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This is What is Trending in the Indian Drone Start-up Space

Anju Nambiar — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 06:19:40 +0000

The Ministry of Civil Aviation in May 2021 approved experimental drone flight operations Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) for 20 start-ups and SMEs in the aerospace sector. The most notable entities in the list include BlueDart, Swiggy, Dunzo, and SpiceJet.

A conditional exemption was granted to them by MoCA from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 for conducting BVLOS experimental trials.

Dunzo’s ‘Medicine from the Sky Project’

Drone delivery of medicines is trending in the Indian Drone start-up space. This will be a big step towards emergency medical deliveries including Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic. Case in point is Dunzo’s pilot programme called ‘Medicine from the Sky Project’. ‘Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium’ is also a part of this project.

Dunzo, a Bengaluru-based Hyperlocal delivery start-up will lead a mid-air consortium alongside industry experts to conduct experimental BVLOS (Below Visual Line of Sight) drone delivery flights for the healthcare supply chain. This programme is occurring in conjunction with the Government of Telangana, the World Economic Forum (WEF), Government Think-Tank Niti Ayog, and Health Net Global together with Dunzo Digital.

Garuda Aerospace delivering Food and Medicines.

Garuda Aerospace is a Chennai based ‘Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) start-up which designs, builds, and customises drones for multi-use applications. They are using their drones to deliver food and medicines. There were trials for drone-based delivery of medicines, vegetables, food, and for spraying disinfectants. The trials were successfully concluded with 3 of Garuda Aerospace’s ‘White Knight Drones’.

This project occurred in conjunction with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for the delivery of items to quarantined houses of Covid-19 patients within ISRO’s residential employee housing colony.

UAV drones for Army Surveillance

IdeaForge is a Mumbai-based, IIT Alumni drone start-up which will supply fixed-wing UAV drones (high altitude variants of the SWITCH Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)) to the Indian Army. This has rekindled the trend of UAV drone start-ups in India since 2019. The order by the Indian Army to IdeaForge is valued at Rs. 145 Cr. The fixed wing UAVs can perform vertical take-off and landing, and are designed to weather high altitudes and harsh environments.

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A conditional exemption was granted to SMEs by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) from the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021 for conducting BVLOS experimental drone trials.

What’s in it for me?

The Government promoting the growth of the Indian Drone Industry ever since the Ministry of Civil Aviation gave the go-ahead for ‘No-Permission-No-Take-off (NPNT) compliant drone operations up to 400 feet above ground level (AGL) in designated green zones without the need for Air Traffic Control (ATC) permission.

The government efforts are aimed at streamlining the fledgling drone industry in India. Drone start-ups need only register on the Digital Sky Online portal to fly remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles.

Most of the drone aerospace start-ups are working to fight the Covid-19 health crisis through delivery of medicines and vaccines to hospitals. There is immense scope of winning defence projects for drone start-ups as well as other governmental projects. There is also demand for surveillance drones from city police departments, for sanitisation drives, and mainly for delivery of essential items.

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Aerospace Manufacturing, the New Interest of Indian Start-Ups

Anju Nambiar — Thu, 27 May 2021 07:35:07 +0000

Although Aerospace start-ups started small in India, they are catching on with other industries rapidly and now seem to be skyrocketing. New start-ups are quickly making their entry and are even managing to raise funds and design rockets.

Noteworthy start-ups in Aerospace manufacturing

Agnikul Cosmos

Agnikul Cosmos is the talk of the town because the start-up recently raised INR 23.4 crores in a Pre-Series A funding round. A Chennai-based aerospace manufacturing start-up, Agnikul’s mission is to make rocket launches and space missions affordable in India. Agnikul is an IIT Madras incubated start-up which is currently working on a project to develop a satellite launch vehicle called ‘Agnibaan’ with payload capacity of 100 kilograms, powered by a semi cryogenic engine.

Skyroot Aerospace

Skyroot Aerospace is also getting the limelight for raising $11 M in a Series A funding round. A Hyderabad based start-up, Skyroot is working in tandem with Agnikul Cosmos to be the pioneering private space tech firm to build a commercial rocket that will launch satellites.

Pixxel

Another interesting space technology start-up, Pixxel is a Bengaluru based hyperspectral imaging firm founded in 2019. Pixxel aims to build a health monitor for Planet Earth by putting up a constellation of 30 cutting-edge, hyper spectral observation micro satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit. Pixxel has recently raised $7.3 M in funding.

Astrogate Labs Private Limited

An Aerospace and space technology start-up from Bengaluru, Astrogate Labs makes space infrastructure. They are working towards enabling high speed communications for small satellites through their laser communication solutions which are built to withstand the harsh conditions typically required of space applications.

Vestaspace Tech

Vestaspace Tech deserves a mention among leading space-tech start-ups in India. Headquartered in Pune, Vestaspace Tech bagged $10 M in funding recently. Vestaspace specializes in ‘small satellite platform’ building dedicated for commercial scientific applications.

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Why are start-ups venturing into the Aerospace sector? 5 noteworthy Indian start-ups that are innovating in space tech and raising funds.

Why are start-ups looking at Aerospace as a business?

There are several governmental support initiatives that have piqued the interest of start-ups towards the Aerospace business. They are all aimed at making it profitable to enter the space domain. Last year, the Union Cabinet approved the formation of ISRO’s new arm called New Space India Limited (NSIL) to harbor companies undertaking space activities. Private players can now access ISRO’s infrastructure, technical resources, and data.

ISRO has also launched an exclusive space start-up program called SEED (Space Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development) for MSME’s venturing into aerospace. Several other moves like the setup of 3 incubation centers by the Department of Space (DoS) at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), the ARISE program by DoS for supporting applied research and innovation for MSMEs are open invitations for start-ups looking at Aerospace as a business.

