The initiative obtained seed funding for drone research from alumni of the 1994 batch of Rs 100.38 lakhs on the occasion of their silver jubilee reunion.

A state-of-the-art centre for drone research was inaugurated on campus on Thursday by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee. On the occasion of their silver jubilee reunion, the initiative received seed funding of Rs 100,38 lakhs from alumni of the 1994 batch. In a virtual ceremony, the inauguration was carried out. Dr VK Saraswat, a member of NITI Aayog and former director-general of DRDO, was the chief guest on the occasion. I would like to commend this initiative to IIT Roorkee. The drone segment has seen an increase in demand by leaps and bounds, and 50-60 academic institutions are currently harnessing it to grow a variety of applications, Saraswat said. He also stressed the importance of indigenization in the drone design process and the need to make it commercially viable with prudent business models.

The guest of honour was Dr RK Tyagi, an alumnus of IIT Roorkee. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Pawan Hans Limited are also former presidents of Tyagi. Also present on the occasion were BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Directors, IIT Roorkee; Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee and others.

The year 2020 has been very disruptive and drone technology has influenced all fields of operation such as shipping, medicine, pipeline, agriculture and defence in the last year. In reality, the drone and anti-drone technologies have a disruptive impact and effect on humanity next to the internet and GPS. “By 2030, India will become a drone hub and drones and anti-drones will define tomorrow’s core combat capabilities,” Tyagi said. Mohan Reddy said, “The drone market is pegged at Rs 128 billion and has around 38 different areas of application, emphasizing the need to promote entrepreneurship and incubation of ground-breaking ideas in the drone segment. Therefore, in this section, particularly in the areas of health care and social impact, there is a huge opportunity.”

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