Bengaluru: A bunch of homegrown drone startups were the centre of attraction on the first day of World Startup Expo in Bengaluru on Monday. The three-day event saw the participation of various drone startups that have been making significant inroads into multiple fields, such as military, agriculture, construction among others. “We have built an operating system that can handle multiple drones. It can help the government collect smart data by scanning hundreds of acres of agricultural land,” said Aman Singh, CEO of R2 Robotronics.
Explaining how these unmanned aerial vehicles can impact agriculture, the Bengaluru-based drone startup, EDALL Systems' design engineer, Prabhat Chand Nag, said, "The farmers can spray pesticides on the crops through our drones."
The company has partnered with the army, Defense Research and Development Organisation, Tatas and L&T to help them use its technology.
But these startups face a major roadblock in India because of strict regulations by the central government against flying drones.
“There are restrictions to fly drones in India. Lack of clarity in the guidelines has stopped us from exploring more opportunities around drones,” Mr Singh said.
The Gurugram-based entrepreneur said, “The government also labels our business as ‘illegal’ if we don’t take prior permission to operate our drones. So, many investors are not keen on funding our business. Also, there are many import restrictions that need to be reduced to help us grow."
Mr Nag, however, said that his company has been working with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to change the rules set up by the government.
