Centre disbursed Rs 30 cr for drone manufacturing under PLI scheme in FY23

New Delhi, Apr 5 (KNN) With the aim to help the drone industry grow, the government has disbursed around Rs 30 crore during fiscal year 2022-23 under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, a government official confirmed to HT.

As per reports, the funds have been distributed among 12 drone manufacturers and 11 drone component manufacturers.

“This scheme is of great financial support to start-up and small-scale entrepreneurs growing at a faster pace. A few of the beneficiaries of the scheme include Throttle Aerospace system, IdeaForge, Absolute Composites Pvt. Ltd and Aereo,” an official from the aviation ministry said.

A government official said the PLI rate is 20 per cent of the value addition which is one of the highest among PLI schemes and unlike other sectors where the rate reduces every year, in drones it remains the same throughout the three years.

“The eligibility norm for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and start-ups is at nominal levels and the coverage of the scheme also includes developers of drone-related software,” the official said.

Drone Federation of India (DFI) president Smit Shah told HT that it’s good to see the industry members receive the PLI incentives. The incentive amount for FY 21-22 was indicatively allocated as Rs 16 crore when the scheme was announced.

“It is heartening to see the government’s decision of disbursing incentives higher than the indicative limit and fulfilling the claims of all eligible manufacturers,” he said.

The PLI scheme of the government aims to boost exports from India and reduce its dependency on imports.   (KNN Bureau)