The Chennai-based company said it chose the island nation because local policies on drones were still developing and the new government was keen to promote technology and precision in agriculture and industries, seeking to reduce dependence on tourism.
“We are traditionally a precision agriculture drone company. This year, we have seen revenues in excess of Rs 100 crore and have seen a lot of attention coming from overseas, particularly for our precision agriculture drones. So, we felt it was the right time to start taking measured and cautious steps to expand into overseas markets,” said Jayaprakash. “Sri Lanka, due to its proximity to India, its increasing regulation of drones and its smaller market, was the perfect launch pad for us before venturing into other regions.”
Apart from agriculture, the company also deals with national security and defence in terms of industrial and structural damage assessment as Sri Lanka has a lot of infrastructure development underway such as ports, airports and roads.
“When monitoring the progress of these projects as well as assessing structural damage to check if new bridges are breaking or roads are collapsing, these types of surveillance drones are the most cost-effective methodology to do so and that is the reason Garuda is very keen to expand to any developing country because the use cases for drones are significant,” said Jayaprakash.
He said Sri Lanka is about three to four years behind India in terms of regulatory frameworks, which presents an opportunity for the company to apply what it has learned in India.
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Garuda Aerospace has already set up operations in Sri Lanka, including a team and office there. It has also brought on board a local partner to help with ground operations and will soon begin deploying its first drones from there. The company is also interested in expanding its operations in the U.S. It has allocated close to $10 million for its global expansion plans.
“We have opened our office in the US and will start operations quite soon. We are also applying for FAA licensing for our drones there,” Jayaprakash said. “Once operations start in the US, Europe and these developed countries, I think it will eclipse the amount of money we will make in India, because from a geopolitical perspective, the whole world is looking at drones made in India.”
Garuda Aerospace is also looking to start manufacturing and assembling certain critical components in the countries where it expands its operations to reduce costs. In India, Garuda Aerospace designs and undertakes manufacturing through contract manufacturers such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML).
“In Sri Lanka and some of the other markets we want to enter, we will probably look at a hybrid model, because at least initially we might have to take care of the manufacturing ourselves, because the existing players there may not have the means or the know-how of drones,” Jayaprakash said. “But we are exploring certain areas where similar arrangements can be worked out with manufacturing partners in these countries.”
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