By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 05, 2024: UNION Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal during his address at the International Innovation Conclave organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI) in New Delhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is ready to promote the drone industry that has seen rapid growth in the last three years. Praising the development of technology and growth in the drone industry on the strength of innovation, Goyal asserted that development of the drone ecosystem and deploying them in villages across the nation aligns with the PM's 'NAMO Drone Didi' initiative that will help empower the women in the agriculture sector.

Goyal said that technological progress in the drone industry will help combat erratic weather patterns and assist farmers in getting higher quality and higher quantity yields. The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for drones and drone components is a kickstarter for the sector to progress and should not be considered as a permanent subsidy scheme from the government, said the MInister. "In the third term of the PM's administration we will work at triple the speed, ensure three times the result and and hope to become the third largest economy in the world", said the Union Minister.

He further stated that drones have the ability to contribute to the cooperative sector, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and to Farmers Producer Organisation (FPOs) as a shared facility with the help of agri-infra funds in delivering fertilisers and reducing wastage and expenses of the farmers. The Union Minister said that for financing and mentoring of the drone ecosystem, SIDBI can be roped in to promote the sector.

On the startup ecosystem, the Minister said that 18 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have already been offered in the first half of 2024 and 17 IPOs were offered in 2023. Goyal added that under the guidance of PM Modi, the country has seen windfall investments from foreign investors and there has been a massive push for infrastructure. He further stated that easing of regulations and compliance burden on startups along with enabling Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) have been the primary focus of PM Modi's government.

Goyal also stated that the infrastructure growth has a multiplier effect on the economy that leads to demand for goods and services and increases consumption in the country. He added that PM's infra push has enabled growth of industry and generation of employment that has put the nation on a virtuous cycle of growth.