(MENAFN- Asia Times) Recent India-Pakistan clashes showed that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are now central to modern warfare in South Asia.

The Indian government has responded with emergency drone procurements, changes in defense policies and increased incentives to boost domestic production of UAVs. On July 4, the government unveiled a US$234 million incentive for domestic drone manufacturing.

India's UAV journey dates back to 1993 with the Defense Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) Kapothaka project .

It entered the civilian sector only in 2021 when the government removed several licensing requirements and launched the Digital Sky Platform, an online portal developed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to manage and regulate civil drone operations.

Since then, India's drone industry has made significant progress, with numerous startups focusing on developing fully indigenous drones. Funding for drones has soared from $3-4 million in 2015-16 to $108 million in 2024.

India now aims to have at least 40% of key drone components manufactured domestically by the end of fiscal year 2028, according to a Reuters report quoting government sources.

The question today is thus no longer whether India can build drones. Rather, the question is: Can India build an ecosystem resilient enough to make drones fast, cheap, secure and entirely indigenously?

Today, more than 50 Indian drone companies are engaged specifically in manufacturing batteries, propellers, flight controllers and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) parts used in drones. Overall, around 500 Indian startups are currently involved in the drone industry.

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