Delhivery Gets MCA Approval To Incorporate Drone Subsidiary

Over a month after it announced its plans to foray into freight air transportation services sector, Delhivery has received the approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to incorporate its drone subsidiary.

In a regulatory filing, the logistics unicorn informed the bourses that the ministry approved the incorporation of the wholly-owned subsidiary ‘Delhivery Robotics India Private Limited’ on July 3.

In May, Delhivery said that the new entity will offer Drone as a Service (DaaS) for shipment movement and remote sensing. It would also be involved in manufacturing, production and selling of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) globally. 

For this, Delhivery said, the subsidiary will outsource the manufacturing and procurement of composite airframe components, quality testing, flight trials as well. 

It will have an authorised share capital of INR 5 Cr.

Delhivery first announced its plans to enter the drone segment during its earnings call in February 2023. Back then, Delhivery’s cofounder and CEO Sahil Barua said that the transition into aerial deliveries will be helmed by its portfolio company Transition Robotics, which had developed a fixed-wing drone that could carry about 4 kg payload for a distance of 40 km.

Delhivery slipped into the red in the March quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), reporting a consolidated net loss of INR 69 Cr as against a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 11.7 Cr in the preceding quarter.

Operating revenue fell 5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to INR 2,076 Cr from INR 2,194.5 Cr in Q3.

With the new entity, Delhivery is eyeing a piece of the country’s fledgling drone space. 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.