NEW DELHI, March 17 -- The civil aviation ministry proposes to offer as much as Rs.1,800 crore as incentives to manufacture drones in India, increase adoption across defence and civilian sectors and reduce reliance on component imports from China.

The tentatively titled Mission Drone Shakti is expected to set aside Rs.1,600 crore-1,800 crore over five years to fund and support research and development and local manufacturing of components including critical parts and incentivize drone sales and adoption, an official aware of the discussions said.

The plan is to introduce the scheme in FY27, targeting private Indian companies. The details are being finalized and after the finance ministry's approval, it will be presented for the consider...