Lok Sabha Question No. 1206 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-03
Subject: Financial Assistance under SMAM
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri G Lakshminarayana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1206 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 3 RD  DECEMBER 2024

## FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE UNDER SMAM

## 1206.  SHRI G LAKSHMINARAYANA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the financial assistance and grants provided under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) for the purchase of drones, including the eligibility criteria and the total number of beneficiaries so far, State-wise;
- (b) the number of agricultural institutes, Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) that have received financial assistance for the purchase of drones for agricultural applications, State-wise and district-wise for Andhra Pradesh;
- (c) the number of drone demonstrations conducted in farmers' fields including the total area covered under these demonstrations, district-wise;
- (d) whether any challenges have been faced in the implementation of the dronebased agriculture initiatives and if so, the reasons for the delays or challenges encountered; and
- (e) the steps being taken to encourage the use of drones in agriculture, including the promotion of domestic drone manufacturing and the training of remote pilots?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)

(a) to (e): Under  Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization  (SMAM),    financial assistance @ 100% of the cost of drone up to a maximum of Rs. 10 lakhs per drone is provided for  its purchase and  demonstration on the farmers' fields by the institutes under  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR),  Farm  Machinery  Training  & Testing  Institutes,  Krishi  Vigyan  Kendras  (KVKs),  State  Agriculture  Universities (SAUs), State and other Central Government Agricultural Institutions/Departments and Public Sector  Undertakings  (PSUs) of Government  of India engaged in  agricultural activities. The Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) are provided grants up to 75% of the cost of Kisan Drone for its demonstrations on the farmers' fields. In order to make available drone services to farmers on rental basis, financial assistance @ 40% up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 lakhs are provided for purchase of drones by CHCs under Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs and Rural entrepreneurs. Agriculture graduates establishing CHCs are eligible to receive financial assistance @ 50% of the cost of drone  up  to  a  maximum  of  Rs.5.00  lakhs  per  drone.  For  purchase  of  drones  on individual ownership basis, the Small and Marginal, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, Women and North Eastern State farmers are provided financial assistance @ 50% of the cost up to a maximum of Rs. 5.00 lakhs and other farmers @ 40% up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 lakhs per drone.

The Government has approved 'Namo Drone Didi' as Central Sector Scheme for providing drones to the Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) with an outlay of Rs. 1261 Crores for the period from 2023-24 to 2025-26. The scheme aims to provide drones to 15000  selected  Women  SHGs. Under this  scheme,  there  is  a  provision  of  Central Financial  Assistance  (CFA)  @  80%  of  the  cost  of  drone  and  accessories/ancillary charges up to a maximum of Rs. 8.00 lakhs per drone to the selected women SHGs. The drones are supplied as a  package,  which also includes  mandatory  drone pilot training  and  additional  training  for  agriculture  purpose  for  nutrient  and  pesticide application for one of the members of these women SHGs. Provisions are also made to train other member/ family member of the SHGs as drone assistant.

The  State-wise and  institution-wise number  of drone approved  by  the Department  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare  so  far  under  SMAM  is  given  in Annexure-I. As per information provided by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the district-wise drone allocation under SMAM is not so far made by the State.  However, the district-wise number of SHGs provided with drones by the LFCs in 2023-24 in the State of Andhra Pradesh under Namo Drone Didi scheme is given  in  Annexure-II.  The  number  of  drone  demonstrations  conducted  by  the institutions  of  ICAR  in  farmers'  fields  including  the  total  area  covered  under  these demonstrations is given in Annexure-III.

The drones are recently introduced in the agriculture sector. The challenges faced in the implementation of the drone-based agriculture is so far not reported by the States. However, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has entrusted the  economic  and  business  viability  study  of  the  drone  operations  to  Agriculture Development  and  Rural  Transformation  Centre  (ADRTC),  Institute  for  Social  and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru on 500 drones distributed by the Lead Fertilizer Companies from their own resources in the year 2023-24.

The  initiatives  under  these  schemes  are  targeted  towards  infusing  advance technology in agriculture for improved efficiency, enhanced crop yield and reduced cost of operation for the benefit of farmers and boosting domestic drone manufacturing and also expanding the spread of Remote Pilot Training Organization (RPTO) for training of drone pilots.

