“…Earlier this week, the government of India also notified a new policy and fresh set of rules for the usage of drones and unmanned aircraft systems. The coverage of drones under these new rules has increased from 300 kg to 500 kg. This would include drones that can carry heavy payloads and drone taxis, according to various reports.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said:

“The time is not far when like taxis that you see on roads, like Uber, etc., you will see taxis in the air under the new drone policy. I believe this is very possible.”

Now, two Chennai-based startups are aiming to take huge strides in this sector. Vinata Aeromobility, which was established earlier this year, recently announced that it will unveil what it claims is Asia’s first hybrid flying car at the Helitech Expo, slated to take place in London in October.

“We’ve been working on this concept since 2017-18. We were all set to launch the startup last year, but the pandemic delayed our plans,” says Yogesh Ramanathan, founder, CEO and lead designer at Vinata.

“Our proof-of-concept is ready and we’ll be unveiling a scaled-down model of the aircraft in October, along with more details about its design and specifications. The most interesting part about this flying car is that it will run on hybrid power, both electrical and sustainable biofuel,” adds Ramanathan, who has years of experience in automobile designing…”