NSDC collaborates with Drone Destination to make India the drone hub for the world; promises employment in the sector

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Drone Destination announced their partnership to expand flying schools across the country, ensuring employment opportunities as well. The project is aimed at fulfilling the vision of making India the drone hub for the world and NSDC’s agenda is to promote skill development in the sector as it has huge potential to propel India’s economic growth if supported by a strong collaborative approach.

Further, under the partnership, NSDC will also provide loans through its associated NBFCs for aspiring pilots to undergo training with Drone Destination and receive high-quality skills, encouraging the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Ved Mani Tiwari, COO, NSDC, said that the rate of drone adoption in India has been phenomenal and it will continue to grow as the technology has immense usage potential across the globe. He also added there is a need for bulk requirements of skilled manpower in the sector, including trained pilots and this demand will only increase in the future.

It is assumed that the country would need over three lakh drone pilots within the span of the next five years and understanding this demand, NSDC is committed to partnering with leading organisations such as Drone Destination to assist in building the necessary skill infrastructure for large-scale employment opportunities, he added.

Chirag Sharma, CEO of Drone Destination, said, drone training provides the highest return on investment for any certification programme available in the country. “Our partnership with NSDC will be doubly beneficial for the youth as there will soon be more drone hubs across the country and further, aspiring pilots can get loans for skill development in this new sunrise sector,” he said.

“Availability of loans will make the drone revolution a truly inclusive one by widening the base of aspirants who want to be a part of this change-making technology,” he further added.

“We will move towards precision agriculture that will require lakhs of drone pilots operating in the fields of India to increase yield and meet the food requirement of not just the country but also the world.” “Increased farm income will enable youth to stop migrating from villages to towns in search of employment and instead allow them to use drone technology for harvesting, not just crop, but also prosperity,” he added.