State-wise and Institution-wise Numbers of Drones approved /distributed under Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)

| S. No.   | State                                                               | No. of drones for distribution to individual farmers   | Number of Drone for distribution to the CHCs   | Number of drones for demonstration   |
|----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh                                                      | -                                                      | 1475                                           | -                                    |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh                                                   | 2                                                      | -                                              | -                                    |
| 3.       | Bihar                                                               | 5                                                      | -                                              | -                                    |
| 4.       | Chhattisgarh                                                        | -                                                      | 50                                             | -                                    |
| 5.       | Karnataka                                                           | -                                                      | 7                                              | -                                    |
| 6.       | Kerala                                                              | 24                                                     | -                                              | -                                    |
| 7.       | Madhya Pradesh                                                      | 300                                                    | -                                              | -                                    |
| 8.       | Maharashtra                                                         | 17                                                     | 25                                             | -                                    |
| 9.       | Manipur                                                             | -                                                      | 4                                              | -                                    |
| 10.      | Nagaland                                                            | -                                                      | 2                                              | -                                    |
| 11.      | Tamil Nadu                                                          | 10                                                     | -                                              | -                                    |
| 12.      | Uttar Pradesh                                                       | 158                                                    | -                                              | -                                    |
| 13.      | Uttarakhand                                                         | 2                                                      | 32                                             | -                                    |
| 14.      | West Bengal                                                         | 4                                                      | -                                              | -                                    |
| 15.      | Puducherry                                                          | 5                                                      | -                                              | -                                    |
| 16.      | Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR )                     | -                                                      | -                                              | 70                                   |
| 17.      | Agricultural Universities including State Agricultural Universities | -                                                      | -                                              | 33                                   |
| 18.      | Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)                                        | -                                                      | -                                              | 93                                   |
|          | Total                                                               | 527                                                    | 1595                                           | 196                                  |

District-wise Number of SHGs provided with drones by the LFCs in 2023-24 in the State of Andhra Pradesh

| S. No.   | District              |   No. of SHGs |
|----------|-----------------------|---------------|
| 1.       | Alluri Seetharamaraju |             1 |
| 2.       | Ananthapuram          |             3 |
| 3.       | Annamayya             |             5 |
| 4.       | Bapatla               |             6 |
| 5.       | Chitoor               |             5 |
| 6.       | Dr B R Konaseema      |             1 |
| 7.       | Eluru                 |             6 |
| 8.       | Kakinada              |             4 |
| 9.       | Krishna               |             6 |
| 10.      | Kurnool               |             8 |
| 11.      | Nandyal               |             9 |
| 12.      | NTR                   |             3 |
| 13.      | Palnadu               |             4 |
| 14.      | Prakasam              |             6 |
| 15.      | SPSR Nellore          |             4 |
| 16.      | Sr. Satya Sai         |             1 |
| 17.      | Srikakulam            |            11 |
| 18.      | Tirupathi             |             2 |
| 19.      | West Godavari         |             6 |
| 20.      | YSR Kadapa            |             5 |
|          | Total                 |            96 |

