India Cargo Award winner 2016 & CEO and whole-time Director,TCI Express

The application of drones as a new technology will certainly play a unique role in enhancing short distance operations. It will provide major relief for tackling intra-city transport, taking traffic off the roads which remains the core reason for the delay in deliveries, and would also reduce the costs associated with traditional means of transportation. It will not have a similar application in terms of long-distance operations as there are limitations with regards to payloads.

India is ready to adopt this technology and following global nuances. Industry guesstimates suggest that the use of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) is estimated to grow between $1.2 and $1.5 billion by 2020. This certainly provides a huge window of opportunity to logistics service providers to grow in the country. Technology is a critical enabler for progress in any industry and with the right regulations formulated, it won’t be long before the drones become a common sight. In terms of being prepared to adopt and deploy, even global giants like Walmart and Amazon have been testing the viability of this technology; so, as an industry, I think that drone technology is still in its nascent stage of adoption across the world. It might possibly take five years before this is the new norm. In terms of drawbacks, there is no secure way of delivery via drones as weather and other external factors will definitely have an impact on drones. In addition to this, we are yet to look at seamless and error-free delivery.