Sky-high Ambitions: Make In India & The Rise Of Urban Air Mobility

Internationally, UAM has already gained traction as the future of mobility with the use of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, intelligent autonomy, and digital ecosystems

The co-evolution of India's defence innovation and urban mobility needs is a deliberate and strategic process. By creating an indigenous aerospace sector for national security, India is concurrently laying the foundation for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) development. Through its dual-use strategy, based on the 'Make in India' campaign, the nation is poised to be at the forefront of the defence and commercial sectors.

By the following decade, over 600 million people will be living in Indian cities and placing tremendous stress on infrastructure, resulting in great traffic congestion. Such urban anarchy is a major challenge. UAM with electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft promises a revolutionary solution by avoiding road traffic and cutting down journey time. But to be achievable, such a vision would have to be enabled with affordable and scalable technology, and most importantly, developed indigenously to fit into India's special environment as well as Indian-market requirements. That is where self-reliance becomes an accelerator to enable the UAM revolution.

Internationally, UAM has already gained traction as the future of mobility with the use of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, intelligent autonomy, and digital ecosystems. In India, though, UAM is about more than futuristic transportation. It is the realisation of the Make in India dream: leveraging domestic strengths in aerospace design, electrification, AI, and systems engineering to emerge as a world leader in cutting-edge mobility solutions.

The 'Make in India' Advantage in Aerospace

Urban Air Mobility fully supports the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Indigenisation of aerospace design and production is also helping India decrease its import dependence and generate fresh export opportunities.

Additionally, UAM development entails a high-end high-technology ecosystem comprising advanced materials, avionics, propulsion systems, and autonomous systems. These represent identical core strengths that India has been cultivating for its defence sector. For decades, India's over-reliance on defence imports created blatant vulnerabilities and deterred indigenous innovation. In recent years, a sequence of forward-looking policy shifts has reversed this trend.

The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 favours indigenous design and production, and the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme has democratized defence R&D. iDEX grants funding to startups as well as to MSMEs to design solutions for the military. As of early 2025, iDEX has involved more than 600 startups and MSMEs. That healthy defence ecosystem is now being directly fed into the UAM sector. The same engineers and startups that design composites for lightweight combat aircraft are using that knowledge to design lightweight energy-efficient airframes for eVTOLs. Military drones' avionic and control systems are being modified to be used for air taxis. Such cross-synergy of talent and resources is the essence of the 'Make in India' benefit. The strategy is already bearing fruit with defence exports touching Rs 23,622 crore in FY 2024-25, showing the economic possibilities of such a 'Make in India' strategy.

Homegrown AI and Autonomy

UAM's viability relies on AI and autonomous systems to enable safe and scalable flight. India's emphasis is on developing, rather than merely buying, such technology. The Indian development ecosystem is better placed to design AI and autonomy solutions that can handle India's complex and often dynamic cityscapes. It ensures that such technology is finely matched to Indian problems. Indigenous software and control solutions, and airspace over city, allow India to ensure a higher level of security and data protection for its future air networks. Such indigenous dependence upon a key technology is central to the objectives of the 'Make in India' program. There are several Indian startups creating eVTOL prototypes currently, often with assistance from lead academic and research institutions such as the IITs, to bridge the industry needs and technology gaps.

Infrastructure and Regulatory Framework

Creation of a UAM ecosystem necessitates physical infrastructure as much as a favorable regulatory framework. India has a first-mover with the Drone Rules 2021 and Digital Sky platform, which spells out a transparent framework for drone usage. Today, the government is applying that framework to eVTOLs. Coming next is the construction of vertiports, the bespoke landing, charging, and passenger hubs. These will also have to be integrated with the currently used transport systems. This infrastructure building will also be one area where 'Make in India' efforts will be concentrated, with public-private collaboration being critical to funding such projects. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set up working groups and issued draft guidance materials to frame requirements for vertiports as well as certification of eVTOLs. Piloting is also being contemplated for cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai to hone operational guidelines prior to a large-scale roll-out.

Challenges and the Roadmap Ahead

Urban Air Mobility is more than a futuristic aspiration; it is a strategic opportunity for India to lead in aerospace innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation. Initial adoption of the same will involve high-value, low-risk applications such as cargo delivery, emergency services, and medical transport, where such developments will drive the efforts to establish public confidence. Passenger services will follow, beginning with controlled corridors such as airport-to-city shuttles. These innovations help enable market growth, which is anticipated to be substantial, with analyses predicting over 1,000 operational UAM aircraft and 100,000 flights a day within 15 years in India.

While momentum is building, much work is left to be done, such as overcoming technical barriers to energy density offered by batteries, gaining public acceptance for autonomous flying machines, and addressing noise pollution concerns. The Indian UAM journey is a phased and measured road map, where aligning UAM with the Make in India initiative can help the country build a strong future.

Thus, such unified civilian and defence innovations are proving that 'Make in India' is a rallying term, but also a road map to a high-tech, self-sustaining future with wings.

Author: Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head of Aerospace, Rail and Off-highway, Tata Elxsi.