Take-off of electric aerial vehicles fraught with challenges: Scindia

India may be betting big on electric short-haul aerial vehicles, but their take-off faces a bumpy road ahead. Admitting to this, Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia pointed to three primary roadblocks on this path - regulation, manufacturing capability and infrastructure.

Speaking to DH on these challenges, he noted, “Today regulation has not been harmonised even internationally. We would like to partner in the harmonisation of regulatory systems.”

Highlighting the lack of manufacturing capability in the country, the minister said, “Until you have a certain minimum level of machines, this industry cannot take off.”

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He also stressed on the need for building adequate landing, parking, and charging infrastructure for electric vertical landing and take-off (eVTOL) aircraft. Existing heliports and regional airports can be used to host vertiports (specialised structures that support take-off and landing operations of eVTOL aircraft), while electric vehicles and eVTOLs need to grow symbiotically through shared charging stations, he suggested.

eVTOLs in the production line

To jumpstart development in this space, Hunch Urban Mobility (HUM), Blade India’s parent company, inked a pact with BETA, a US-based eVTOL manufacturer, for operations, manufacturing, assembly, service, and maintenance of eVTOLs in India. The agreement also includes establishing a common battery charging infrastructure for EVs and aerial vehicles in the state of Karnataka.

The company also signed an agreement with Skyports to establish vertiport infrastructure in India, for which Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune were identified as pilots.

Additionally, HUM signalled its intent to acquire 150 eVTOLs from American aerospace manufacturer Jaunt, with an option to order up to 100 more. The company will enable the manufacturing as well as final assembly of Jaunt’s crafts in India.

Catering to India’s insatiable desire to travel

Scindia, however, projected the country's aviation sector will become world's largest within a decade. “With a population of 1.3 billion, we are still talking of penetration rates of only 4-5%. There is unimaginable potential for it in India," the minister explained his optimism.

He pointed to the fact that India has crossed the pre-Covid number of air travellers by 10% to reach 4,55,000 passengers daily, with airlines now operating with a flight occupancy of 90-95%. “We need more aircraft and more quickly because India has an insatiable desire to travel," he said, adding that India will have 200-220 airports, waterdromes, and heliports in the next 4-5 years.

Speaking at the International Conference on Advanced and Short Haul Air Mobility for All (ASHA) in Bengaluru, Scindia said India is at the “cusp of a new revolution”.

Quoting a McKinsey report, the minister said that 650 million Indians today are ready to adopt advanced air mobility (AAM) for short-haul commutes, opening up vast opportunities. The survey of 4,800 consumers in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Poland, and the United States, found that interest in using passenger AAM was highest in India. While 30-40% of Indians wanted to use eVTOLs for short and long-distance leisure travel, over 40% would readily use them for business and airport trips and daily commute.

“We have seen India leapfrog from landline to mobile to 4G to 5G roll-outs at lightning speed. India can do the same in transport if it chooses to embrace the AAM technologies and create the right ecosystem for it,” said Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India.

Rs 3 lakh crore drone industry by 2030

The drone industry could see its valuation climb to 3 lakh crore by 2030, from 3,000 crore in 2020, generating employment for at least 3 lakh people, the minister said. To this end, the drone rules have been completely recast, the minister said. "Earlier, we had to take 72 permissions to be able to set up a drones. That has been reduced to a paltry five permissions,” he added.