Garuda Aerospace has become India’s first drone start-up to receive both Type Certification and RTPO approvals from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its indigenously designed Kisan Drones.
DGCA Type certification is given after the quality check of the drones and issued after a rigorous testing process for the UAVs. The certification was introduced by the Government of India in August 2021 under drone rules and the historic dual DGCA approval validates Garuda’s tag of being India’s most valuable drone startup.
Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace, said that the approvals will lead to significant sector growth. The drones will not only benefit farmers and agri-entrepreneurs, but also build new-age careers for young Indians within the drone industry, he added.
Garuda Aerospace has a drone fleet of 400 drones and a well-trained team of over 500 pilots across 26 cities. With the Type Certificate for the GA-AG model, Garuda Kisan Drone can now get Rs 10 lakh unsecured loan from Agri Infrastructure Fund at a 5% interest and 50-100% subsidy from the Government of India. Priced at Rs. 4.50 lakh, Garuda Kisan Drone is India’s most affordable advanced automated agri drone with DGCA-approved Type Certification in the under-25 kg small category. Several government agriculture bodies will now have an option of procuring high-tech Made in India Drones from Garuda Aerospace. This will lead to creating job opportunities and training 1 lakh drone pilots in the next two years.
