ÑDz©ÌåÓý¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³

Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft popularly known as eVTOLs or air taxis, are the next frontier of air mobility. Currently world over prototypes are being tested and regulatory ecosystems are in the initial stages of being framed for its operationalization. As China, US, UAE and other countries prepare for the advent of advanced air mobility, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed to the government that the production linked incentive scheme be extended for domestic manufacturing of eVTOLs. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has currently made available the production linked incentive for domestic manufacturers of drones and drone components. “The government has announced a PLI (production linked scheme) policy for manufacturing drones. For eVTOLs, CII has submitted a proposal to facilitate its manufacturing. It (proposal) is not just for those who are manufacturing the full eVTOLs. The PLI policy can be for anybody in the ecosystem, for battery panels, battery charging,� said Amit Dutta, Chairman, CII Task Force on Advanced Air Mobility and Managing Director, Hunch Mobility, in an interaction with ET Infra. In order to create the nascent framework for Advanced Air Mobility, the country’s civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, recently released the airworthiness criteria for operations of eVTOLs as well as guidelines for setting of vertiports, a designated landing and take-off facility. Indian aviation companies are taking initiatives to bring eVTOL operations to India. InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company of country’s largest airline IndiGo, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Archer Aviation, a California-based eVTOL manufacturer, with an aim to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India from 2026. “Now some manufacturers are talking about commercialization and testing even in 2025. So I am aware that in the US, companies like Beta, today are allowed to do what they call select routes,� said Dutta. “Now how soon will that happen here in India? Bit difficult to guess but everybody's pushing forward saying can we start select commercialization of eVTOLs in India by 2026,� he added Urban air transport service provider Hunch Mobility in 2023 entered into agreement with aerospace manufacturer Embraer’s subsidiary, Eve Air Mobility, for starting eVTOL flights in Bengaluru. Eve’s eVTOL is scheduled to enter into service in 2026. Dutta highlighted that for setting up of vertiports, there is scope for the government to make available spaces in the urban areas which can allow integration of eVTOL transport services with other modes of urban mobility such as metro systems. “A lot of land banks are available with the government. There could be opportunities where the government provides the land as part of their equity and there is the private sector which comes in to develop the vertiport or the heliport,� said Dutta. “That is something in a recent task force meeting by CII was actively discussed…you don't need large, there can be small land banks where the government comes in as a PPP partner. This is something that CII is proposing,� he added. DGCA in its advisory circular on vertiports had outlined that existing heliports, airports, runways or airstrips can also be utilized for the development of vertiports