India Targets BVLOS Drone Certification by End of 2026 to Scale Commercial Drone Sector

India's civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Naidu said BVLOS drone certification will be enabled by the end of 2026, alongside a new manufacturing incentive scheme.

Original report
aviationtoday.in

Industry impact

A refined BVLOS certification framework and manufacturing incentives could accelerate India's shift from a fragmented drone ecosystem toward large-scale commercial deployment and domestic production.

India plans to enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone operations by the end of 2026, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said at the AP Drone Industry CEO's Round Table held at Orvakal Drone City near Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, on August 18, 2026. The event, jointly hosted by the Drone Federation India and the Government of Andhra Pradesh, brought together more than 150 companies from the drone, counter-drone, and critical-component sectors along with government, DGCA, academia, and research representatives. Naidu said a refined certification framework enabling BVLOS operations would be in place by year-end, and that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is preparing a new financial incentive scheme to strengthen domestic drone manufacturing, though its size, structure, and timing have not been disclosed.

An inter-departmental committee involving the Civil Aviation Ministry, DGCA, and the Quality Council of India is being formed to examine industry requirements, with measures on testing, certification, sandbox facilities, and airspace permissions expected within three months. Orvakal Drone City, a 600-acre facility for manufacturing, research, testing, certification, training, and logistics, has allotted 8 of its first 12 plots, covering about 55 acres, attracting roughly ₹130 crore in investments so far; Naidu said the site could eventually draw up to ₹5,000 crore in total investment and generate about 5,000 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs.

Naidu cited estimates that India could require more than 600,000 drones across sectors, against a current fleet of more than 40,000, calling the gap "a huge opportunity for the domestic drone manufacturing industry." Drone Federation India President Smit Shah said the sector has built the foundations of a strong ecosystem and must now focus on scaling it.