The initiative will make India’s youth employable by training them in drone technologies and will strengthen the Make in India initiative
New Delhi, Date: The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Drone Destination today announced their collaboration to expand flying schools across the country. The initiative is aimed at fulfilling the vision of making India the drone hub for the world and NSDC’s focus is to promote skill development in the sector as it has huge potential to propel India’s economic growth if supported by a strong collaborative approach. Further, under the partnership, NSDC will also provide loans through its associated NBFCs for the aspiring pilots to undergo training with Drone Destination and receive high-quality skills, augmenting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Based on the announcements made during the Union Budget 2022, several initiatives have been put forth by the Indian government to make India a global drone hub. With transforming capabilities, drone technology will disrupt industries and businesses. In addition, the Drone Rules, 2021 has replaced complex approval processes required to fly drones and made the certification process easier.
On the collaboration, Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari, COO, NSDC, said, the rate of drone adoption in India has been phenomenal and it will continue to grow as the technology has immense usage potential being realised by users across the globe. There is already a huge requirement for skilled manpower in the sector, including trained pilots and this demand is only bound to increase. It is estimated that the country would need over three lakh drone pilots within the span of next five years and understanding this demand, NSDC is committed to partner with leading organizations such as Drone Destination to assist in building the necessary skill infrastructure for large scale employment opportunities.
Mr. Chirag Sharma, CEO of Drone Destination, said, drone training provides the highest return on investment for any certification program available in the country. Our partnership with NSDC will be doubly beneficial for the youth as there will soon be more drone hubs across the country and further, aspiring pilots can get loans for skill development in this new sunrise sector. Availability of loans will make the drone revolution a truly inclusive one by widening the base of aspirants who want to be a part of this change-making technology.
Drone destination’s Drone Hubs will not only provide training for Remote Pilot Certification but will also provide several types of much needed application-based training including, survey and mapping, assets inspection, surveillance and monitoring, cinematography and more.
Mr. Sharma further stated, our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s vision — ‘har haath mein smart phone, har khet mein drone, har ghar samradhi’ — will revolutionise Indian agriculture. We will move towards precision agriculture that will require lakhs of drone pilots operating in the fields of India to increase yield and meet the food requirement of not just the country but also the world. Increased farm income will enable youth to stop migrating from villages to towns in search of employment and instead allow them to use drone technology for harvesting not just crop, but also prosperity. This is the beginning of a new era for Drone Destination. Over next five years, the company will have a Drone Hub within 6 to 8 hours of every tehsil in the country to deliver quick, efficient and affordable drone services, including
training pilots, maintaining unmanned aerial vehicles and rent-a-drone-with-pilot.
The Prime Minister instilled confidence in the workforce related to agriculture sector by promising that India’s rising capability in the drone sector will give the world a new leadership, as early this year, he flagged off 100 ‘kisan drones’ in different parts of the country for spraying pesticides and other farm materials. By focusing on drone industry, manufacturing and service industries expected to get a huge boost. Likely to create 10,000 direct jobs and 5 lakh service jobs in next three years. Looking at the potential of drone industry to provide job opportunities in huge numbers in the coming future, ITIs are also introducing courses that will fulfil the demand of skilled workforce in this sector.
