Garuda Aerospace Gets Type Certification & RPTO Approval From DGCA

Dronetech startup Garuda Aerospace has received type certification and RPTO approval from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its Kisan drones.

After receiving the type certification for the GA-AG drone model, Garuda shared that it is now eligible for INR 10 Lakh unsecured loan, at 5% interest rate, from the Centre’s agri infrastructure fund. Further, it can also avail Centre’s 50-100% subsidy.

Prior to this, Reliance-backed Asteria Aerospace and Adani-backed General Aeronautics also received type certification from DGCA for their drone manufacturers in October this year.

Set up in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Garuda is a drone-as-a-service (DaaS) startup that designs, manufactures, and personalises low-cost drone solutions for various use cases.

Garuda shared that its Kisan drones are priced at INR 4.50 Lakh and used for agricultural purposes including reducing crop loss, crop health monitoring, yield measurement, and crop loss mitigation, among others. 

“The elusive double certification by DGCA for Type and RPTO certification is a testament to our indigenous Made-in-India drone manufacturing capacities. With receiving approvals we are certain that the necessary utilization of skills with significant sector growth will be seen,” said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace.

Following the certification, ICAR, KVKs, FMTTI, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer welfare, and several other government agriculture bodies can now procure Garuda’s kisan drones. 

The startup aims to manufacture 5000 drones in the next five months and also train 1 Lakh drone pilots in the coming two years.

Garuda claims to have raised $30 Mn in Series A funding round at a post-money valuation of $250 Mn. Its cap table includes Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ocgrow Ventures, among others.

It also boasts of operating a drone fleet of 400 drones and managing a team of 500+ drone pilots across 26 cities. 

It counts Survey of India, National Highways Authority of India, NTPC Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Godrej, Vedanta and Indian Council Of Agricultural Research as its clientele. 

According to BIS Research, the global drone market is pegged at $28.47 Bn in FY22. Of this, India is likely to capture 4.25% share. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry anticipates the country’s drone sector to achieve a total turnover of around INR 15,000 Cr by 2026. 

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