Breaking hurdles, Building at home
The drone ecosystem is seeing rapid growth in India and yet faces pressing challenges like reliance on imported components, especially from China. While India can assemble battery packs, the core cells are imported from countries like Brazil and China. To bridge this gap, KICL Drones is working toward full indigenisation. KICL’S vision is to manufacture drones that are 100 per cent made in India, not just the assembly, but up to component-level manufacturing,” points out Rafiq Ahmed.
Despite government’s effort to simplify the ecosystem, implementation and utilisation are major bottlenecks. Most drone start-ups do not survive because of these setbacks. Added to this is their expectation for quick results. Also, the demand is not consistent. For example, even the high-potential use case, such as medical drone services, suffers because of the operational costs and limited adoption. Also, navigating the systems, complying with the airspace rules like including no-fly and restricted zones, takes time. “To overcome these hurdles and for India to lead, we need a shift towards long – term thinking and innovation with sufficient gestation period,” highlights Rafiq Ahmed.
Power-Packed Services
One of the initial milestones of the KICL is the setting up of India’s first drone police station with the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) in Besant Nagar for aerial surveillance and quick detection of criminal activities. Around 13 drones operate from a two-storey building with over 20 trained police personnel. Adding on to that, KICL leverages advanced drone technology for mapping, surveying and environmental monitoring in geo-spatial services. The company also works with government bodies and large corporations on projects ranging from mining assessments to national highway mapping.
Over the fields
“The most impactful transformation may unfold in agriculture,” points out Rafiq Ahmed. With the legacy of 78 years in the fertiliser sector and almost 10 million farmers associated with the Kothari from the southern part of India, the company now focuses on integrating drones to spray liquid fertilisers. “In just 15 minutes, a drone can spray one acre, and it costs Rs 700 to spray per acre,” points out Rafiq Ahmed. The company has already covered thousands of acres across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and is working to explore opportunities like Namo Drone Didi.
The company is in the initial stages of discussion with a French company that supplies drones to the French defence, with the intention of bringing them to India. It also plans to train more drone pilots through the Kothari Drone Pilot Training school, which is located in Madurai.