Centre’s Primary Focus Is On Easing Regulations, Reducing Compliance Burden For Startups: Goyal

Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal has said that the government’s primary focus has been on easing regulations and reducing compliance burdens for the startup ecosystem.

At a PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry event, he said the country has seen windfall investments from foreign investors and a massive push for infrastructure. 

Goyal further said that 18 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) were launched in the first half of 2024, following 17 IPOs in 2023. He reiterated that easing regulations and reducing the compliance burden on startups, along with enhancing Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), have been the primary focus of the government.

Also, India has seen a surge in the drone market with the emergence of numerous drone startups, attracting significant investor interest. On the sector the minister said that the government is ready to promote the drone industry, which has seen rapid growth in the last three years. 

He added that the development of the drone ecosystem and deploying them in villages across the nation aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘NAMO Drone Didi’ initiative that will help empower women in the agriculture sector.

Goyal further highlighted that technological advancements in the drone industry will help combat erratic weather patterns and assist farmers in achieving higher quality and quantity yields. He added that drones can support the cooperative sector, self-help groups (SHGs), and farmer producer organisations (FPOs) by serving as shared facilities for delivering fertilisers and reducing wastage and expenses with the help of agri-infra funds.

“In the third term of the PM’s administration we will work at triple the speed, ensure three times the result and and hope to become the third largest economy in the world”, the minister said.

Since the liberalisation of drone policies by the Government of India, the UAV ecosystem has experienced a positive shift with several impactful announcements. 

These include the Cabinet’s approval of a INR 120 Cr PLI scheme, a ban on drone imports to boost domestic manufacturing, and the introduction of a certification scheme for safety and quality. Additionally, initiatives like digital airspace mapping, Drone Shakti, and Kisan drones have been welcomed as crucial advancements. 

With the Centre taking steps to bolster the drone ecosystem with new schemes such as Drone Didi, the participation of people across the ecosystem is expected to grow further.

India’s drone tech landscape is rapidly expanding, with over 200 drone tech startups launched and more than 13,000 registered drones nationwide, reflecting a significant market opportunity. As per an Inc42 report, the Indian drone market is expected to reach $13 Bn in size by 2030, clocking a CAGR of 21% between 2022 and 2030.

Amid this, many drone startups are eyeing a substantial share of this industry.

Just yesterday logistics unicorn Delhivery received approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to incorporate its drone subsidiary.

Last month, Blue Dart started drone deliveries in partnership with Skye Air, a homegrown drone maker. In the same month, drone maker IdeaForge expanded the pool size of its employee stock option plan (ESOP) by allocating 1,678 equity shares to its employees.