Page 12 - Drones

DGCA, EASA ink MoU on drone standards, will work on training programmers

Among other things, the MoU will ensure regular information sharing between the two parties on tech development and research in this area

HP govt sign MoUs for production of drones to promote tech governance

The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 200 crore to manufacture drones with an aim to promote technology-driven governance in the state. The state government signed MoUs with FICCI to promote the use of drones in governance. They also signed agreements with Abecode Technologies Private Limited and Dronetech Solutions Private Limited for investment, a statement issued here said. An MoU was signed with SkyeAir for an unmanned traffic management solution to oversee flight operations, in collaboration with the Department of Digital Technologies and Governance, Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University (CSKHPKV) and IIT Ropar, it added. The collaboration between CSKHPKV and IIT Ropar focuses on areas such as AI-based digital entomology, livestock management, cold chain management and precision agriculture, including drone technologies. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who virtually addressed the conclud

Dedicated lanes for Kanwariyas in northeast Delhi, drones to keep vigil

Around 1,000 police personnel and drones have been deployed for surveillance and dedicated lanes created for Kanwariyas in northeast Delhi, officials said on Tuesday. A similar number of civil defence volunteers have also been deployed in the district, which has been divided into zones, they said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Joy Tirkey said the Kanwar Yatra commenced on Tuesday. "Kanwariyas will start coming from Tuesday. However, the number is expected to rise significantly from Wednesday and Thursday. The devotees will offer holy water on July 15 and 16," he said. "We have deployed 1,000 police personnel and as many civil defence volunteers on the ground. We have also asked for 15 companies of central forces," he said. "We have 25 drones that will be used strategically. There will be adequate presence of security personnel on the ground during the yatra. The security personnel will work in three shifts, with each shift starting an hour before the last one ends," Ti

Garuda Aerospace bags 400 Agri Kisan drone order from IFFCO; tally at 10K

Drone manufacturer Garuda Aerospace said on Tuesday it has secured an order of 400 Agri Kisan Drones from Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO). This takes Garuda Aerospace's order book tally to 10,000 drones for this year within the first three months, it said in a statement. "The collaboration between Garuda Aerospace and IFFCO aims to revolutionise the agricultural sector by introducing the Garuda Kisan Drone at the 'IFFCO Drone Yatra' in Karnataka. These state-of-the-art drones will enable farmers to utilise Nano Urea spraying through Precision Agriculture Drones, maximising their efficiency and productivity," it said. According to the statement, IFFCO has launched a nationwide campaign to procure 2,500 'Kisan Drones' as spray solutions for their products -- Nano Urea and Nano DAP. This initiative not only supports the development of around 5,000 rural entrepreneurs trained in drone spraying but also promotes sustainable agriculture and holistic cooperative ...

Farmer's to get a bird's eye view: IFFCO to purchase 2,500 agri drones

Company will give them to 5,000 select entrepreneurs free of cost and train them for use

Drone spotted flying over PM Modi's residence; nothing suspicious found

An "unidentified flying object" was reportedly seen over the prime minister's residence here in central Delhi on Monday morning, police said. However, police have not found anything suspicious. A PCR call was received around 5 am that a drone-like object was seen flying over the prime minister's residence, police said. However, police and other security agencies did not find anything suspicious, a senior officer said, adding that the Air Traffic Control (ATC) also did not find anything. "An information was received at NDD control room with respect to unidentified flying objet near PM residence. Thorough searches were made in nearby areas but no such object was detected. Air traffic control room (ATC) was also contacted, they also did not detect any such flying object near PM residence," the Delhi Police said in a statement.

This Israeli drone can pick fruits from trees

If you think Israel's drone technology is limited to its defence sector, you couldn't be more wrong. Watch how an Israeli done can pick fruits from trees and more.

Avg cost offered by US for MQ-9B drones 27% less for India: Report

A senior government functionary claimed on Thursday that the average estimated cost of MQ-9B long endurance drones for India would be 27 per cent lower than the price incurred by other countries which have bought it from the US, asserting that it will most likely go further down during negotiations unless India seeks additional features. He also categorically underlined that so far negotiations on the pricing issue have not begun as the latest official development towards the proposed acquisition of 31 of these drones has been the "acceptance of necessity" accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council, which happened on June 15. The pricing issue is not part of this, he added. The indicative cost of the drones made by the US government is USD 3,072 million. This works out to be USD 99 million for each drone, he said, adding that it cost the UAE, one of the few countries to have it, USD 161 million a piece. The MQ-9B India is looking to acquire is comparable with the UAE's but with a .

With unmatched specifications, man-held portable counter drones offer decisive edge in fighting rogue systems

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Cong questions pricing of predator drone deal with US, seeks transparency

The Congress on Wednesday demanded complete transparency in the multi-crore India-US drone deal, while alleging that the 31 MQ-9B Predator UAV drones were being procured for a higher price. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said at a press conference that national security was paramount and that several doubts were being raised on the predator drone deal. "The Modi government is known to jeopardise national interests and the people of India have witnessed the same in the Rafale deal, where the Modi government bought only 36 Rafale jets instead of 126. We also saw how HAL was denied transfer of technology. We also saw how several unilateral decisions were made, despite widespread objections from the Defence Acquisition Committee and the Armed Forces. The Rafale 'scam' is still under scrutiny in France," he charged. "We demand complete transparency in this Predator Drone deal. India needs answers to the crucial questions. Otherwise, we will be trapped in another 'scam' under the Modi

