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Schemes & Financial Support for Drones by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India
Drones can improve farmer yield through different methods. Drone technology quickly reestablishes traditional agricultural practices and is consequently finishing them. Drone technology quickly reestablishes traditional agricultural practices and is consequently finishing them as Irrigation Monitoring, Crop Health Monitoring and Surveillance, Crop Damage Assessment, Field Soil Analysis, Agricultural pesticide and fertilizer spraying.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has issued certain guidelines to help farmers or stakeholders in the agriculture sector have great access to and affordance towards drones in agriculture. Additionally, the Government of India promotes drone use in agriculture through financial support under its sub-mission on agriculture mechanization. Besides this, the agriculture ministry in India is providing a grant of up to Rs. 10 lakhs for the purchase of drones to agricultural institutes.
· The government is providing a 50% or a maximum of Rs. 5 lakh subsidy to SC-ST, small and marginal, women and farmers of northeastern states to buy drones. For other farmers, financial assistance will be given up to 40 percent or a maximum of Rs.4 lakh.
· To promote the use of drones in agriculture and make drone technology affordable to the farmers and other stakeholders of this sector, financial assistance for 100 % cost of the drone together with the contingent expenditure is extended under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) to the Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes, Institutions of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) for its demonstration on the farmer’s fields.
· Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) are provided grants up to 75% for the purchase of drones for their demonstration on the farmers’ fields.
· To provide agricultural services through drone application, financial assistance up to 40% of the basic cost of the drone and its attachments or Rs.4 lakhs, whichever is less also provided for drone purchase by existing and new Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) under Cooperative Society of Farmers, Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Rural entrepreneurs.
· The agriculture graduates establishing CHCs are eligible to receive financial assistance @ 50% of the cost of drones up to a maximum of Rs.5.00 lakhs.
DGCA-approved drone training institutes
1. The Drone destination, Delhi
2. PBC’s aero hub, Pune
3. Drone Acharya, Pune
4. Government Aviation Training Institute, Bhubaneswar
5. Blue Ray Aviation, Ahmedabad
6. Centre for aerospace research remote pilot training organization, Chennai
7. Telangana State aviation academy, Hyderabad
8. Alchemist aviation, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
9. Ambitions flying club, Aligarh, Uttarpradesh
10 . The Bombay Flying Club, Mumbai
11 . Pioneer flying academy, New Delhi
12 . Redbird aviation, New Delhi
13 . Marut Dronetech Private limited , Hyderabad