- This web event was held on the ITW platform
- Sri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary – Ministry Of Aviation, delivered the keynote
- Drones Federation Of India was the knowledge partner
The EFY Group organised a webinar at the launch of the Earth’s First Drone World. The event had the Drone Federation of India as their knowledge partners. Being held on the India Technology Week platform, the first Keynote speech was delivered by Sri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary Ministry Of Aviation, who spoke about the effectiveness of Drone Technology in India.
Mr Dubey also discussed the opportunities emerging in the current scenario of COVID 19, and how relevant it is to meet the needs of the sector for a skilled and trained workforce. It was an interactive session where he also gave the government’s perspective in this particular sector and also spoke about the collaboration between Start-ups, Industry and Government to build a larger eco-system.
DISHA fund
Proceeding further, Mr Dubey shared about their current project called the DISHA fund. DISHA stands for Drones for Infra, Security, Healthcare and Agriculture. Infrastructure, Security, Healthcare, and Agriculture are the four broad focus areas as there are massive opportunities that could benefit the lives of common Indians.
“Currently we are working on the DSR part ( Demand, Supply and Regulations). On the demand side, we are working with various government entities, we are working with GARUD scheme which stands for Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones. This is a fast track method by which we can help the government entity” said Mr Dubey.
The focus factors
Meanwhile, the other big aspect of drones is the risk to safety, security and privacy. These are the three big focus factors whenever there’s a need for approval or simplifications of any places or regulations. Mr Dubey commented, “Just like any other aircraft, or any other flying object we have to be very mindful of three things – People, Buildings and Vehicles”. With all the weather, technology issues and humans there’s always a multitude of factors which play every time an object hits the sky.
He also mentioned an important point to be privacy, because as one knows drones are nothing but eyes, ears and limbs in the sky. All three can do a lot of good things and can also do a lot of damage. “That’s why there’s a balancing act that we do at the Ministry Of Aviation and the Security of Agencies wherein we look forward to promoting the greater good with our cutting edge of technology, our young entrepreneurs, etc.”
The webinar was concluded by an interactive question and answer session, where Mr Dubey once again summarised the relevance of the DISHA fund and its application in the four broad areas of Infrastructure, Security, Healthcare and Agriculture.
The online event was attended by an efficient panel of experts and industry leaders in the rising field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Platform. The event, which was held on the India Technology Platform, started with a welcome note and introduction by Mr Mukul Singh, Senior Journalist, EFY Network who gave a brief background on the need of Drone technology on present scenario and times.
Mr Dubey who is currently serving as the Joint Secretary of Ministry Of Civil Aviation, Government Of India, started this career as an assistant manager with Bhilai Steel Plant. He has worked as partner and head of Aerospace Defence, KPMG India and is also currently the acting Vice-Chancellor Of Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University.
The Drone Federation of India is the heart of India’s UAV industry. As the premier trade association, DFI advances the interests of members in government, industry and public affairs. They also help in improving the quality and profitability of manufacturers and service providers.