Start-ups planning to enter the Aerospace sector will benefit from these initiatives through access to ISRO’s valuable resources. You will also be able to tap into the true business potential of developing space products and services. It’s also an opportunity to step into the industry as a partner to ISRO.

F.A.Q.

what is aerospace?

Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astronautics.

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Government Liberalises Mapping Laws To Benefit Start-Ups And Small Business In India

Naina Sood — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 00:35:04 +0000

Promoting ‘self-reliance’, the central government has liberalised policies for mapping and geospatial data. New guidelines were released on February 15, 2020 for the geo-spatial sector in India, which deregulates existing protocol and liberalises the sector to a more competitive field. The move will set a major plot for start-ups and small businesses to take part, earn a profit and innovate as they will no longer be subjected to restrictions on collecting, processing, disseminating, storing and publishing geospatial data and maps.

How liberalisation of geospatial data laws will affect start-ups

Bottleneck removed

From weather apps to food delivery or ecommerce, there has been an increase in use of geospatial data in the past decade. However, there were significant restrictions on creation and dissemination of maps, requiring Indian companies to seek licenses, follow a cumbersome system of pre-approvals and permissions. The move would allow start-ups, especially in ecommerce and other consumer-facing technology sectors, to conduct surveys and mapping, build their own maps and improve location based services without any restriction or prior government approval. Indian start-ups will also be self certified to get access to geospatial data.

Pave way for innovation

No permits will be required to make the next-generation hyper resolution maps of India. Start-ups have been subjected to unnecessary red tape with regulatory restrictions in the sector, hindering innovation in map technologies for decades. However, with new laws, the barrier has been removed which will pave the way for innovation. For instance, if start-ups tie-up with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and others, they will get access to a huge database and technology on a continuous basis and India will have its own company that will have these maps and won’t have to depend on Google Maps.

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The move will set a major plot for start-ups and small businesses to take part, earn a profit and innovate as they will no longer be subjected to restrictions.

Partnerships: Opportunity for data collection start-ups

The decision to open up the mapping sector will pave way for more public-private partnerships with data collection start-ups working with the Indian government on various sectoral projects. Companies have been partnering with start-ups to resolve technology issues. In the geospatial sector, this is the need of the government. In this way, we can get rid of the Google Maps system. It would help the government in inhospitable terrains where it wants to make roads, towers, and other infrastructure based on local innovation. So, start-ups can get the entire technology at the bottom of the system by which the government can do mapping in different areas.

Investments in geospatial space

The government expects an increase in investment in the geospatial sector by companies, and also an increase in export of data to foreign companies and countries, which in turn will provide opportunities for India start-ups besides boosting the economy.

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Space Start-Ups in India And What Are They Building

Aakash Sharma — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 00:35:03 +0000

With a positive outlook and a commercial manoeuvre, it looks like the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is becoming a facilitator. The space agency is looking towards the private sector to play a more prominent role in space technology. Despite the economic gut punch thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021-22 budget did not slash the space sector’s funding; instead it gave the sector a 3.48% increase.

The funds of New Space India Limited, the ISRO’s commercial arm, have increased by 138 times. The government aims to generate revenue from the intellectual property of ISRO and add it as a crucial sector of the Indian economy.

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The global space economy is set at $360 billion, of which India's space industry currently accounts for about 2% at $7 billion.

ISRO Working Closely with Space Start-ups

To consolidate India’s potential in the aerospace industry, the government is now turning to start-ups. As ISRO is indulging with several start-ups, agencies within the Ministry of Science and Technology, namely the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), are also working towards the same goal of promoting start-ups. The two agencies are setting up an innovation incubator with external private funding to help develop new aerospace businesses.

The government will control, incubate and help guide start-ups develop their products and services about space tech. And the collaboration further will help create employment opportunities for young people. This move will undoubtedly strengthen the Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme which is the government’s flagship growth model for this decade.

Who Are the Space Players in India?

Indian start-up Agnikul Cosmos is the world’s first company to test a fully 3D printed rocket motor. Agnikul was the first Indian start-up to enter into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the Department of Space (DOS) and the recently established Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to conduct joint space research and programmes.

The Hyderabad-based space start-up Skyroot Aerospace was founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientists to build space launch vehicles. Skyroot and ISRO are working together to develop a fixed-launch rocket that can be used to launch satellites into a lower orbit and create a private space ecosystem. Skyroot has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Space Ministry to access ISRO facilities and technical expertise to build the rocket.

Bellatrix Aerospace is a private space company in India and was launched in 2015. The company plans to launch rockets and satellites for domestic and global markets. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with ISRO to promote India’s space engineering efforts. According to the contract, the Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) developed by Bellatrix will be used on the Vikram launcher’s upper tiers developed by Skyroot. An OTV is a spacecraft that can carry loads in a specific orbit so that the launcher can transmit satellites into orbit.

Pixxel is another space technology start-up that aims to place 30 Earth observation microsatellite constellations in the solar synchronous orbit. ISRO plans to launch the first Brazilian satellite, Amazonia-1, and three Indian payloads, including Pixxel’s first satellite- Anand, on February 28, 2021.

Utilising Potential

To increase the country’s space sector potential, the government’s landmark decision to allow the private sector to use ISRO facilities and other related assets for enhancing their capabilities is undoubtedly going to pay manifold in future. In setting up the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the government is setting a level playing field for private companies using India’s space infrastructure. This will strengthen ISRO’s commitment to start-ups and grow the space and technology industry as a critical economic domain.

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