Competition among Drone manufacturing companies has increased

 

MUMBAI: To promote drones in the agriculture sector, the government has introduced various schemes like the 'Kisan Drone Yojana', in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted drones for spraying pesticides on farms. PLI scheme is the biggest booster for the drone sector. The government initially announced the scheme in 2021 and then again in 2022. The plan aims to make the country the center of drone production in the world in line with the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan'. Against this background, many companies are manufacturing drones using modern technology and a lot of competition has been created.

Many companies are creating their dominance in this regard and recently in a hearing order in a petition filed by Vishnu Surya Project and Infra in the Nagpur Bench of the High Court, the court objected to the terms of the drone tender, noting that the delimitation of the zone was wrong in law and would not be rejected on the ground that the petitioner did not belong to Maharashtra. It has been said. The tender was for the procurement of high-tech products like drones and the petitioner sought to impose a sector restriction condition. Complaints of several companies regarding tender cartelization by IOTech World Aviation in the drone manufacturing sector had come to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Officer of Agriculture Department of ICAR and GEM and Mr. PK Singh, CEO of GEM Portal, were personally investigating and assured to take appropriate action. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and and related ministry have complained By the SAAG enterprise that IOTech world Aviation along with its benami companies are using drones for tender cartelization and bid rigging to cheat government procurement bodies and ICAR bodies and supply substandard drones at double or triple the industry cost for the same drones. Others concerned were made to various Ministries of the Central Government.

A private investigation conducted by industry experts found conclusive evidence of fraud by IOTech World Aviation in connivance with the Drone Federation of India and the evidence was provided by SAAG Enterprises to the concerned ministry. The complaint alleged that ICAR, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare had violated the guidelines by selling non-competent drones and misleading them. Another drone tender petition was filed in the Nagpur bench of the USC court. The petition was filed regarding the drone tender and alleged tender cortelisation. Considering all these factors, major companies in the field of drone production are investing heavily and there are signs that there will be a lot of commercial competition.