Optiemus Infracom in talks with govt, cooperatives to deploy 6,000 drones next year

New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) Optiemus Infracom on Thursday said it is in talks with the government and cooperatives to deploy up to 6,000 drones next year and expects a revenue of Rs 600-900 crore.

Speaking at 5th Drone International Expo, Optiemus Infracom Chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta said most of the drones that are being sold in India are imported, which are very expensive.

“We expect to disrupt the market pricing with our drones. We plan to sell drone with 10-litre payload capacity for about Rs 2.25 lakh apiece. These drones can spray urea etc across 1 acre land in 7 minutes which takes around 6-7 hours in manual mode,” Gupta said.

Currently, it is making drones with payload of 10 and 16 kilogram and plans to start making drones with payload of 30 kilogram and more after six months.

The company plans to invest Rs 140 crore in manufacturing of drones.

“We are in talks with government and cooperatives to deploy up to 6,000 drones next year. These will mainly focus on agriculture spray. We plan to invest Rs 140 crore in manufacturing of drones and expects revenue to be in the range of Rs 600-900 crore in 2025,” Gupta said.

He said the company’s drones have 65 per cent local component and it is working to set up around 100 after-sales services network.

“There is demand for a reliable drone with good after-sales services support. We are filling that gap that exists in the market with our captive after- sales support. One after-sales centre will cater to 50 drones. We will set these centres by developing rural entrepreneurs.”

He said Optiemus is also running a trial with a border state for surveillance.

“Drone flight time and easy repair option are the two key things for success of business. We will provide turn key solutions to customers. The attachment in the drones can be changed as per the application for which drones are to be used,” Gupta said.