Optiemus bullish on drone business, begins talks with state governments for services: Ashok Gupta
NEW DELHI:
Optiemus Infracom
's drone unit is banking on agriculture and defence verticals to kickstart its commercial business, and has commenced discussions with state governments and agencies, a senior executive said.
'We have done everything locally. Now, we are talking to states and FPOs (farmer producer organisations) to start our
drone-as-a-service
,'
Ashok Gupta
, executive chairman, Optiemus Group, told ETTelecom recently in an interview.
'There is a significant requirement for drones, such as in large agricultural states like Assam. The Central and state governments have started deliberating how to leverage technology like drones to make the life of farmers easier,' Gupta said.
The
drone industry
, however, is at a nascent stage in the country commercially due to the absence of large-scale government-driven deals, lack of talented manpower and drone pilots, and cumbersome approval processes, said an industry executive, asking not to be named.
The Centre, on its part, notified Drone Rules in August 2021 in a bid to enhance the ease-of-doing-business (EoDB), which included reducing the number of forms from 72 to 4, abolishing the needs for pilot certificates to operate drone of up to 2kg (non-commercial) and all drones weighing less than 250 grams, among others.
The government further notified the Drone (Amendment) Rules on February 11, 2022, to abolish the need for a drone pilot license, stating that a remote pilot certificate issued by the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA)-authorised drone school shall be adequate for operating drones.
Domestic contract electronics and telecom gear maker Optiemus Infracom had set up a drone subsidiary,
Optiemus Unmanned Systems
(OUS), in 2023 with an initial investment of ₹25 crore. The Ghaziabad-headquartered firm previously said it aims to invest around ₹140 crore in a drone-as-a-service model under its drone-making subsidiary, targeting a revenue of ₹600-900 crore by the end of calendar 2025.
Gupta said that successful proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstrations will be the first step towards achieving maturity in the country's nascent drone industry.
'So we are focusing on agriculture, defense, and all verticals,' he added. 'Our revenue (guidance) is still under pipeline.'
News agency PTI separately reported that Optiemus Infracom has achieved over 75% indigenisation of components in its devices, and has invested around ₹40 crore in its drone business.
OUS has launched the Marak VT100, Vajra QC55, Canister Launched Loitering Munition, and First Person View (FPV) drones with optical fiber cable-based navigation capability for defense, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications.
The company has also partnered with Taiwanese
Avix Technology
to jointly develop, manufacture, and assemble high-performance camera systems, gimbals, and related drone components in India to meet the specific needs of the Indian defense and related sectors.
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