Drones Taking-Off & Indian Wear for Office
Drones Taking-Off & Indian Wear for Office
The All New Trends 2.0 Newsletter!
Hey Everyone,
Welcome back to the new and improved Trends newsletter by The Indian Dream!
We started our newsletter 1 year ago with the idea of doing deep-dives on a single market trend each week. We did deep-dives into trends such as Hemp, Direct to Consumer, Micro-SaaS, Plant Based Meat, Space Technology & so much more.
BUT, we realised that it didn’t have ‘newsletter-market’ fit. Not every Trend was interesting to the diverse reader base that we have.
Our goal at The Indian Dream is to help knowledge seeking entrepreneurs build profitable businesses. Through this newsletter we wanted to surface actionable ideas that our readers could explore to build their next big businesses.
Hence, we went back to the drawing board to come up with Trends 2.0 that focuses on giving diverse ideas across different domains backed by our research and a new section of curated links from around the Internet.
This week, you'll find:
Why is the Indian Drone Market Taking-Off?
Where's the Indian Office Wear for Men?
TID's 3-2-1 for the Week (3 Tweets, 2 Podcasts, 1 Article)
TID’s Book Recommendation for the week
Drones Taxis Now a Reality in India?
We’ve been drone enthusiasts for a long time. But we never spoke about Drones on the podcast or newsletter because Drone Rules in India did not allow any drone industry to develop. This changed in August 2021.
The Indian Drone Rules 2021 might finally make drones a reality and possibly open the floodgates for far more - we're talking Drone Taxis. The first air taxi prototype might be here before you could even imagine - best estimates say a year or two. (NASA- 2022; Airbus- 2023).
While Drone Taxis might be a little far fetched, what excites us is the number of opportunities that the new rules have opened up. Let’s take a quick look at where The Indian Drone market stands in the global context 👇🏼
The Drone Rules 2021 - A Game-changer!
August 2021 saw the implementation of new rules and regulations for drones in India. The Drone Rules 2021 replaced (and supersedes!) the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules 2021. They updated the rules within six months, a speed record for the Indian Government! Here’s what the new rules entail:
Along with the reduced number of permission forms from 25 to 6, the number of fees have also gone down from 72 to 4! All bureaucratic work will happen through an online platform - the DigitalSky.
The new rules require manufacturers to equip all drones with real-time tracking and geo-fencing. In case a drone crosses an unwarranted boundary, immediate alerts will be sent to the authorities.
Owning a drone has become much easier. Where in the past, it was almost impossible (and quite expensive!) to import/ buy a drone, even for non-commercial purposes, the new regulations ensure hassle-free drone ownership!
Want to build a drone? Go ahead, no penalties for that! Drone Rules 2021 require no permissions for the import of drone components!
These regulations also feature a unique and interactive AirSpace map, AKA Google maps for drones. They will show where your drones can and cannot enter. Red, yellow, and green zones will be defined for easy flights. And, access to all these maps will be through APIs.
Mandatory training and certification are required for any drone pilot. A proper license has to be obtained from a DGCA authorised institute only.
The overall theme of the draft rules is conducive to new opportunities for drone and business enthusiasts. If you want to read all the rules, here’s a link for you!
Drone Business Ideas that can take-off! ✈️
Now, let’s jump to the most exciting part of this write-up! Business Opportunities!
We have put together a list of ideas that we think will be en vogue! Have a look:
Create the backend for Drone Deliveries! The most interesting and thrilling application of drones. Special drone corridors are being mapped out, and cargo deliveries will soon become a reality. You can use the AirSpace API to develop some backend to help with drone delivery service. Check out 1 Martian Way.
Manufacturing Drones or Drone parts! An obvious but interesting (and tremendous) business opportunity. Since we expect drone demand to skyrocket, any drone-related manufacturing unit will be profitable and will tremendous export potential. Check out Aarav.
How about Drone Insurance? You will even have an upper hand here since this is still a fairly new industry, and we doubt that your traditional insurance agencies will be too keen to take this up.
Since the new regulations require you to have proper training and a license before flying a drone, opening a Drone Training Institute sounds like a cool idea! The demand will be unmatched in the future, and business growth is a guarantee. Check out The Drone Destination.
