Your journey so far?
Dhaksha has built a diversified portfolio across agricultural, defence and surveillance drones, along with strong regulatory credentials, including multiple type certifications from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). A key inflection point was the strategic investment by Coromandel International and this partnership has enabled to accelerate product development, expand manufacturing and strengthen market access, especially in agriculture.
Alongside these developments, Dhaksha has also achieved several key commercial milestones. In August 2023, the company secured an order to supply logistics drones and accessories to the Indian Army, marking entry into strategic defence applications. Shortly thereafter, in November 2023, Dhaksha commenced supply of agricultural drones to IFFCO, supporting large-scale crop spraying programmes across India. To date, we have sold more than 1000 drones nationwide.
What drives Dhaksha’s growth?
Dhaksha is focused on scaling across agriculture, defence and enterprise applications, supported by a strong product development roadmap targeting diverse payloads and emerging use cases. The company is also prioritising supply chain localisation through deeper participation in the component ecosystem, including partnerships for key subsystems such as batteries and propulsion. In agriculture, Dhaksha is empanelled across multiple states under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM), enabling wider deployment of drones for precision farming. The company is among the leading organisations licensed as a Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) under DGCA, with multiple training centres operational across the country. Over the past few years, Dhaksha has trained more than 3000 drone pilots.
What are key factors driving India’s drone ecosystem?
Indian drone market is currently estimated at USD 1.6 billion and expected to grow more than 20 per cent CAGR over next five years. The ecosystem has grown rapidly, driven by strong policy support including Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones, the import ban on foreign drones in 2022, GST reduction in September 2025 and demand creation through schemes like Namo Drone Didi. Together, these have strengthened domestic manufacturing and improved affordability.
What are key sectors powering drone adoption?
The agri-drone sector is gaining momentum, driven by fragmented landholdings, labour shortages and the need for efficient input use. Drones enable up to 90 per cent water savings and boost efficiency, especially in paddy cultivation. At Coromandel, drone spraying has covered 3 lakh acres this year and is expected to scale rapidly to 1 million acres. Looking ahead, the sector is expected to evolve beyond spraying into AI-led precision agriculture, enabling data-driven advisory on nutrient application and moisture management.
Defence is another major driver, with increasing focus on unmanned systems under ‘Defence Forces Vision 2047.’ The military drone market is projected to grow at 12 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) during next eight years, with procurement volumes expected to double from around 8381 units in 2025 to over 16,000 units by 2030, reflecting strong demand across ISR and combat applications.
Beyond agriculture and defence, drones are increasingly finding applications across industrial sectors where automation and data-driven operations are becoming critical. Industries such as energy, mining, infrastructure and logistics are adopting drones for use cases including asset inspection, pipeline monitoring, mapping, surveying and site management.
In terms of defence, what are the key challenges you foresee?
In defence, key challenges stem from both ecosystem maturity and evolving procurement frameworks as per the draft Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2026. While indigenisation is a clear priority, the domestic supply chain for critical components such as advanced sensors, communication systems and specialised electronics, continues to evolve, necessitating some reliance on global sources.
From an operational standpoint, defence drones are expected to meet stringent requirements on performance, reliability, security and scalability, including high autonomy, secure/encrypted communication, anti-jamming capabilities and endurance across diverse environments. As the ecosystem matures, aligning these expectations with current manufacturing capabilities remains an ongoing challenge. Overall, addressing supply chain readiness and strengthening industry–user collaboration will be key.
What are some key manufacturing and regulatory challenges?
India’s drone sector has scaled rapidly, but several regulatory and ecosystem challenges need to be addressed for sustained growth, primarily around certification, supply chain flexibility, component indigenisation and quality standards.
A key concern is the efficiency of certification process. Type certification that ensures safety, reliability and regulatory compliance, can be time-intensive, especially for minor design changes. Fast-track approvals, simplified amendment procedures and a broader network of certified testing agencies can reduce turnaround times and support incremental innovation.
Another operational challenge is flexibility in component sourcing. Drone makers often need alternate suppliers due to disruptions or costs. Currently, even identical-spec replacements require Type certificate amendments. Introducing standardised equivalence norms that allows approval of components meeting the same specifications without full recertification would reduce delays and strengthen supply chain.
From an ecosystem perspective, there is a need to standardise quality frameworks across the value chain, akin to aerospace standards such as AS9100D. The domestic drone component ecosystem remains underdeveloped, particularly for motors, electronic speed controllers and communication modules, resulting in continued import dependence. Addressing this gap is the need of the hour. The proposed Mission Drone Shakti, with an outlay of around Rs 1800 crore over five years, is expected to accelerate R&D and promote indigenous component manufacturing. Finally, as the sector scales further, continued policy stability and export facilitation will be important to ensure that drone manufacturers can expand both domestically and globally.