Made in India: this startup is developing indigenous drones for the Indian Army

India’s drone industry is on the brink of significant transformation, and companies like IG Drones are playing a pivotal role in shaping this evolution.

Founded by Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya and Om Prakash in 2018, the startup is addressing some of the key challenges faced by the industry, such as over-reliance on foreign suppliers and the skill gap in drone technology.

The company's commitment to indigenous drone technology is central to its mission. By focusing on advanced research and development (R&D), IG Drones aims to build solutions that not only meet the needs of the Indian market but also help reduce dependency on foreign imports.

“By offering advanced, indigenous dronetech solutions, IG Drones tackles critical industry hurdles and plays a pivotal role in advancing India’s drone ecosystem,” says Sanghapriya.

The bootstrapped startup is also leading innovations with its products such as military simulators and AI-powered technology, including India’s first 5G drone. In addition to this, the company is planning to establish Drone Centers of Excellence, which aims to nurture aspiring professionals and drive further innovation in the sector. 

The startup, based in Gurugram, is currently offering services such as surveying, mapping, and inspection, and has partnered with the Indian Army, various state governments, and many large enterprises.

The back story

The vision behind IG Drones and its founders’ involvement in the rocketry mission stemmed from a desire to position Odisha on India’s innovation landscape while honouring their alma mater, VSSUT (Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Odisha’s oldest technical university. 

During their engineering days in VSSUT, Sanghapriya and Prakash led Asia’s first student rocketry mission, an initiative that garnered widespread acclaim, including recognition from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and was eventually adopted by ISRO. 

“This milestone highlighted the transformative potential of aerospace technology to solve real-world challenges. Also, we took it as a challenge that India is capable of making its own satellite if young talent is nurtured right from the school or college level,” reflects Sanghapriya.

With this experience, they went on to launch IG Drones, aiming to address critical industry pain points such as inefficiencies, reliance on foreign providers, and shortage of skilled professionals in the drone technology space. 

Through its indigenous, AI-powered drone solutions, the company has successfully addressed operational challenges across sectors like defence, agriculture, and infrastructure. 

IG Drones has also garnered global recognition, winning awards such as the Global Airwards. The company has set an ambitious goal of capturing 5% of the drone industry market share by 2025. 

Additionally, IG Drones continues to prioritise skilling the youth, and is collaborating with academic institutions through its Drone Centre of Excellence.

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The product and tech

IG Drones provides drone-related services such as surveying, mapping, and inspection. 

One of its innovations is India’s first 5G-enabled drone—IG Drones Jaga. This AI-powered surveillance drone excels in applications such as security, defence, agriculture, precision mapping, surveying, inspection, and infrastructure monitoring.

For agriculture, it offers Kissan, which is designed for spraying and spreading. IG Drones’ SKYHAWK is another drone used for tasks such as delivery, mapping, security, and surveillance. The DELTA 400 is an advanced from the startup, specifically designed for mapping and inspection purposes.

“IG Drones provides extraordinary drone services for power line monitoring, road inspection, smart city, mine survey, industrial survey, pipeline survey, agricultural survey, railway survey, river mapping, and disaster management by taking care of client needs in line with Industry 4.0.,” says Sanghapriya.

By combining drone technology with AI and analytics, IG Drones claims to have served over 500 organisations, including the Indian Army, government agencies, and leading corporates.

“We provide comprehensive solutions such as surveying, mapping, and inspections, which has resulted in an impressive 250% year-on-year growth over the past three years. With our innovative products, IG Drones is poised to quadruple its FY24 revenue, bridging the gap between demand and accessible, indigenous solutions,” says Sanghapriya.

The startup is also helping develop the next generation of dronetech professionals, with over 50,000 individuals trained through its Drone Centres of Excellence, ensuring sustainable growth in this critical sector. 

“With this initiative, we have also been able to bridge the gap between education and industry by providing skilled training to thousands of youth and helping them get employed,” adds Sanghapriya. 

Currently, the company has tie ups with over 15 institutions, including IIT Bhubaneswar and IIM Sambalpur.

Speaking about challenges, Prakash highlights that educating industries on the potential of drones had been one of the major challenges for the startup. 

“Many organisations lacked awareness of how drones could optimise operations and save costs. By persistently demonstrating the tangible benefits, IG Drones turned skeptics into advocates,” he adds.

The startup competes with players like Garuda drone, Idea forge, BonV Aero, and DroneAcharya Aerial.

Prakash says, the dronetech space is competitive, but IG Drones distinguishes itself through an integrated approach, combining hardware, software, and services. This positions the company as a comprehensive, end-to-end solution provider for industries such as defence, agriculture, and infrastructure.

Business model and way ahead

The company follows a B2B model, and has established itself as a reliable technological partner for various entities, including state governments, Indian Railways, Indian Armed Forces, Power Grid Corporation, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Group, HCL Foundation, and World Bank Projects.

“IG Drones' GIS mapping and geospatial technologies can add immense value to Indian customers, especially the Indian armed forces, to enhance their surveillance and mapping capabilities which are fundamentals for the multi domain warfare, is future of operations of our armed forces,” says Lt Gen Anil Chait - Lead Advisor of India Accelerator’s Robotics Unmanned & Space thesis.

“Additionally, its Drone Simulator platform can be used to train drone pilots in realistic scenarios based on operational terrain pertaining to the land borders and coastal areas. Cargo lift of the 50 kg that has been achieved by the company will provide the bedrock for the future of cargo logistics both in the civil as well as military domains,” he adds.

In October this year, the startup raised $1 million in its initial funding round, led by India Accelerator, and saw participation from angel investors.

The company further plans to raise an additional $3 million in the next six months to enhance its R&D capabilities and expand its footprint both in India and globally.

IG Drones, which is already present in five countries, has partnered with major international companies such as Korean drone solutions startup iGiS.

Without disclosing the revenue numbers, the company said it has sold multiple drones to top industry and armed forces, and centers of excellence.

“As there is involvement of armed forces, we prefer not to disclose the numbers,” says Sanghapriya. 

“We aim to create more targeted tools that address challenges like agricultural yield monitoring, disaster management, and secure defense operations. Globally, we are expanding our footprint while skilling millions through Drone Centres of Excellence, envisioning a world where drones are integral to efficiency and innovation,” says Prakash.