TDB Approves ₹285 Crore RDI Support for Ubifly's ePlane Air Mobility Project

The Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Department of Science & Technology has approved ₹285 crore in financial support for Chennai-based Ubifly Technologies Private Limited, backing the company's indigenous ePlane advanced air mobility programme under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.

The project carries a total approved cost of ₹570 crore and is aimed at moving the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to TRL 9, a step toward commercial deployment of an indigenous advanced air mobility platform. The TDB assistance will be extended through Optionally Convertible Debentures.

At the centre of the effort is the e200X, a three-seater, zero-emission aircraft configured for one pilot and two passengers. It has a targeted range of 110 km and an ideal speed of 160 kmph. The aircraft incorporates several indigenous elements, including vertical rotors, forward propellers, proprietary flight-control algorithms, power-distribution controllers and battery-pack modules with integrated cooling systems. The complete airframe — fuselage, wings and booms — has been designed in-house.

A notable design feature is a landing gear built for both conventional and vertical landing, which the company says offers operational flexibility. Its compact architecture is intended to allow operations from relatively small spaces and to support multiple trips on a single battery charge.

The project falls under the Deep Technology category, with Space Technologies as its sub-sector. Progress from TRL-6 to TRL-9 will involve further technology maturation, testing, validation and scale-up toward an operationally demonstrated system.

Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB, said the RDI Fund marks a significant shift toward enabling private-sector participation in high-impact technologies and bringing promising innovations closer to deployment. He added that the support to Ubifly reflects the government's commitment to strengthening indigenous deep-tech capabilities and creating pathways from advanced development to commercialisation, noting that the ePlane project combines advanced electric propulsion, aerospace engineering and intelligent systems.

A representative of Ubifly Technologies said the TDB support would provide an important impetus to the continued development and validation of the ePlane technology. Taking the e200X from TRL-6 toward TRL-9 requires sustained investment in engineering, testing and technology maturation, the representative said, while appreciating TDB's role in enabling the transition and strengthening indigenous advanced air mobility capabilities in India.