Annexure III

## Details of district-wise drone demonstrations conducted by the institutions of ICAR

|   S. No | District     | State            |   No. of drone demon stration |   Area Covered in Drone Demonstr ation (Ha) |   Total no. of farmers Participat ed |
|---------|--------------|------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
|       1 | Ludhiana     | Punjab           |                           182 |                                      147.5  |                                  925 |
|       2 | Moga         | Punjab           |                            51 |                                       45    |                                  567 |
|       3 | Sangrur      | Punjab           |                             5 |                                       42    |                                  698 |
|       4 | Barnala      | Punjab           |                           109 |                                      130    |                                  331 |
|       5 | Jalandhar    | Punjab           |                            21 |                                       40    |                                 1500 |
|       6 | Solan        | Himachal Pradesh |                           426 |                                      496    |                                 6117 |
|       7 | Mandi        | Himachal Pradesh |                           113 |                                      173.5  |                                 1507 |
|       8 | Palampur     | Himachal Pradesh |                           261 |                                      236.2  |                                 5641 |
|       9 | Jammu        | Jammu & Kashmir  |                           302 |                                      389.8  |                                 4751 |
|      10 | Kulgam       | Jammu & Kashmir  |                           190 |                                       84    |                                23386 |
|      11 | Ganderbal    | Jammu & Kashmir  |                            32 |                                       70.9  |                                 1740 |
|      12 | Srinagar     | Jammu & Kashmir  |                             6 |                                        5.08 |                                  453 |
|      13 | Haridwar     | Uttarakhand      |                            22 |                                       45    |                                  122 |
|      14 | Pantnagar    | Uttarakhand      |                            19 |                                       83    |                                   19 |
|      15 | Almora       | Uttarakhand      |                           105 |                                        1.5  |                                  110 |
|      16 | Dehradun     | Uttarakhand      |                           237 |                                      191    |                                  950 |
|      17 | Ambala       | Haryana          |                           250 |                                      250    |                                22135 |
|      18 | Gurugram     | Haryana          |                           178 |                                      178.15 |                                  192 |
|      19 | Mahendergarh | Haryana          |                           635 |                                      250    |                                 1165 |
|      20 | Sonipat      | Haryana          |                           764 |                                      305.6  |                                27390 |
|      21 | Hisar        | Haryana          |                           250 |                                      250    |                                  250 |
|      22 | Barmer-II    | Rajasthan        |                            27 |                                       68    |                                  977 |
|      23 | Bhilwara-1   | Rajasthan        |                           250 |                                      250    |                                 4622 |
|      24 | Jhunjhunu    | Rajasthan        |                            27 |                                       29.4  |                                 1135 |
|      25 | Tonk         | Rajasthan        |                            75 |                                       75    |                                14700 |
|      26 | Pali-1       | Rajasthan        |                             1 |                                        1    |                                   10 |
|      27 | Jodhpur      | Rajasthan        |                           226 |                                      136.04 |                                  110 |
|      28 | Bharatpur    | Rajasthan        |                           100 |                                      100    |                                   98 |
|      29 | Ajmer        | Rajasthan        |                            62 |                                       46    |                                 1540 |
|      30 | Bikaner      | Rajasthan        |                             4 |                                        4    |                                   17 |
|      31 | Kota         | Rajasthan        |                             3 |                                        3    |                                   18 |
|      32 | Udaipur      | Rajasthan        |                             5 |                                       31    |                                  454 |
|      33 | Delhi        | Delhi            |                           426 |                                      500    |                                 4316 |
|      34 | Meerut       | Uttar Pradesh    |                             4 |                                       62    |                                  220 |
|      35 | Bijnor       | Uttar Pradesh    |                            26 |                                       20    |                                   26 |
|      36 | Shamli       | Uttar Pradesh    |                            48 |                                       55    |                                 1102 |
|      37 | Ayodhya      | Uttar Pradesh    |                            10 |                                       82    |                                   82 |
|      38 | Bahraich-1   | Uttar Pradesh    |                            42 |                                       42    |                                  458 |
|      39 | Lucknow      | Uttar Pradesh    |                            18 |                                       86.28 |                                  510 |
|      40 | Bareilly     | Uttar Pradesh    |                             3 |                                        2    |                                   35 |

|   41. | Kanpur           | Uttar Pradesh     | 380   | 418    | 1448     |
|-------|------------------|-------------------|-------|--------|----------|
|    42 | Jhansi           | Uttar Pradesh     | 40    | 197    | 2868     |
|    43 | Mau              | Uttar Pradesh     | 221   | 588    | 1166     |
|    44 | Varanasi         | Uttar Pradesh     | 3     | 4.75   | 375      |
|    45 | Agra             | Uttar Pradesh     | 99    | 43     | 106      |
|    46 | Sitapur          | Uttar Pradesh     | 90    | 90.2   | 826      |
|    47 | Lalitpur         | Uttar Pradesh     | 10    | 100    | 98       |
|    48 | Chitrakoot       | Uttar Pradesh     | 56    | 94.34  | 789      |
|    49 | Mirzapur         | Uttar Pradesh     | 2     | 6.25   | 30       |
|    50 | Muzaffarpur      | BIhar             | 14    | 73     | 190      |
|    51 | Patna            | Bihar             | 884   | 469.6  | 1184     |
|    52 | Ranchi           | Jammu & Kashmir   | 147   | 200    | 147      |
|    53 | Sabour           | Bihar             | 2     | 200    | 1500     |
|    54 | Samastipur       | Bihar             | 106   | 153    | 950      |
|    55 | Saran            | Bihar             | 22    | 22     | 185      |
|    56 | East Champaran   | Bihar             | 104   | 226.79 | 255      |
|    57 | Jehanabad        | Bihar             | 371   | 263.6  | 371      |
|    58 | Kishanganj       | Bihar             | 389   | 250    | 389      |
|    59 | Saharsa          | Bihar             | 406   | 300    | 406      |
|    60 | Nawada           | Bihar             | 545   | 218    | 585      |
|    61 | Gumla            | Jharkhand         | 791   | 316.27 | 392      |
|    62 | Deograh          | Jharkhand         | 10    | 73     | 465      |
|    62 | Nimpith          | West Bengal       | 32    | 250    | 496      |
|    63 | Narendrapur      | West Bengal       | 27    | 250    | 1626     |
|    64 | Sargachhi        | West Bengal       | 43    | 272    | 2490     |
|    65 | Birbhum          | West Bengal       | 4     | 2      | 6        |
|    66 | Coochbehar       | West Bengal       | 62    | 200    | 920      |
|    67 | Mayurbhanj       | West Bengal       | 45    | 279    | 945      |
|    68 | Barrackopre      | West Bengal       | 7     | 400    | 1500     |
|    69 | Nadia            | West Bengal       | 20    | 120    | 980      |
|    70 | Nayagarh         | Odisha            | 15    | 270    | 650      |
|    71 | Bhubaneswar      | Odisha            | 6     | 13     | 200      |
|    72 | East Siang       | Arunachal Pradesh | 1     | 5      | 40       |
|    73 | Nalbari          | Assam             | 1     | 1      | 20       |
|    74 | Jorhat           | Assam             | 256   | 255    | 6411     |
|    75 | Lakhimpur        | Assam             | 70    | 2      | 1412     |
|    76 | Karimganj        | Assam             | 49    | 7.91   | 1241     |
|    77 | Dima Hasao       | Assam             | 6     | 2      | 150      |
|    78 | Kamrup           | Assam             | 100   | 23.2   | 2520     |
|    79 | South Sikkim     | Sikkim            | 250   | 130    | 2750     |
|    80 | Imphal East      | Manipur           | 14    | 14     | 14       |
|    81 | Kohima           | Nagaland          | -     | 262    | 1232     |
|    82 | East Khasi Hills | Meghalaya         | 74    | 89     | 910      |
|    83 | Khowai           | Tripura           | 195   | 109    |          |
|    84 | Aizawl           | Mizoram           | 27    |        | 5932 780 |
|    85 | Bishnupur        | Manipur           | 20    | 31 20  | 150      |
|    86 | Medziphema       | Nagaland          | 10    | 40     | 231      |
|    87 |                  | Meghalaya         | 8     | 5      | 334      |
|    88 | Ri-bhoi Akola    | Maharashtra       | 51    | 28     | 1623     |
|    89 | MPKV, Rahuri     | Maharashtra       | 7     | 4      | 215 122  |
|    90 | Nagpur           | Maharashtra       | 18    | 12.4   |          |

