Drones have brought a new layer of accountability to large-scale construction projects.

How do you look at the evolution of drones and their applications in Indian construction industry?

The evolution of drones in India’s infrastructure and construction space has been transformative. What began as a novelty is now a necessity in modern project planning and monitoring. At Aakashe, we’ve observed a significant shift; from manually-intensive fieldwork to autonomous aerial data collection. Drones have accelerated timelines, improved accuracy, and brought a new layer of accountability to large-scale construction projects. Drones are redefining the pace and precision of development.

What are the major advantages of using drones at construction projects?

In construction, drones offer instant situational awareness, project-wide visibility, and accurate geospatial data that helps reduce human error and rework. At Aakashe, our ready-to-use drone imagery provides decision-makers with instant access to high quality drone imagery; be it for land use planning, utility alignment, progress tracking, or compliance monitoring. This reduces delays, enhances transparency, and supports faster, informed decisions across stakeholders.

What are the current application trends of drones in Indian projects?

We have witnessed a sharp rise in drone usage for urban infrastructure planning, land administration, road and railway corridor mapping, utility mapping, and city profiling. We’re seeing growing adoption in smart city missions, greenfield developments, and large-scale government initiatives like PM Gati Shakti. The trend is clearly moving toward instant access to high-resolution aerial data that integrates with GIS workflows for deeper spatial analytics.

What are the steps needed to promote the use of drones at construction and mining?

·  Awareness & education: Stakeholders need to understand the operational and financial benefits of drone imagery—especially when compared to traditional surveying.

·  Policy support: Continued regulatory support from DGCA and faster clearances for infrastructure mapping projects.

·   Integration with public infrastructure platforms: Linking drone data with government platforms (like PM Gati Shakti) for unified visibility.

·   Standardization: Defining standard formats and quality benchmarks for drone-generated outputs.

Aakashe actively promotes these steps by delivering instant, simplified drone data that can be readily consumed by urban planners, consultants, and government departments.

How do you support the drone industry to grow further in the current market scenario?

At Aakashe, we simplify drone data access for end-users. By offering ready-to-use, instant aerial imagery through a seamless digital platform, we bridge the gap between complex drone operations and actionable insights. We also actively collaborate with planning departments, GIS users, and smart city authorities; ensuring drone data is not just collected, but integrated into real decision-making tool.

What are your future plans in the development of drone industry?

Aakashe aims to become the default aerial layer for India's infrastructure decision-making. Our roadmap includes:

·  Expanding our mapped city coverage across India’s growth corridors.

·  Enabling plug-and-play integration with popular GIS tools like ArcGIS and QGIS.

·  Launching new features for historical comparisons, annotation tools, and cross-platform accessibility.

·  Supporting state and city-level governments to move toward data-first planning using instant drone visuals.

Our vision is to ensure that anytime a planner or engineer asks "what’s on ground today?" - Aakashe is their immediate answer.