Drone’s Economic Impact Will Match Internet’s

Synopsis: The recently released new drone rules 2021 are centered around light-touch governance. The resultant progressive ecosystem will lead to opportunities in multiple sectors of the economy.

Background

Read here: Drone Rules 2021 – Explained

Where will drones work?

Once drones take off in full force, opportunities in the areas of manufacturing and drone services will be unlocked. Its potential as an economic force multiplier, however, will be unleashed on the back of a diverse value chain of industries that comes into play.

Hardware: In the manufacturing sector itself, there are hardware components which form the skeleton of a drone.

Software: Far more critical is the brain of the drone i.e. the software, which tells the drone where to go and what to do while flying from point A to B. Each of these components needs to be designed differently depending on the kind of drone application. For example, the algorithms for drones used in land mapping will be different from those of say, using drones for medicine delivery.

Post-flight analytics: Then comes a whole array of post-flight analytics of drone footage, for instance – advising farmers on yield improvement or developing digital property cards under the landmark SVAMITVA Scheme.

The economic benefits, therefore, can be unprecedented, given that by developing the drone industry, we also develop an entire ecosystem creating a positive impact on multiple sectors.

What are the positive spin-offs?

The emerging ecosystem would also trigger a multiplier effect in employment, as new job opportunities shall arise across the value chain, including but not limited to drone manufacturing, sales, insurance, pilots, counter-drone systems, drone repairs and so on.

It is worth noting that the impact will be widespread, employing people with varying levels of education. Even a 12th grader with a remote pilot licence could earn up to Rs 30,000 per month or more depending on her skill-set!

Source: This post is based on the article “Drone’s Economic Impact Will Match Internet’s” published in Times of India on 7th Sep 2021.