India - Paras Aerospace gets DCGA nod to sell agricultural drones

Paras Aerospace Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of aerospace and defence company Paras Defence and Space Technologies, has received approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to sell of agricultural drones.

The company’s Director for Business Development, Amit Mahajan told CNBC-TV18 that the certification is for order of 400 drones, and the demand is expected to be robust going ahead.

In an interaction with CNBC Awaaz, the company said that the approval will enable it to honour existing contracts for ″Paras-Agricopter V2.1″. According to the company, the approval has unlocked new prospects in the agri-drone Industry; Paras Aerospace believes that this is one of the biggest milestones in the agri-drone sector.

Paras Defence holds a 60% stake in Paras Aerospace.

In an interaction with CNBC-TV18 last year, Mahajan, said the drone market in India was about to explode with opportunities.

A Market Research Future Report says that the global drone market, currently valued at over $45 billion, is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13% by 2030. And India has big plans to be a part of this growth — the country wants to house a $1.8 billion drone industry by 2026.

Paras Aerospace has the widest range of drone aircraft and Paras Defence is among the few companies that has received certifications for agriculture and industrial drones, the company said.

In April, Paras Defence said in an exchange filing that Paras Aerospace received a Type Certificate from DGCA for its Agri Drone — ″Paras-Agricopter″.