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Indian drone manufacturer ideaForge has allocated employee stock option plans (ESOPs) worth about Rs 7.95 crore.

According to a BSE filing on Friday, the listed company’s board, on July 10, had approved the issuance of 95,954 equity shares, each with a face value of Rs. 10. This issuance is part of the ideaForge Employees Stock Option Scheme, 2018, and results from employees exercising their vested stock options.

The newly allotted shares will have the same rights and status as the existing equity shares of the company. Following the allotment, the company’s paid-up capital has increased to Rs 42,98,59,540 from Rs. 42,89,00,000, the filing noted.

ideaForge’s share closed 0.65% down at Rs 829 on BSE on Friday.

Before Friday’s announcement, the Mumbai-based firm had disclosed the issuance of 1,678 equity shares in June and 3,000 equity shares in May this year under the ideaForge Employees Stock Option Scheme, 2018.

The announcement of ESOPs closely follows ideaForge’s acquisition of an undisclosed non-controlling stake in GalaxEye Space for Rs 8.28 crore. GalaxEye, an IIT Madras-incubated spacetech startup, specialises in building multi-sensor imaging satellites.

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In June 2023, Mumbai-based ideaForge, a leading manufacturer of drones for civilian and defence use, raised Rs 255 crore from anchor investors ahead of its listing on the Indian stock exchange.

Founded in 2007 by Ankit Mehta, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, and Ashish Bhat, ideaForge has the largest operational deployment of indigenous unmanned aerial vehicles across the country.

Drone startups secured $50 million in investment in FY24, marking a threefold increase from the previous year, according to NITI Aayog.

A report by NITI Aayog notes that the unmanned aerial vehicle market in India is projected to reach $15 billion by 2030. 

The Indian drone market is expected to grow significantly, with drone volumes increasing to 61,393 units by 2029 from 10,803 units in 2024, according to projections by markets research firm Markets and Markets.