A reflective journey on why flying drones isn’t the real challenge, building them is!
The Sky Called, and I Answered
Some people remember the moment they decided their life’s calling. For me, it was always the sky.
As a kid, I remember gazing upwards, dreaming of speed, flight, and the horizon that seemed unreachable. That fascination never left me. But back then, in a world where becoming a fighter pilot was the only narrative around aviation, I didn’t know that my journey would eventually take me to something far more transformative: building India’s drone ecosystem from the ground up.
Twelve years ago, I ventured into drone technology when it was still considered a niche, almost exotic field. I was working on something tangible – making drones, understanding them, pushing their boundaries. Those early days weren’t glamorous. They were experimental, chaotic, and absolutely essential. I didn’t know then that I was laying the groundwork for the career that would define my purpose.
The Pre-Dronacharya Years: Learning the Industry, Spotting the Gaps
After those formative years exploring drone technology, my career took me through several pivotal roles that would shape how I see the industry today.
Most recently, I served as Head of Marketing & Operations at DroneVerse Aviation, where I got my first real exposure to how the Indian drone industry actually operates. I wore multiple hats – developing marketing strategies, streamlining operations, and most importantly, listening to what the market really needed.
But here’s where my real education began: I started training people.
Over the years, I transitioned into the education and training space, setting up RPTOs (Registered Training Organizations) across India and training some of India’s brightest minds – IAS, PCS, and IFS officers, military personnel, and countless enthusiasts. I conducted drone workshops, participated in industry expos, worked closely with DGCA, Ministry of Defence, the Army, Navy, and Air Force. I was building drones, consulting drone firms, and everywhere I went, I was asking the same question: What’s really broken here?
The answers were consistent. Uncomfortable. True.
The 85% Problem: Why India Isn’t Building Drones
Let me be direct: India has an awareness problem masquerading as a capacity problem.
When I look at the Indian drone industry, I see a massive imbalance. The industry is obsessed with the 15% of the challenge, flying drones. The remaining 85% building drones, is largely overlooked.
Think about it. Everyone wants to fly a drone. It’s cool. It’s tangible. It’s visible. But building a drone? Understanding the entire product lifecycle? Mastering R&D? Creating indigenous innovations instead of just rebranding imports? That’s hard. That’s unsexy. And unfortunately, that’s where real value lives.
This creates a ripple effect of problems:
- The Import Dependency Crisis
Most Indian drone companies are operating on a simple model: source components from abroad, slap a domestic brand on it, and sell. This doesn’t create innovation. It doesn’t build intellectual property. It doesn’t serve the country’s long-term interests. India’s drone industry still depends heavily on imported components like motors, batteries, electronics, sensors which inflates costs and makes us vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions. - A Lack of Knowledge Accessibility
There’s no centralised platform where students, engineers, or entrepreneurs can learn to build a drone from first principles. Want to understand flight control systems? Motor selection? Frame design? Battery management? Good luck finding quality, affordable resources. This knowledge gap is suffocating the grassroots innovation pipeline. - The Speed-Over-Quality Mentality
The industry is chasing quick profits. Everyone wants to make money fast. But nobody wants to do it the right way. R&D takes time. It requires investment. It requires patience. So most companies skip it, which means India remains a consumer of foreign technology rather than a creator of indigenous solutions. - Regulatory Confusion & Skill Shortages
While the government has made progress with the DGCA Drone Rules 2021 and the PLI scheme (Production-Linked Incentive), implementation remains inconsistent. Simultaneously, there’s a severe shortage of skilled professionals who truly understand drone technology at the component level. You can’t build an ecosystem without people who know how to build. - Limited Accessibility to DIY Tools & R&D Infrastructure
If you’re a student or a startup with an idea, where do you go to build a DIY drone kit? What R&D infrastructure is available at an affordable price? How do you learn without having a ₹50 lakh drone lab? These barriers keep innovation locked in corporate boardrooms and away from the people who might revolutionize the industry.
The result? India has been building drones for years, but we’re not really building drones. We’re assembling them.
The Moment Everything Clicked: Discovering Dronacharya Tech Hub
When I joined Dronacharya Tech Hub as Head of Sales and Marketing in October 2024, something felt different.
DTH isn’t just another drone company. It’s an Indo-Israeli partnership with a radically different philosophy. While the rest of the industry was asking, “How do we sell more drones?” DTH was asking, “How do we teach people to build drones?”
That question resonated with everything I’d learned over 12 years in this space.
Dronacharya Tech Hub provides technical educational institutions with holistic Drone Project-Based-Learning solutions, including cutting-edge hardware and support. But it’s more than that. We’re attempting something audacious: we’re trying to reshape how India thinks about drone technology by starting at the foundation – education.
