Aviation Ministry invites second round of applications from drone industry for PLI scheme

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday invited second round of applications for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme that was announced last year to boost drone manufacturing in India.

The first round of applications for this scheme were invited on March 10 and its results were announced on April 20, wherein Adani Group’s joint venture company with Israeli firm Elbit, IdeaForge Technology, and 12 other drone companies were selected as beneficiaries. The ministry had on September 16, 2021, announced the PLI scheme for drones and drone components with an allocation of Rs 120 crore spread over three financial years.

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Under the PLI scheme, the incentive for a manufacturer of drones and drone components will be 20 per cent of the “value addition” made by the company during the next three years. The value addition is calculated as the annual sales revenue from drones and drone components (net of GST) minus the purchase cost (net of GST) of drone and drone components. About the second round, the ministry on Thursday said that the application window is for those manufacturers of drones and drone components, who may have crossed the PLI eligibility threshold for the full financial year (April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022).

The deadline for submitting the applications in the second round is May 20, it mentioned. “The final list of PLI beneficiaries is expected to be released by June 30 after detailed scrutiny of their financial results and other specified documents,” it said. The PLI scheme came in September 2021 as a follow-through of the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021, released by the ministry on August 25, 2021.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had on September 16 last year that the Indian drone industry will have a total turnover of up to Rs 15,000 crore by 2026 as the government has given a major boost to the sector with the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.