Drone Destination Inks Deal With NSIC To Set Up Drone Training Centre

Drone company Drone Destination has partnered with National Small Industries Corporation to set up a drone training centre as a part of its effort to fuel the ecosystem.

The centre will be built at the National Science and Technology Council in Delhi.

As part of the MoU, Drone Destination seeks to further boost training on drone technology, skill development and employment generation.

This partnership will primarily focus on the digital agriculture sector for survey, mapping and also monitoring and mitigating disaster management, Drone Destination said in a statement.

Founded by Chirag Sharma in 2019, Drone Destination claims to be India’s largest drone pilot training and leading drone-as-a-service company. The training programmes equip aspiring pilots with safety and efficiency skills. 

“This partnership with NSIC marks a significant milestone in our mission to democratize drone technology in India. By providing specialised training and skill development programs, we aim to empower individuals and organizations with the knowledge and expertise needed to harness the full potential of drones,” said Sharma.

The training programmes at the centre will be introduced at all NSIC’s technical skill centres, ensuring widespread access to cutting-edge drone technology education, the statement added.

Drone Destination competes against the likes of DroneAcharya, Airwaves and Indrones among others.

At the heart of India’s broader drone ecosystem, a lot of funding and consolidation activities have been witnessed.

For instance,Drone manufacturer IdeaForge bought an undisclosed stake in Bengaluru-based spacetech startup GalaxEye Space for INR 8.28 Cr.

In May, Tamil Nadu-based drone startup Yali Aerospace bagged an undisclosed amount of investment from SaaS giant Zoho to accelerate the development and deployment of its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones.

In the same month Gurugram-based agritech startup BharatRohan raised  $2.3 Mn (INR 19.2 Cr) from Villgro Innovation Foundation, Caspian, RevX, and Venture Garage as part of what the company said was a pre-IPO round. 

This comes at a time when Google’s parent company Alphabet  is set to commence drone manufacturing through its subsidiary Wing LLC in Tamil Nadu.

As per Inc42’s report 2023, the Indian drone market is expected to reach $13 Bn in size by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 21% between 2022 and 2030.