Drone Takeoff
It's perhaps the largest drone manufacturer in the country but Navi Mumbai based ideaForge was a typical start up till not too long ago. It was founded by four friends from IIT Bombay, who built the world's smallest and lightest autopilot the brain inside a drone system and the first indigenous micro unmanned aerial vehicle. The technology gave them entry into defence, particularly the Defence Research & Development Organisation, which gave them their first big order. Today, ideaForge says it supplies over 90 per cent of drones procured by the government.
ideaForge's focus on the government is not incidental. The government has been the biggest legitimate procurer of drones in India ever since a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) notice in 2014 prohibited their use for civilian purposes, killing at birth what could have been a huge industry, helping tens of different sectors, by now. For instance, in 2014 Amazon had announced that it would make India a test bed for Prime Air Service, its drone delivery arm. The plan could not go anywhere. Mumbai based Fransesco's Pizzeria tried to deliver a pizza on a drone but ran into police.
