New Delhi: Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s post on X Sunday, which claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ‘failed to grasp’ the revolution brought about by drones and that India’s competitors were mastering drone technology, Smit Shah, president of the Drone Federation India (DFI), called Gandhi’s claims demotivating to the Indian industry.
Shah, in a video that he posted on X the same day, said, “Recently, we saw that a prominent Indian politician, with a Chinese drone in his hand, blatantly said that the Indian ecosystem’s understanding of different drone parts is lacking and that in India, we don’t make parts such as optics, batteries or other such components.”
Rahul Gandhi's statements dismiss India's drone industry while proudly showcasing a banned Chinese DJI drone.
Yes, the industry is still in its nascent stage and a lot has to be done, but arm chair criticism with zero tangible suggestions won’t help.
Collective efforts of… pic.twitter.com/48nOMttUFY
— Smit Shah 🚀 (@BlameItOnSmit) February 16, 2025
Shah stated that, in reality, India has more than 400 drone companies producing various types of drones, along with more than 50 Indian drone component companies engaged in manufacturing batteries, propellers, flight controllers, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) parts.
Shah added, “At such a time, to make a blanket claim that the Indian ecosystem doesn’t have the ability to make drone parts is quite an odd statement, which is demotivating for the entire Indian ecosystem.” Claiming that Gandhi was holding a Chinese drone in his hand, he pointed out that Chinese drones were banned in India and questioned whether the drone Gandhi is seen holding in the video was even registered.
Shah then went on to question whether Gandhi had a drone pilot certificate, as he was seen flying one in the video. “The video looks like it was shot in Delhi, which is a red zone. Did he take permission from the Ministry of Civil Aviation or the Ministry of Home Affairs?” Shah asked.
Shah said that Gandhi was merely being a critic and that he needed to go on the ground to see the reality for himself. “He also needs to give actual suggestions.”
Shah then went on to support the Indian government’s efforts towards drone manufacturing. He said, “[The fact that] the Indian ecosystem needs to work on drone parts and drone components is not a new thing.”
He added that recognising the importance of drone technology and drone components, the government of India, in 2021, based on feedback from the industry and academia, introduced regulations such as the Draft Drones Rules to ease business operations in this sector. “The ecosystem today has a revenue of at least Rs 1,800 crore. The government also introduced a production-linked incentive scheme.”
Furthermore, he said that the Indian government had banned direct imports, preventing Chinese drone firm Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) and other foreign drone companies from importing drones without manufacturing them in India. “These decisions were not taken in silos.”
In 2021, the industry, academia, and government acknowledged the importance of drone technology and recognised it as an opportunity. They set a vision for it, establishing India as a leader in drone design, development, manufacturing, export, and, most importantly, intellectual property ownership. He stated that the government’s vision is also to make India a global drone hub by 2030.
In addition to this, Amit Malviya, in a post, countered Gandhi and said, “Rahul Gandhi’s proposals on military precision drones might appear amusing were it not for their potential dangers, and they seem to stem from a misguided perspective.”
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Does anyone talk about attack drones needed by our defense forces?
Rahul Gandhi news reservation in drone.
He will use drone to collect caste data