Become a high-level drone pilot! There is a huge growth opportunity in this area because there will be a shortage of highly trained pilots.
Start a drone blog! Or a vlog! Or a social media fan page! Create an IG Reels series! The possibilities are limitless. The ever-growing research and developments in the drone industry will give you a ton of content to work with.
From the great drone ban of 2014 to the Drone Rules 2021, we have made some colossal progress in this arena. We cannot be in a better era- the drone industry is taking-off, and the future holds breathtaking possibilities!
However, in a country as geographically diverse as ours, creating a system that manages to seamlessly traverse through all the terrains might be a challenge. Even if we develop the necessary tech, there are questions on the viability of using Drones for certain applications. But, given the global progress in this industry, it’s safe to say, Drones are here to stay.
That being said, nothing can contain our drone-y excitement, and we cannot wait for the Drone industry to bloom!
Where's the Indian Office Wear for Men?
At the risk of sounding political - When the PM of our country promotes Indian wear as formal attire, what’s holding the rest of us back?
While it is fairly common for women to wear Indian clothes to the office, men are still required to dress according to the standards laid out by the West, i.e. Suits, Formal Shirts & Trousers.
There’s Indian wear for the festive season, there are your run-of-the-mill comfy home clothes, and then there are your wedding outfits. Where are the everyday simple Indian office clothes?
Since Indian clothes are comfortable, nice and airy, they are perfect for our weather. We all know how irritating it can be to wear a formal suit on hot and humid days. Switch it out for a linen or cotton-based kurta, and suddenly the weather will be tolerable.
That brings us to the business idea - what if someone were to come up with a brand that specialises in Indian office wear? Their entire marketing can revolve around going back to the roots of Indian clothes and representing them at the office.
Take Manyavar, for instance.
The brand has found success by promoting Indian ethnic formals for celebratory and festive occasions. They've changed preferences using solid marketing campaigns by telling us that wearing Western formals to a wedding is a no-no, we should all wear Indian formals. But no-one has done the same for Indian office wear!
You could become a trendsetter if you promote this the right way. And usher in a new era for Indian office-wear! Become a solopreneur. Or an influencer. Or a Direct to Consumer Brand. The opportunities are endless.
TID's 3-2-1
3 Tweets 🐦
Nik Sharma on how to launch a new Direct to Consumer (D2C) brand. We've done a lot of episodes on D2C and so we get a lot of people asking us to help them with their D2C brands. If I could, I'd find all those people again and send them this Twitter thread.
Content Creation is easier than most people think. It’s all about the first step.
Curious about how to build a $10,000 Micro-SaaS business? Will Cannon gives you the playbook to do exactly that.
2 Podcast Episodes 🎙️
Thras.io Model is creating a stir in the Indian Startup eco-system. Collectively, the Indian Startups aiming to replicate this model have raised more than $500 Million in a very short time. In fact, Mensa Brands also became the fastest Unicorn in just 6 months. Here’s an episode that talks about the Thras.io model in detail!
🎙️ Business Breakdowns - Amazon Aggregators: Buying Third-Party Sellers - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 35]
We talk to Vivek Sahni on The Indian Dream Podcast’s Founder Journey segment to talk all about Kama Ayurveda’s fascinating journey of building India’s premium Skincare brand.
🎙️ Here’s the episode! (32 Mins)
1 Article 📰
People are spending millions on NFTs. What? Why?
TID’s Book Recommendation
Review of The Minimalist Entrepreneur by Sahil Lavingia
The Minimalist Entrepreneur is for budding entrepreneurs who want to build a "Minimalist Business" in the modern world. A creator can use the book as a starting point for their own entrepreneurial dreams.
Overall, I'd recommend 'The Minimalist Entrepreneur' to entrepreneurs who are okay with taking it slow & steady. The proverbial tortoise in a media landscape dominated by the hares.
To read more, visit this link:
That’s it from us this week! Share this with your friends, family and colleagues who want to stay on top of Market Trends and Business Ideas & Opportunities!
Until next week!
Sahil & Sid