The government will announce the first set of production-linked incentives (PLI) for drones soon, civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Monday at the CII International Conference and Exhibition on Advanced and Short Haul Air Mobility for All in Bengaluru.
He said 15 drone categories have been certified so far.
Bansal said the government is promoting a scheme for creation of airports, heliports and seaports. He said there has been progress on small airfields and that work is in progress on heliports.
“The most challenging have been the seaports. That is our focus area. We are working with the Ministry of Shipping. This year, we should be able to complete a few of them in different locations,” said Bansal. “One of the biggest challenges in seaports is environmental clearance as there are huge environmental concerns around it. Some of the seaports being built in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep should see the light of day in FY24.”