A future of Drones in India

July 9, 2016 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

Usage of drones or an UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is increasing day after day. They are being used for many reasons across the world. In the western world, UAVs are already being used for policing, oil pipeline inspection and detecting illegal immigrants.

At present, UAVs are mainly being used by the armed forces (eg, Heron, Lakashya, Nishant) in India. The have proven to be quite useful in gathering intelligence and surveillance.

However, the scope of UAVs seems to be changing. The usage of drones for civilian purposes is increasing.

The expansion in UAVs is quite evident by looking at Teal Group Corporation, a US aerospace consultancy. They predict that UAVs will be the most dynamic growth sector of the aerospace industry.

Experts expect that the spending on UAVs to increase from $5.2 billion annually to $11.6 billion totaling over $89 billion in the next decade.

According to Philip Finnegan, director of corporate analysis, Teal Group, there has been increase in the market in India.

UAVs were also recently used for security to purposes as Narendra Modi flagged off the Jagannath rath yatra.

In order to prevent poachers from hunting the one-horned rhinos, drones were deployed at Kaziranga National Park.

In the past, only government agencies like DRDO, National Aeronautical Laboratory and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) made UAVs, but now, they are being made even by private companies.

So what does this mean for India? There are many possibilities that could open with the use of UAVs. Home deliveries like food and other products become much more automated. Even the courier industry could be using this in the future.

The next step for India would be in UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) or drones. However, UAVs can still be used for aerial news broadcasting, crop monitoring, aerial shots in films and many other purposes.

Image credit: Photo by Harrison Kugler on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)