Union minister of state for civil aviation, Gen (retd) VK Singh, on Tuesday launched India’s first centre for excellence in research on drone and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and along with a Skill development centre for drone operation and maintenance at theIIT Guwahati.
Another nodal centre for the overall administrative drone data management for the northeastern region and AXOMDroneport, a designated place to station drones, which will be used to support cargo drones delivering urgent, medical and emergency supplies and precious supplies to remote areas of the northeast, was also inaugurated by the minister.
Having understood the remarkable potential of drones to transform every sector of the economy, the government introduced the New Drone Rules in August 2021 and followed it up with a Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) Scheme for manufacturers. Our focus is to develop India’s capabilities as an important and integral value multiplier to the global drone ecosystem,” said Singh.
Highlighting FICCI’s initiatives to further augment the development of drone technology in the country, Dipankar Barua, chairman of FICCI Assam State Council said northeast needs drone technology, especially in areas like border security, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, Health, tourism, mining and Infrastructure.
The IIT Guwahati Centre for Excellence for Drones/UAV and Artificial Intelligence addresses a broad spectrum of technical and social concerns related to the technology.