Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed today in her Budget 2022 speech that Drone Shakti, a new programme that would commercialise the usage of drones in various industries, will be promoted with the help of entrepreneurs. She emphasised that the project will also aid in the development of drones-as-a-service. The essential courses to upskill individuals on the usage of drone technology would be initiated, according to Sitharaman.
"Artificial Intelligence, Geospatial Systems and Drones, Semiconductor and its Ecosystem, Space Economy, Genomics and Pharmaceuticals, Green Energy, and Clean Mobility Systems all have enormous potential to help the country achieve sustainable development and modernization." They create job possibilities for young people and improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Indian industry, according to the finance minister, who presented the Union Budget 2022-2023 to Parliament.
Sitharaman, speaking on agricultural growth, stated that the employment of 'kisan drones' for crop assessment, digitisation of land records, and insecticide and nutrient spraying will be encouraged.
In August of last year, the government issued a more flexible set of laws for the use of drones. A security clearance is not necessary before any registration or licence issuing for the operation of drones, according to the Drone Rules 2021. The fees for licences to use drones were also cut as a result of the new laws.
Under the revised Drone Rules, the maximum penalty for unlicensed drone use has been cut to Rs. 1 lakh. This does not, however, apply to fines for violations of other laws.