Asteria Aerospace and General Aeronautics get ‘Type’ certification from the DGCA for their drones

• ByStartupStory     |    October 7, 2022

Reliance-backed Asteria Aerospace and Adani-backed General Aeronautics are among the three drone manufacturers that have received ‘Type Certificate’ from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for their products, till now 5 startups have received the certification. The certification also makes drone manufacturers eligible for participation in the government procurement process and to commence sales in the country. 

Type certification is mandatory for startups prior to undertaking operations under the Drone Rules, 2021. The certificate is issued only after a rigorous testing process for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which in turn ensures compliance to adhered standards, apart from the three newly announced players, IoTechWorld Aviation and CBAI Technologies have received the nod to offer one product each in the ‘Small’ UAS (unmanned aircraft system) class domain.Besides this, 23 more offerings from multiple drone startups are awaiting the nod of the regulator. 

Adani Defence Systems and Technologies picked up a 50% stake in the Bengaluru-based GA in May this year for an undisclosed amount. On the other hand, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL bought a 51% stake in Asteria for INR 23.12 Cr in December 2019. 

The Type certification has largely been given to startups with offerings catering to the agriculture space. This builds on a similar sentiment echoed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Budget speech earlier this year. She had called on startups to leverage ‘Drone Shakti’ to help modernise the ailing sector. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), the homegrown drone sector is expected to achieve a turnover between INR 12,000 Cr and 15,000 Cr by 2026.

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