Pushpak Drone Mission | Maharashtra | 06 May 2025

Why in News? 

The central government has appointed the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) to lead the ‘Pushpak – National Mission on Drone Technology’, which promotes the development of indigenous drone technology across various sectors. 

 Key Points 

• Overview of the Mission: 
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the ‘Pushpak – National Mission on Drone Technology’ with a total grant-in-aid of Rs 82.7 crore. 
  • Participating Institutes and Their Focus Areas: 
    • IIT Bombay has been appointed to lead the mission. It will focus on: 
      • Developing hybrid drones and indigenous processors. 
      • Creating Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for disaster management, coastal monitoring, and specialised uses. 
      • Facilitating collaboration between academia and industry to drive innovation in next-gen drone technologies. 
    • Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) Mumbai will focus on: 
      • Developing secure embedded systems and enhancing drone communication security. 
      • Establishing a dedicated drone security lab and forensic unit to: 
        • Track drone flight patterns within Indian airspace. 
        • Detecting and mitigating drone-related threats. 
        • Contribute to long-term cybersecurity solutions for drones. 
    • Other participating institutions include: 
      • CDAC-Thiruvananthapuram 
      • CDAC-Bengaluru 
      • IIT-Gandhinagar 
      • IISER-Bhopal 
      • Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education (Tamil Nadu) 
• Mission Objectives and Strategic Vision: 
  • The Pushpak mission aims to make India self-reliant in drone technology through: 
    • Advanced research and development (R&D). 
    • Strategic partnerships with industry players. 
    • Real-world testing and rapid commercialisation of technologies. 
  • The mission will function under the oversight of a National Steering Committee (NSC), comprising senior government officials and domain experts. 
• The mission aims to: 
  • Reduce reliance on foreign technologies. 
  • Enhance safety and national security. 
  • Create employment opportunities in the drone sector. 
  • Advance core capabilities in AI integration, UAV traffic management, and indigenous manufacturing. 
• Support for Innovation and Talent Development: 
  • Pushpak will promote faster technology transfer from research labs to the market. 
  • It will provide: 
    • Incubation support to drone-based startups. 
    • Advanced training opportunities for students and researchers in drone-related fields.