Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launches NITI Aayog’s experience studio on drones

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, on Tuesday launched an experience studio on drones to create a collaborative ecosystem that will foster innovation and the adoption of drones for public services at NITI Aayog.

"We have the potential to make India a global drone hub by 2030. We are actively working towards making drone services easily accessible. India will soon witness a higher number of industries embracing drone innovation, which will eventually lead to a revolution that will touch the life of every citizen," the minister said. 

Scindia also launched two challenges, which will be held by NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the civil aviation ministry: 

1. Drones for Social Impact competition: For the startup community to showcase their capabilities to solve critical problem statements in various use cases. 
2. Robotics workshop and competition: For students of Atal Tinkering Labs to foster the spirit of innovation and problem-solving. 

The minister said the government will help continue the accelerated drone adoption by easing drone regulations and through drone literacy via programmes — Drone Shakti and Kisan Drones.

"I would like to praise NITI Aayog for hosting such an exciting month-long drone event, enabling knowledge-sharing and exchange of ideas, and fuelling innovation and growth in the drone ecosystem. Moreover, the cutting-edge experience studio at NITI Aayog is a symbol of technology excellence, which I am sure, will inspire curious minds to resolve real-world problems," he added.

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Suman Bery, Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog, said, "The NITI experience studio launched today shall help promote various applications of drone technology to public and private stakeholders, and help them fast-track adoption of drone technology within their organisations and aid in building a robust drone industry in India."

Adding, CEO Amitabh Kant said, "Through the experience studio, startups and enterprises can showcase their innovations and next-gen technology-enabled solutions. It will allow various government departments to experience these technologies first-hand, and think about how they can be contextually used on the ground in public services."

"Additionally, the experience studio will also act as an anchor for initiating proof-of-concept and pilots aimed at solving issues that persist in service deliveries. Smaller focused cohorts will be created through the experience studio, which will eventually help in mainstreaming these solutions once they are field-ready," he said. 

During the interactive session, key stakeholders from the industry made several recommendations for promoting the drone sector, including promoting manufacturing and Drones-as-a-Service, providing impetus to innovation, government as an adopter, and the next big steps for the sector.