout a ceremony held January 7, 2026, on the firm’s operations middle in Chennai. The occasion was carried out in collaboration with the Bharat Drone Udaan program and the Bharat Drone Affiliation.
In response to the corporate, the brand new battery manufacturing functionality is designed to assist an “end-to-end, self-reliant drone ecosystem,” strengthening India’s skill to supply important elements domestically whereas scaling deployment throughout agriculture, infrastructure, protection, catastrophe response, and logistics.
DGCA Chief Highlights Indigenous Manufacturing Momentum
In the course of the go to, Kidwai additionally inaugurated a brand new Tutorial Block at Garuda Aerospace’s DGCA-approved Distant Pilot Coaching Organisation, increasing classroom capability and curriculum supply to satisfy rising demand for licensed drone pilots throughout the nation.
He famous the breadth of drone platforms and functions rising from the ability, calling consideration to the corporate’s efforts to maneuver past meeting and into component-level manufacturing.
“It’s a pleasure to go to the Garuda Aerospace manufacturing facility. The vary of drones being produced right here isn’t solely useful to our armed forces, but in addition to farmers and trade, and is getting used throughout a number of functions. Only a few corporations I’ve seen to this point manufacture such a variety of drones. Garuda Aerospace is taking indigenisation to the subsequent stage by producing important elements, assembling, and manufacturing them throughout the nation. The scholars right here, as soon as they acquire their licenses and develop into licensed RPTOs, can have a major position to play in making certain the expansion of this trade, as drone functions are anticipated to increase exponentially.”
Garuda Aerospace Emphasizes Native Manufacturing and Workforce Improvement
Garuda Aerospace Founder and Director Agnishwar Jayaprakash mentioned the growth displays ten years of progress from an agriculture-focused startup right into a large-scale home drone producer and coaching supplier.
“During the last 10 years, Garuda Aerospace has been in agriculture expertise and has developed into India’s largest drone firm, having manufactured over 3,000 drones and educated greater than 2,500 drone pilots. We had been the primary firm to be accepted by the DGCA for each drone manufacturing and coaching, and the primary drone firm whose shoppers acquired the first-ever AIF drone mortgage.”
Jayaprakash additionally credited authorities applications that encourage drone adoption and native manufacturing:
“It’s heartening to see the sensible affect of progressive authorities initiatives and insurance policies coming to fruition, together with schemes the place girls’s self-help teams had been offered agricultural drones to reinforce livelihoods, the SMAM drone subsidy scheme, and the Manufacturing Linked Incentive for reinforcing indigenous manufacturing… We stay dedicated to native manufacturing, following DGCA laws, and dealing in the direction of making India a world drone hub.”
A World Shift Towards Safe and Home Drone Provide Chains
India’s investments in localized drone manufacturing mirror a broader worldwide realignment.
All over the world, governments are:
• encouraging nationwide manufacturing functionality
• scrutinizing element origins and communications {hardware}
• supporting certification pipelines for skilled pilots
• incentivizing trade progress via coaching and workforce applications
In the USA, the FCC’s latest actions affecting foreign-made drones and elements have accelerated discussions round safe, traceable provide chains and home manufacturing. India’s strategy equally emphasizes indigenization, however with parallel funding in workforce coaching to make sure operational capability grows alongside manufacturing.
Garuda Aerospace’s new drone battery manufacturing facility and coaching block characterize each side of that equation: component-level industrial functionality and human-capital growth.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, an expert drone companies market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone trade and the regulatory surroundings for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles targeted on the business drone house and is a global speaker and acknowledged determine within the trade. Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising for brand spanking new applied sciences.
For drone trade consulting or writing, E-mail Miriam.
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