Business APAC
June 18, 2025
The new Chennai plant, India’s First Agri-Drone Indigenization Facility, is set to create thousands of manufacturing and pilot jobs through a nationwide training mission.
A new Chennai-based facility opened by Garuda Aerospace is set to change the game for Indian agriculture and manufacturing. The company has launched India’s First Agri-Drone Indigenization Facility, a move designed to create jobs and train a new wave of tech workers. The launch is tied to a huge training program to get certified drone pilots into the field where they’re needed most.
Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Kamlesh Paswan, officially opened the 35,000-square-foot plant that houses India’s First Agri-Drone Indigenization Facility. This isn’t just about assembling drones; it’s about building a whole support system from the ground up. By making parts locally, the facility will cut down on India’s need for imported components and create more jobs here at home. This helps Garuda Aerospace build more drones while also solving the major shortage of trained people to fly them.
From Factory Floor to Farmer’s Field
The factory itself will create jobs, but the real impact goes way beyond the assembly line. Think about it: every single drone built needs someone to fly it, someone to fix it, and a team to manage its work. That’s where the real job boom will be.
This is why Garuda Aerospace, which is approved by the DGCA to train pilots, is kicking off a massive training program. The company plans to train 1 lakh young people in 755 districts, tackling the country’s pilot shortage head-on.
“This isn’t just about building hardware; it’s about building people,” said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace. “The Prime Minister set a goal in 2022 for one lakh Made-in-India drones. We’ve already built 4,000 and we’re on track to hit that number. Our new facility, India’s First Agri-Drone Indigenization Facility, and our training programs go hand-in-hand. We’re not just making drones, we’re creating a new generation of drone entrepreneurs.”
A New Career Path for Rural India
Demand for drone pilots is through the roof, especially for farming tasks like spraying crops or surveying land. For people in rural towns, this has opened up a whole new way to make a good living.
The government praised the company’s work in empowering local youth, especially its ‘Drone Didis’ initiative. “Giving jobs to more than 140 people is a great step towards achieving Prime Minister Modi ji’s vision,” Shri Kamlesh Paswan said at the event. “The most touching part for me was seeing women who had never worked outside their homes now flying drones with confidence.”
A network of 300 Centres of Excellence, set up with colleges and other schools, will support this whole effort. These local centers will handle sales, repairs, and practical pilot training. This means help is always nearby, which is key to making the drone network successful across the country.
Outlook: A Self-Reliant Drone Ecosystem
By making drones in India and training pilots at the same time, Garuda Aerospace is taking a big step toward a self-reliant India. The work being done at India’s First Agri-Drone Indigenization Facility to make parts locally will make drones cheaper and easier to get for people like farmers.
As more drones take to the skies, the need for trained pilots will only grow. This training program makes sure there are enough qualified people who know the DGCA safety rules. It creates a steady stream of pros who can help make India a world leader in drone technology, creating lasting jobs along the way. If successful, other parts of the country could copy this model of combined tech development and personnel training for years to come.
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