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The Programme on Airship Design and Development (PADD) was launched at IIT Bombay in 2001, with team members drawn from various national aerospace organizations and private sector companies in India. PADD aims at developing airship technology in India for various scientific and commercial applications for various roles such as aerial surveillance, disaster management, and advertisement & product promotion. The first phase of PADD, a study project sponsored by Technology Information Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), was completed in 2003. In this Phase, conceptual design studies of airships for transportation of goods and passengers over mountainous terrain under 'hot and high' conditions were carried out. Techno-economic feasibility of leasing airships for operation in India was investigated, and a Project Definition Report for development of two types of airship was proposed in future phases: the PADD Demo and the PADD PaxCargo.

Two remotely controlled airships, the PADD Micro (with a payload capacity of 1.0 kg) and PADD Mini (with a payload capacity of 3.5 kg) have been designed and developed. Studies are also being carried out in the areas of design and development of stratospheric airships; shape optimization of aerostat and airship envelopes; and development of robust control systems for unmanned airships.