NEW DELHI: India will launch a $234 million incentive program for civil and military drone makers to reduce their reliance on imported components and counter rival Pakistan’s program built on support from China and Turkiye, three sources told Reuters.

India’s push to build more home-grown drones stems from its assessment of the four-day clash with Pakistan in May that marked the first time New Delhi and Islamabad utilized unmanned aerial vehicles at scale against each other. The nuclear-armed neighbors are now locked in a drones arms race.

New Delhi will launch a 20 billion Indian rupees ($234 million) program for three years that will cover manufacture of drones, components, software, counter drone systems, and services, two government and one industry source, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

Details of the program have not been previously reported and its planned expenditure is higher than the modest 1.2 billion rupees production-linked incentive scheme New Delhi launched in 2021 to promote drone start-ups, which have struggled to raise capital and invest in research.

India’s civil aviation ministry, which is leading the incentives program, and defense ministry did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Reuters previously reported that India plans to invest heavily in local industry and could spend as much as $470 million on unmanned aerial vehicles over the next 12 to 24 months, in what government and military officers said would be a staggered approach.

In the past, India has mainly imported military drones from its third-largest arms supplier, Israel, but in recent years its nascent drone industry has scaled up its cost-effective offerings, including for the military, although reliance on China continues for certain components such as motors, sensors and imaging systems.

Through the incentives, India is aiming to have at least 40 percent of key drone components made in the country by the end of fiscal year 2028 (April-March), the two government sources said.

“During (the India-Pakistan) conflict there was quite a lot of use of drones, loitering munitions and kamikaze drones on both sides,” Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said last week.

“The lesson that we’ve learned is that we need to double down on our indigenization efforts to ensure that we build a large, effective, military drone manufacturing ecosystem.”

India bans import of drones but not their components and the government has planned additional incentives for manufacturers that procure parts from within the country, the two government sources said.

The state-run Small Industries Development Bank of India would also support the incentive program by providing cheap loans for working capital, research and development needs for the firms, the government sources added.

Currently, there are more than 600 drone manufacturing and associated companies in India, according to estimates shared by an industry source involved in the discussions for the incentives program.

KARACHI: At least six people were killed on Friday when a multi-storey residential building collapsed in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, police said, the latest in a series of deadly structural failures in the country’s largest metropolis.

Local media reported the building, located in Karachi’s densely populated Lyari neighborhood, housed several families and multiple residents were still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

Television footage showed volunteers and rescue workers digging through the debris for survivors.

“So far, six bodies have been recovered from the debris, while several people are still trapped underneath. Rescue operations are currently ongoing,” Arif Aziz, a senior superintendent of police, told Arab News.

There was no immediate comment from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) — which regulates construction in the city — on whether the building had previously been declared unsafe.

Karachi, home to over 20 million people, has long faced a crisis of unregulated urban expansion, with illegal construction, aging infrastructure and weak enforcement contributing to frequent building collapses.

According to the SBCA’s own reports and official data published in local media, more than 80 people have been killed in building collapses in Karachi since 2020, including incidents in Gulbahar, Lyari, Qur’angi, Shah Faisal Colony and North Nazimabad.

In one of the worst such disasters in recent years, a five-storey residential building collapsed in Lyari’s Koyla Godam area in June 2020, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens. In April 2024, a three-storey structure came down in North Nazimabad, killing one person and wounding four others. In October 2023, a building collapse in Shah Faisal Colony left five dead.

Despite repeated tragedies, officials have been criticized for failing to crack down on unsafe buildings and prosecute those responsible for unauthorized or substandard construction.

The SBCA has previously stated it lacks resources to inspect thousands of buildings across Karachi, while citizens have alleged widespread corruption and political interference in the issuance of permits.