UP is on its way to becoming an EV & drone manufacturing hub; Lucknow's AKTU to play a key role

Stepping into a new age of technology, Uttar Pradesh has set its vision to become an electric vehicle and drone unit hotspot in India. In an attempt to nurture and promote technical and vocational institutes, the State Technical Education Department (STED) will roll out courses designed specifically to meet the requirements of these new industries. The aim is to create tech-skill oriented jobs and pave a runway for technological commercial growth in UP.

“Setting up of drone and EV industry in the state will create more employment opportunities, which is the biggest advantage point here. Considering the fact that there is a lot of growth scope in this sector, young talents will have to be given practical knowledge at the grassroots for which courses on the same will be of utmost importance,” said Milind Raj, a Lucknow-based scientist.

Curating special programmes for skill development

Alok Kumar, Secretary, Technical Education in UP in a statement said, "Electric vehicle (EV) and drone industries are two most booming segments in the technology sector. Experts suggest that these segments are set to expand in the coming days. We want to enable students to benefit from this boom." Industrial training institutes (ITIs), constituted under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship can play a significant role by providing training in various trades.

As per the reports, the initiative will soon introduce tailor-made programmes for drone pilots and technicians. It will also include setting up an independent infrastructure for drone manufacturing and operations in the state and an R&D unit run by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU). Additionally, Educational institutes, centres and industry experts are given the responsibility to assemble a programme to introduce Drone-as-a-Service (DrAAS).

Milind Raj added, "Before we delve into the benefits of making UP a drone manufacturing hub, we also need to pay attention to developing proper infrastructure. And for that first step would be to generate tech-skills under Skill India Mission under collaboration with various ITIs in India."

The electric vehicle industry in India is picking pace with 100% FDI possible, new manufacturing hubs, and an increased push to improve charging infrastructure. Federal subsidies and policy favouring deeper discounts under the recently introduced Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Indian-made electric vehicles will boost the plan to set up Uttar Pradesh as a manufacturing hub of EVs. The development of the industry also includes localized ACC battery storage production are other growth drivers like Charging infrastructure and spare part manufacturing.

"The move is part of our efforts to introduce job-oriented courses. The technical education department also takes suggestions from representatives of various segments in the industries to refine technical courses," the official said. As of now, new courses in Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have already been rolled out.

A step towards, Industrial Revolution 4.0

A proactive step to meet the requirements of tomorrow is to upgrade systems today. Educational support from training institutes and skill drives will help create an advanced system in Uttar Pradesh, which can run independently. This new landscape will help UP become compatible with the tech-oriented future.

Currently, India is on the brink of a digital turnaround where young talent plays a leading role, adopting modern technologies for a paradigm shift. The era is about to mark the use of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Cloud Computing in various sectors of society including, agriculture, public grievances, traffic analysis, transport and surveillance.

- with inputs from IANS