Drone City In Kurnool To Attract Rs 5,000 Crore Investments: Ram Mohan
The proposed drone ecosystem is expected to generate around 5,000 direct and 25,000 indirect employment opportunities: Ram Mohan Naidu
KURNOOL: The Orvakal Drone City in this district would emerge as one of the country’s most-ambitious hubs for drone manufacturing, research, testing, training and technological development, with investments of up to ₹5,000 crore expected in the coming years.
This was stated on Tuesday by civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu.
The proposed drone ecosystem is expected to generate around 5,000 direct and 25,000 indirect employment opportunities once the city becomes fully operational, the minister said.
Naidu was speaking to the media after holding a special interaction with around 150 CEOs, CXOs, CFOs and representatives of drone companies at the Orvakal Drone City. The meeting focused on investment opportunities, infrastructure requirements and the development of a comprehensive drone manufacturing ecosystem.
The minister said 600 acres had been earmarked for the Drone City at Orvakal and that the Centre and the state government were working in coordination to develop the facility in phases. Of the 12 plots identified in the first phase, eight have already been allotted to drone companies. Land measuring around 55 acres has been allotted to various companies for setting up manufacturing units.
“Over the next two to three years, we aim to complete the allotment of all the plots and facilitate the commencement of drone manufacturing activities,” Naidu said.
He said the government’s objective was to develop drone companies as a cluster at a single location, enabling manufacturers, technology providers, testing agencies, training institutions and other stakeholders to operate within an integrated ecosystem.
“A special committee is being constituted to examine all these requirements and initiate necessary steps within three months,” Naidu said.
He said the Centre had introduced a ₹120-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to encourage domestic drone manufacturing and strengthen the industry.
The Orvakal Drone City has already attracted investments of around ₹130 crore from companies, the minister said, adding that the government expected investments to increase substantially as infrastructure and manufacturing facilities are developed.
Drone technology, he said, would play an increasingly important role across sectors. Apart from manufacturing drones, the government wanted to establish a complete ecosystem covering their applications, research, testing, training and technological development.
He said drone technology could also transform healthcare logistics by enabling the rapid transportation of blood samples, medicines and other essential medical supplies between locations.
The country, he said, could require more than six lakh drones across different sectors, while only over 40,000 drones were currently available.
“This gap represents a huge opportunity for the domestic drone manufacturing industry,” he said, emphasising the need to develop a strong indigenous manufacturing ecosystem.
He said the Orvakal facility could play an important role in meeting the growing demand and positioning Andhra Pradesh as a major centre for the drone industry. Efforts would be made to introduce direct flight connectivity between Kurnool and Bengaluru in the future.
Ram Mohan said the establishment of flying training organisations (FTOs) at Kurnool airport would create new opportunities for pilot training and strengthen the aviation ecosystem in the region.
Kurnool MP Bastipati Nagaraju, collector A Siri and representatives of several drone companies attended the programme.
