DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations sets sights on scaling up drone manufacturing; successfully concludes pilot stage

by Samiksha Chogule

Pune/Mumbai, April, 2023: DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations, a Pune-headquartered integrated drone ecosystem start-up listed on the BSE SME platform, today announced the successful conclusion of the pilot stage in drone manufacturing. The company plans to commence commercial production, assembly and export of Drones and associated products from June 2023 in its Pune unit, in partnership with GridBots Technologies, a Make in India company, working in the field of nuclear, space and industrial robotics and developing systems which are smart - efficient and robust. The company has also expanded to Thailand through its partnership with Asian Institute Technology (AIT) and is eyeing the Southeast Asian markets for upcoming opportunities. 

Prateek Srivastava, Founder & Managing Director, DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations, said, "Ever since our inception, we envisioned becoming an integrated player with presence in training, drone manufacturing and servicing. Today, we have unlocked the second growth phase by venturing into manufacturing. We expect to commence commercial production of small and micro-category drones during the quarter. We believe the company is in a unique position post our listing and will embark on an orbital shift capitalising on Make In India policies and the process of drone manufacturing in the country, following our successful partnership with GridBots." 

In FY2023, DroneAcharya also completed several drone surveying and data processing projects. It is set to become a Global Enterprise as it has already established offices in the USA, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It expects to foray into Qatar, Netherlands, Malaysia, and North Africa. 

Recently, it has entered an MoU with Savitribai Phule Pune University to provide Drone Training, establish a Drone Centre of Excellence and jointly conduct Research and Development activities. Popularly known as the 'Oxford of the East', SPPU has about 307 recognized research institutes and 612 affiliated colleges offering graduate and under-graduate courses. As a part of its strategy to expand on a Pan-India level, DroneAcharya has also announced its Franchise model for setting up DGCA-certified Drone pilot training organisations in partnership with individuals, organisations, or government agencies. This move will enable the company to cater to the continuous demand for certified and skilled drone pilots across India. The first batch is expected to commence by the end of April or the start of May. Apart from this, several innovative associations have been lined up for the coming months. 

The company has completed more than 300 DGCA drone pilot training programmes. Besides this, it has completed more than 600 other drone training-related courses and Counselled and Educated more than 5,000 students. Apart from training, it has executed projects for Drone-based crop health analysis for carbon financing, Drone based multi-sensor survey of an archaeological site at Vadnagar, Drone-based solar panel inspection and hotspot analysis and Drone-based mapping and 3D modelling for urban planning. 

Adds Prateek Srivastava, "On the back of strong performance, we hope to achieve better than expected financial performance for FY2023 – potentially translating into a year-on-year revenue growth of more than 400%. This is owing to the increasing demand for DGCA-certified drone pilot training and other associated courses like drone building, GIS for drones, Python for GIS, Aerial Cinematography, Drone Racing and customised Drone courses.” 

About the company : DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations was incorporated by Indian Drone Industry veteran Mr. Prateek Srivastava in 2017. Today, the company provides a complete ecosystem of drone solutions for multi-sensor drone surveys, data processing of Drone and robust high-configuration hardware for drone delivery, drone-in-a-box solutions for automated survey and surveillance, and drone pilot training, along with GIS data processing, Python coding, and industry-specific courses. Further, it is entering into manufacturing customised 100% indigenous drones and offers customised services. 

The company has also forged multiple credible partnerships with corporates and institutions – taking its drone ecosystem proposition to empower corporate objectives and social causes. The company partnered with Flipkart and carried out Drone Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the Medicine from the Sky initiative taken by the Government of Telangana in association with Apollo Hospital. It is also an authorized reseller of Blueye Robotics, a Norwegian company producing underwater drones that can capture live videos underwater and collect sediment samples from the river/ocean bed. It is an authorized reseller of SPH Engineering, a Latvian company specialising in producing industrial drone sensors and drone mission planning and data processing software. It has recently ventured into manufacturing by partnering with GridBots Technologies, a Make in India company working in the field of nuclear, space and industrial robotics and developing systems that are smart - efficient and robust. It has also partnered with TATA STRIVE to provide skill-based training to youth from underserved communities like the LGBTQIA community, Wives of Fallen Heroes and Retired Defence Personnel at a Pan-India level.