IIT-B to helm centre’s ‘Pushpak’ drone mission

MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) has been appointed to lead the central government’s ‘Pushpak – National Mission on Drone Technology’, which promotes the development of indigenous drone technology across various sectors.

The mission, launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has a grant-in-aid of ₹82.7 crore and includes seven premier institutes, each with a specific focus area relating to drone technology. The mission officially commenced a few weeks ago and will span four years.

In addition to IIT-B, the other participating institutions include: CDAC-Thiruvananthapuram, CDAC-Bengaluru, IIT-Gandhinagar, IISER-Bhopal, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) Mumbai, and Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education in Tamil Nadu.

Designed to boost India’s self-reliance in drone capabilities, Pushpak will integrate advanced Research and Development (R&D), strategic partnerships with industry, real-world testing facilities, and rapid commercialisation of drone technologies. The mission will operate under the guidance of a National Steering Committee (NSC), comprising senior government officials and domain experts.

On the mission’s vision, Prof Shireesh Kedare, Director of IIT-Bombay, said, “By bridging the gap between research and deployment, this mission aims to create a robust, self-reliant drone ecosystem from novel solutions to secure communication systems and a wide range of applications fuelling technological growth and industrial transformation across sectors.”

IIT-Bombay’s focus area in the mission will be the development of hybrid drones, indigenous processors and unmanned aerial systems tailored for disaster management, coastal monitoring and other specialised uses. The institute will also facilitate the collaboration between academia and industry to build next-generation drone solutions.

VJTI Mumbai has been tasked with developing secure embedded systems and drone communication security. According to sources, VJTI is in the process of establishing a dedicated drone security lab, which will also serve as a forensic unit for drones. This lab is expected to work closely to develop strategic applications to track drone flight patterns within India’s aerial boundaries and enhance drone-related threat detection.

The lab will also contribute to long-term solutions for drone cybersecurity, which could play a vital role in both civilian and defence applications. This marks a significant step in building a comprehensive drone security framework within the country.

Kedare said the drone mission will help reduce dependency on foreign technologies, create jobs and enhance safety and security standards. He added that the programme would also focus on the development of core capabilities in AI integration, UAV traffic management, and indigenous drone manufacturing, suited specifically to Indian requirements.

Pushpak is designed to fast-track technology transfer from labs to the market. It will also offer start-up incubation support and advanced training opportunities for students and researchers in drone-related fields.