The drone conversation has changed in recent years. Formerly heralded by all for their innovativeness, and the potential disruption they brought to various industries—the drone narrative is changing. This article explores the reasons ‘Why we stopped talking about drones’ and the implications for the industry.
Along with this, the tightening of regulations is one reason the discussion about drones has come down. India banned the import of drones to spur domestic manufacturing and cut off markets for foreign drone-makers like China's SZ DJI Technology.
The move, in effect, came as a part of the great measure to enhance domestic production and further establish a self-sufficient drone-making industry. DGFT has banned the import of drones in the form of CBU, SKD, or CKD with exceptions for government entities, educational institutions, R&D purposes, and for defense and security.
DGFT, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, issued a notification on Wednesday which stated that "Import of drones in Completely-Built-Up, Semi-knocked-down or Completely-Knocked-down form is prohibited" subject to authorization from DGFT and MoR with exceptions to government entities, educational institutions recognized by the central or state government, government-recognized R&D entities, and drone manufacturers for research and development purposes.
The exception has also been given to import "for the defence, security and research and development" In this case too, those looking to import under the exemptions will be required to obtain clearances.
According to the government, this is aimed at providing a boost to the domestic production of drones—a sector that is set for rapid growth over this decade. On estimates, the domestic market of drones is likely to account for about 4.25 percent of the global drone market, which stood at about US$28.5 bn in FY22.
The ban on importing drones is not the only measure that the government is taking to boost the domestic manufacturing sector. In addition, the government announced a Rs 120 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme along with rules that liberalize drone operations.
One of the objectives of the PLI scheme for drones is to produce an investment of over ₹5,000 crore from this sector and increase the total turnover of the domestic industry from an estimated ₹60 crore in FY21 to ₹900 crore in FY24. Further, the government is banking on job creation, as opportunity creation is an anticipated add-on in the drone manufacturing sector, with over 10,000 direct jobs in FY24, with a pickup in this sector.
The rules that were announced last August, called Drone Rules, 2021, ensure great relief in compliance and fees to operate drones. Barely a few months following the new rules, the Ministry of Civil Aviation released an airspace map of India for drone operations. This will mark out areas where drones can be operated with or without obtaining prior permission from authorities.
Another reason behind the decline in interest in drones has been safety concerns. There have been various cases of drone disruptions at airports, which raised several questions regarding the efficacy of existing control measures. Drones are so small that they cannot even be detected via traditional radar, and therefore may turn out to be very difficult to manage and keep away from sensitive areas such as airports in order to avert disruptions.
The case of drones has also reached the saturation point. There are a lot of players, and with so many products available, much of the novelty has worn off. Increasingly, consumers and industry players have focused on specific applications and improvements rather than on the drones themselves.
As technology pushes forward, drones become a part of larger systems, not earlier stand-alone focal points of interest. Interest shifted towards how drones could become part of even larger technology solutions, anything from delivery systems to surveillance networks that collect data tools. This also involves media attention cycles: All media is cyclical in attention, and drones simply have their time in the spotlight. As other technologies and events around the world happen, they naturally shift to some other newer story and leave the drones as part of the tech landscape, not a headline.
Discussion of why we stopped talking about drones has moved from a device-centric one to applications, and finally to the regulatory environment that allows for their use. While drones are of course an important technology, this maturing of the discourse mirrors a market moving toward specialization and into the channels of integration within wider tech ecosystems.