Delhi's Deer Park de-recognised as 'mini zoo', deers to be shifted out

The initial public offer of drone maker ideaforge Technology Limited was subscribed 13.27 times on the second day of share sale on Tuesday. The Rs 567.24 crore initial share sale received bids for 6,16,78,386 shares against 46,48,870 shares on offer, according to NSE data. The category for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) received 36.36 times subscription, non-institutional investors quota got subscribed 21.59 times and Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion 1.34 times. The Initial Public Offer (IPO) has a fresh issue of up to Rs 240 crore and an offer for sale of up to 4,869,712 equity shares. The IPO is in a price range of Rs 638-672 a share. Proceeds from the fresh issuance to the tune of Rs 50 crore will be utilised for debt payment, Rs 135 crore towards funding working capital gap, Rs 40 crore for investment in product development and the remaining amount for general corporate purposes. Founded in 2007, the Mumbai-based company has the largest operational deployment

Svamitva scheme: Giving property ownership rights to India's villagers

The first of a two-part series looks at how the Centre's Svamitva scheme is empowering India's villagers

IdeaForge IPO fully booked on day 1; should you bid? Read what analysts say

According to IPO watch, shares of IdeaForge enjoyed a premium of Rs 450 in grey markets, implying a likely listing price of Rs 1,122 on the upper price band

Predator drone deal to bring countries to India's doorstep: Ex-defence secy

Describing the defence agreements signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit as "historic", former defence secretary Ajay Kumar said several countries using 'Predator' drones are likely to come to India for maintenance and overhauling. India and the US inked a USD3 billion deal for 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 SeaGuardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version SkyGuardian. A joint statement by the two countries affirmed that these cutting-edge drones would be assembled in India, significantly augmenting the intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition capabilities of the Indian armed forces. "When the US sells such advanced equipment, they never agree to any manufacturing outside the country. But in this particular case, it has said that the Predator drones will be assembled here and a full MRO hub for these drones will be set up as well," Kumar said. A full Maintenance,

Drone deal with US to be finalised, social media reports speculative: MoD

India is yet to finalise the cost and other terms and conditions for procurement of 31 MQ-9B long endurance drones from the US, the defence ministry said on Sunday strongly trashing reports in a section of social media on the price as well as the acquisition process. The ministry said it will compare the acquisition cost of the drones with the best price offered by manufacturer General Atomics (GA) to other countries and that the procurement process would be completed as per the laid down procedure. India and the US firmed up the drone deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to Washington. The defence ministry, in a statement, described the reports in social media on the price and the terms of purchase relating to the drone deal as "speculative" and said they are being spread with "ulterior motives". "These are uncalled for, have ulterior motives and aimed at derailing the due acquisition process. The price and other terms and conditions of the purchase are ye

'Drone procurement will strengthen India's aerospace, defence ecosystems'

Baba Kalyani, Chairman and MD of Bharat Forge Limited and founding president of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers has hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden for emphasising on co-production of critical systems and platforms "identifying avenues for joint research and development in advanced technologies."Kalyani termed the PM Modi's US visit, a reflection of "strengthening engagement between two great and large democracies."He said, "Historic state visit being accorded to PM Modi by US President Joe Biden is reflective of strengthening engagement between two great and large democracies, to scale up the Indian market and its requirements, combined with our overlapping strategic interest, create both an opportunity and imperative for businesses on either side...to expand bilateral trade & commerce, to strengthen engagement including strategic sectors such as defence, space, 5G, semi-conductor amongst others and collaborate to co-develop critical ..

Govt eases policy related to export of certain types of drones, UAVs

The government on Friday eased norms for the export of certain categories of drones, meant for civilian-end uses, with a view to facilitating the outbound shipments of high-tech items. The commerce ministry's arm DGFT said the export of drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of certain specifications would be allowed under the General Authorization for Export of Drones (GAED), a one-time general licence valid for three years. "The export of Drones/UAVs not covered under the specified categories in SCOMET list and capable of range equal to or less than 25 km and delivering a payload of not more than 25 kg (excluding the software and technology of these items) and meant for only civilian end-use, will now be subject to GAED," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said. Exports of items under the Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) list are permitted only against an export authorisation issued on this behalf. "In line with the emphasi

President Biden, PM Modi welcomes India's plans to procure Predator drones

The agreement would strengthen India's national security and surveillance capabilities, extending beyond the Indian Ocean and encompassing the border region with China

Drone, jet engine deals will boost India-US defence ties: Experts

Defence deals being signed between Indian and the US during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit will prove beneficial for India, defence experts said on Thursday. Prime Minister Modi is on a state visit to the US from June 21 to 24 at the invitation of President Joe Biden. In a landmark announcement, GE Aerospace on Thursday said it has inked a pact with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to jointly produce fighter jet engines for Indian Air Force's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk-II -- Tejas. India is also likely to sign a deal to buy MQ-9B Predator armed drones from US manufacturer General Atomics. The experts said the deals will boost India-US defence ties. Defence expert Brigadier (retired) Rahul Bhonsle said the drones will prove beneficial for India's northern border as well as along the maritime boundary. "This particular drone has capability not just to seek targets but to immediately attack them.... It can carry out a strike itself. It leaves very little opportunity for

PM Modi in the US: Semiconductors to drones, here's what will be in focus

PM Modi is expected to meet the top 20 business leaders of US companies, including Mastercard, Accenture, the Coca-Cola Company, Adobe Systems and Visa