The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and AVPL International have joined hands to set up 350 Advanced Skill Centres (ASCs) for drone technology across India over the next three years. The collaboration begins with 75 centres in the first year, located inside private universities and engineering colleges, where they will operate as industry-run Centres of Excellence (CoEs). The initiative is designed to build one of the country’s largest industry-integrated skilling networks for the fast-growing drone sector.
The Partnership at a Glance
Under the arrangement, NSDC will co-invest the majority of the capital needed to establish the centres, while AVPL International will handle the end-to-end operations. This division of roles is significant: the public body brings funding and scale, while the private partner brings specialised drone expertise in running laboratories, delivering curriculum, developing faculty and connecting students to industry.
AVPL International’s operational responsibilities include laboratory management, curriculum delivery, faculty development, industry partnerships, internships, placements and entrepreneurship support. The centres will offer training in drone piloting, drone manufacturing and assembly, maintenance and repair, precision agriculture, surveying and GIS, AI-enabled drone applications, infrastructure inspection, drone data analytics and entrepreneurship.
Students will also get to work on live industry projects, internships, innovation challenges, hackathons and startup incubation programmes. For universities, the partnership promises world-class infrastructure, an industry-designed curriculum, faculty upskilling and stronger placement opportunities, all anchored in a long-term engagement with one of the fastest-growing technology sectors in the country.
NSDC and AVPL International: The Two Partners
National Skill Development Corporation
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a not-for-profit public limited company incorporated on 31 July 2008 under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. It was created as a public-private partnership (PPP) to catalyse private sector participation in skill development and improve the employability of India’s youth. The Government of India holds 49 per cent of its equity, with the rest held by private sector institutions.
NSDC functions under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), which was carved out as a separate ministry in November 2014. The corporation funds and supports skill training providers, runs sector skill councils, operates the Skill India ecosystem and drives programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). NSDC International, its arm for global partnerships, supports overseas skilling and global certification. Its headquarters are in New Delhi.
AVPL International
AVPL International, formally AITMC Ventures Limited, is a Gurugram-headquartered drone technology and skilling company. Established in 2016, it is an approved Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO), meaning it is authorised to train and certify drone pilots under the rules of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The company works across drone manufacturing, pilot training, Centres of Excellence, research, entrepreneurship development and technology-led workforce solutions. It claims to have trained more than 1 lakh youth in drone skills since its founding, and it is also investing in manufacturing expansion, including a proposed ₹80 crore campus as part of Haryana’s drone city project. This is not the first engagement between the two organisations; in May 2024 they had signed an agreement to set up 70 skills and incubation hubs focused on drones, IoT and agriculture.
How the Advanced Skill Centres Will Work
The model places industry directly inside the campus, so that students can acquire practical drone skills alongside their regular degree programmes. Each Advanced Skill Centre will be equipped with dedicated drone laboratories and hands-on learning infrastructure, bridging the gap between classroom theory and the real requirements of the industry.
The initiative is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes multidisciplinary education, experiential learning, vocational integration and stronger industry-academia collaboration. Under NEP 2020, the government has set a target that at least 50 per cent of learners in the school and higher education system should have exposure to vocational education.
A key feature of the programme is the National Credit Framework (NCrF), a unified credit system that brings school education, higher education and vocational training under one framework. Subject to institutional and regulatory approval, students in these centres may earn academic credits through structured skill-based learning. This means that drone training would not be an add-on but a recognised part of their degree, improving employability while they are still studying.
Why Drone Skills Matter Now
India’s drone sector has moved from niche defence use to broad commercial adoption. As of February 2026, more than 38,500 drones were registered in the country, about 39,890 remote pilots had been certified and over 240 training organisations were approved. Drones are now used in agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, defence, homeland security, mining, disaster management, healthcare, smart cities and environmental monitoring.
The market is growing fast. India’s drone market was valued at about US$ 1,219.7 million (₹10,977 crore) in 2025 and is projected to reach US$ 3,231.1 million (₹29,080 crore) by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 21.5 per cent. The sector is expected to generate more than 1,20,000 manufacturing jobs and over 6,00,000 service sector positions.
This is where the skills gap becomes the binding constraint. A workforce that can fly, build, repair and apply drones is needed to convert policy push and market demand into actual growth. Industry estimates suggest India needs over 1 lakh drone pilots and engineers by 2030. A single year’s target of 75 centres, scaled to 350 over three years, is an attempt to build that talent pipeline at the same pace as the industry.
Policy Support for the Drone Sector
The skilling push is part of a broader policy architecture that has made drones a strategic sector for India. The Drone Rules, 2021, notified by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, removed a large part of the earlier compliance burden and shifted to a trust-based, self-certification model for most operations. The DigitalSky platform provides a unified digital interface for registration, certification and flight approvals.
On the manufacturing side, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components, notified on 30 September 2021, offers incentives totalling ₹120 crore based on value addition. The scheme, along with a uniform 5 per cent GST on drones, has helped Indian manufacturers scale up. The government has also spoken of a proposed drone technology incentive programme of about US$ 240 million (₹2,219 crore) aimed at achieving 40 per cent localisation of drone components by FY28.
The skilling dimension is equally visible. The Namo Drone Didi scheme seeks to provide drones to 15,000 women’s self-help groups and has trained women from self-help groups as certified drone pilots for agricultural work. Under the SVAMITVA scheme, drones have been used to survey villages and issue property cards, further expanding the demand for trained operators.
The Way Forward
The success of the partnership will depend on execution, not just announcements. Placement outcomes, the pace at which universities join the network and the ability of the training to keep pace with rapidly evolving drone technology will determine whether the centres become genuine talent pipelines or simply infrastructure that is underused.
The model of co-investment by a public agency and operations by a private specialist is a deliberate choice. It lets the government use its capital efficiently while tapping into private sector agility and industry networks, a pattern that NSDC has followed across its skilling ecosystem. If the 350 centres are delivered on schedule, the network could set a template for how other emerging technologies, such as AI and semiconductors, are brought into mainstream higher education.
The collaboration also feeds directly into national ambitions such as Viksit Bharat 2047, Skill India, Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. By anchoring drone skilling inside university campuses, India is trying to create the skilled workforce that will determine whether its drone ambitions translate into a globally competitive industry and manufacturing hub.
Key Takeaways
- NSDC and AVPL International have partnered to establish 350 Advanced Skill Centres (ASCs) for drone technology across India over three years.
- In the first year, 75 centres will be set up in private universities and engineering colleges as industry-operated Centres of Excellence (CoEs).
- NSDC is a not-for-profit PPP company incorporated on 31 July 2008, functioning under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, with the Government of India holding 49 per cent equity.
- AVPL International (AITMC Ventures Limited), headquartered in Gurugram and established in 2016, is an approved Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) under the DGCA.
- The centres align with NEP 2020, which targets exposure to vocational education for at least 50 per cent of learners, and may offer credits under the National Credit Framework (NCrF).
- India’s drone market, valued at about US$ 1,219.7 million in 2025, is projected to reach US$ 3,231.1 million by 2030 at a CAGR of roughly 21.5 per cent.
