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Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has signed a definitive  agreement to acquire a 50% stake in drone startup General Aeronautics. 

The deal is an all-cash transaction and will be completed by July 31 this year, Adani Enterprises said in an exchange filing without disclosing any financial details. 

Founded in 2016 by Abhishek Burman, Kota Harinarayana and Anutosh Moitra, Bengaluru-based General Aeronautics offers drone-based solutions for crop protection services, crop health, and farming and yield monitoring services to the agricultural sector.

Adani Defence Systems will leverage its military drone, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities and work with General Aeronautics for providing end-to-end solutions for the domestic agricultural sector.

Founded in 2015, Adani Defence Systems offers drone-based solutions to defence services. Besides, it has created an ecosystem where it invests in MSMEs and incubates startups offering differentiated tech products, as per its website. 

Backed by the government’s push to increase the use of drones across sectors, the space has been seeing a lot of activity. On Thursday, RattanIndia Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of RattanIndia Group, acquired a 60% stake in Bengaluru-based drone startup Throttle Aerospace.

Government Push For Drone Startups 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (May 27) inaugurated the Drone Festival of India 2022 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Addressing the event, Modi said that India will soon ‘become a drone expert in the world’.

Modi also said that the government has removed the restrictions for the sector through amendments of Drone Rules, 2021.

Addressing the same event, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that there are 270 drone startups in India and the country’s drone industry is anticipated to reach ‘INR 15,000 Cr by 2026’.

The government has also launched a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost manufacturing of drones in the country.

According to a report, India’s drone market was pegged at $1.21 Bn in 2021 and is estimated to reach $1.81 Bn by 2026.