Our model is simple but powerful:
Build drones at colleges. Train students on the full product lifecycle. Give them real R&D experience. Help them get jobs in top companies. Create a generation of drone engineers, not just drone pilots.
We’re not just selling products. We’re building human capital. We’re creating an ecosystem.
The Products: Vikas Drone & Drone on Table
Since joining DTH, I’ve had the privilege of bringing two transformative products to market:
1. Vikas R&D Drone
An open-source, affordable R&D drone kit designed specifically for students, makers, and researchers. Vikas isn’t a finished product—it’s a learning platform. Every screw, every circuit, every design decision is an opportunity for students to understand how drones actually work. It’s a DIY drone kit for serious learners, not casual hobbyists.
2. Drone on Table (DOT)
A software-based simulation platform that allows students to learn drone flight dynamics and control systems before ever touching physical hardware. It’s democratizing access to R&D-grade simulation tools.
These aren’t revolutionary products in isolation. What makes them revolutionary is the context: they’re part of a comprehensive drone workshop ecosystem that teaches students to think like drone engineers.
The Impact: From Zero to Transformation
Since joining DTH, here’s what we’ve accomplished:
- ₹1.8 Crore in business generated
- 7+ Centers of Excellence (COEs) set up across India
- 10,000+ students and faculty members trained
- R&D companies actively testing our Vikas platform
- Colleges adopting our methodology at scale
But numbers don’t tell the full story. The real impact is in the students who walked into our workshops thinking drones were just flying toys and walked out understanding aerodynamics, control systems, and product design. It’s in the faculty members who suddenly had the tools and training to build hands-on drone curricula. It’s in the partnerships we’re forging with top global companies to place our students in roles where they can immediately contribute.
The Vision: 85% of the Solution
Here’s what I believe India needs, and what I’m committed to building at Dronacharya:
- Democratize Access to Drone Education
Not every college can afford a ₹50 lakh drone lab. But every college should have the ability to teach students how to build a drone. Through affordable DIY kits, online resources, and structured R&D programs, we need to break down the barrier between elite institutions and the rest. - Shift the Industry Narrative
The drone industry talks about flying. I want to change the conversation to building, innovating, and engineering. Every press release should celebrate a student who designed a better motor controller, not just another autonomous flight. Every startup should be measured by their R&D depth, not their quick revenue wins. - Create an Indigenous Innovation Pipeline
India will never be a global drone leader by importing and rebranding. We need to invest in component-level R&D. We need drone workshops where engineers learn to design motors, batteries, flight controllers, and airframes. We need a culture where “designed in India” means something real. - Bridge the Skill Gap
The PLI scheme is wonderful. Government policy is supportive. But none of it matters if we don’t have enough engineers who actually know how to design and build indigenous drones. Education is the missing link. - Position India as a Thought Leader in Drone R&D
This is ambitious, but necessary. India should be known globally for building advanced drone technology, not just assembling them. That requires patience, investment, and a coordinated effort across startups, academia, and government.
A Moment of Gratitude
I can’t complete this reflection without acknowledging the people who made this possible.
To my colleagues at Dronacharya Tech Hub – especially Vishnu and Liane, with whom I’ve structured this organization from scratch, thank you for believing in this vision. To Nir Gendler, our guiding force from the Israeli side: your relentless push for quality, your insistence on doing things the right way, and your bridge between Indian and Israeli excellence has shaped everything we’re building. You’ve been a pain (in the best way) and a pillar. Thank you for correcting me, strengthening us, and making us aware of what true excellence looks like.
To the DGCA, Ministry of Defence, and the armed forces: your partnership and trust have been instrumental.
To every student who’s walked through our drone workshops, every faculty member who’s adopted our curriculum, and every R&D company testing our Vikas drone – you are the real architects of this ecosystem. This isn’t about Dronacharya. It’s about all of us building India’s drone future together.
The Road Ahead
India is on the cusp of becoming a global drone hub. The government is supportive. The market is growing. The opportunity is real. But we’re at an inflection point, and the decisions we make now will determine whether India becomes a drone manufacturer or remains a drone consumer.
I believe we can do this. But it requires a fundamental shift in how we think about the industry:
- Think systems, not products. Build drones, don’t just fly them.
- Invest in R&D, not just marketing. Create innovation, don’t just rebrand imports.
- Educate at scale, not in silos. Train engineers, don’t just certify pilots.
- Play the long game. Build a sustainable ecosystem, not quick profits.
At Dronacharya Tech Hub, this is our mission. This is why I’m here. This is why I believe that 12 years into this journey, the most exciting chapter is just beginning.
The sky is calling again. But this time, we’re not just flying toward it, we’re building the wings that will carry India there.
