Andhra Pradesh will host a national drone summit as Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has plans to develop a 'Drone City' in the state. At least 5,000 drones will be showcased in Amaravati at the national drone summit.
Mr Naidu has proposed allocating 300 acres of land at Oravakkal in Kurnool district to develop a 'Drone City' which would be a hub for manufacturing, research and development, certification and developing user applications.
"In the next 15 days, we will announce our drone policy and how to create an appropriate ecosystem. I am appealing to the government of India that it has to establish a certification agency and make it a manufacturing hub," Mr Naidu said.
"We will provide one of the best infrastructure. It will be near Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Amaravati," he added.
Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu were in sync i.e. to use drones as futuristic technology and facilitate efficiency and productivity in different sectors, bringing investments and creating jobs.
"This can be a game-changer for the country. Many young entrepreneurs are coming up with innovative solutions for challenges in agriculture, land records, sanitation and so on. And it also has the potential of creating employment," said the Civil Aviation Minister.
Andhra Pradesh has been upbeat on the transformative potential of drones as growth-engines. Even in the recent floods in Vijayawada, drones had been used to distribute food, water, medicine and other essentials.
The Chief Minister told reporters that these drones would be used for development, contrasting this with their use in warfare, adding Andhra Pradesh would serve as a case study for this vision.
"We will produce proof-of-concept here. One is a cost-effective solution and also affordable. Once we scale it up, then automatically the cost will be reduced. Finally, India is going to have the best advantage. People are using drones for wars. We are going to use drones for development... Andhra Pradesh will be a case study. We will use all use-cases and also proof-of-concept will be produced and replicated. The government of India is working; we are working; it is in the interest of the people," he said.
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