Government to promote drone use in agriculture; provide grants to agri institutes

In a significant increase to promote precision farming in India, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has issued pointers to make drone expertise inexpensive to the stakeholders of this sector.

The pointers of “Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization” (SMAM) have been amended, which envisages granting upto 100% of the price of agriculture drone or Rs 10 lakh, whichever is much less, as grant for buy of drones by the Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes, ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State Agriculture Universities for taking over large-scale demonstrations of this expertise on the farmers’ fields.

The Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) can be eligible to obtain grants up to 75 % of the price of agriculture drone for its demonstrations on the farmers’ fields, a launch from the Ministry of Agriculture stated.

A contingency expenditure of Rs 6,000 per hectare can be supplied to implementing companies that don’t want to buy drones however will rent them for demonstrations from customized hiring centres (CHCs), hi-tech hubs, drone producers, and startups.

In order to provide agricultural providers by way of drone utility, 40 % of the essential price of drone and its attachments or Rs 4 lakh, whichever much less can be obtainable as monetary help for drone buy by present Custom Hiring Centres set up by Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs, and Rural entrepreneurs.

The new CHCs, or Hi-tech Hubs that can be established by the Cooperative Societies of Farmers, FPOs, and rural entrepreneurs with monetary help from SMAM, RKVY or some other schemes, may embrace drone as one of many machines together with different agricultural machines in the tasks of CHCs/Hi-tech Hubs.

Agriculture graduates establishing Custom Hiring Centres can be eligible to obtain 50 % of the essential price of drone and its attachments or up to Rs 5 lakh in grant assist for drone purchases. Rural entrepreneurs ought to have handed Class 10 examination or its equal from a recognised board; and may have distant pilot licence from an institute specified by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) or from any authorised distant pilot coaching organisation.

The subsidised buy of agriculture drones for CHCs/Hi-tech Hubs will make the expertise inexpensive, ensuing in their widespread adoption. This would make drones extra accessible to the frequent man in India and also will considerably encourage home drone manufacturing.