|   91 | Pune                    | Maharashtra    | 309   |   345.5 |   11100 |
|------|-------------------------|----------------|-------|---------|---------|
|   92 | Malegaon                | Maharashtra    | 8     |    4.21 |      60 |
|   93 | Jalna                   | Maharashtra    | 19    |    8    |     742 |
|   94 | Dhule                   | Maharashtra    | 5     |   12    |     490 |
|   95 | Yavatmal                | Maharashtra    | 22    |   10    |     490 |
|   96 | Kolhapur                | Maharashtra    | 46    |   46    |     936 |
|   97 | Anand                   | Gujarat        | 11    |   11    |     100 |
|   98 | Navsari                 | Gujarat        | 2     |    2    |      55 |
|   99 | Junagadh                | Gujarat        | 503   |  201    |     625 |
|  100 | Ahmedabad               | Gujarat        | 10    |   10    |     450 |
|  101 | Kheda                   | Gujarat        | 822   |  158.4  |     205 |
|  102 | Panchamahal             | Gujarat        | --    |  205    |    1225 |
|  103 | North Goa               | Goa            | 1     |    1.6  |      22 |
|  104 | Bhopal                  | Madhya Pradesh | 191   |  395    |    3560 |
|  105 | Jabalpur                | Madhya Pradesh | 2707  | 1384    |    9252 |
|  106 | Indore                  | Madhya Pradesh | 55    |  115    |     750 |
|  107 | Dhar                    | Madhya Pradesh | 315   |  250    |     315 |
|  108 | Kawardha                | Madhya Pradesh | 250   |  250    |    7500 |
|  109 | Khandwa                 | Madhya Pradesh | 362   |  268    |    2520 |
|  110 | Korea                   | Madhya Pradesh | 328   |  250    |    5920 |
|  111 | Mahasamund              | Madhya Pradesh | 375   |  250    |    2750 |
|  112 | Satna                   | Madhya Pradesh | 230   |  230    |     980 |
|  113 | BETUL                   | Madhya Pradesh | 85    |   85    |    1240 |
|  114 | Damoh                   | Madhya Pradesh | 64    |   60.7  |     365 |
|  115 | Narmdapuram             | Madhya Pradesh | 1117  |  690.5  |    1117 |
|  116 | Raipur                  | Chhattisgarh   | 1388  | 1424    |   21522 |
|  117 | Bagalkot                | Karnataka      | 408   |  620    |    1200 |
|  118 | Raichur                 | Karnataka      | 128   |  269    |    1859 |
|  119 | Thrissur                | Karnataka      | 52    |  370    |     400 |
|  120 | Bengaluru               | Karnataka      | 38    |   28.41 |    2760 |
|  121 | Ramanagara              | Karnataka      | 53    |   78    |     105 |
|  122 | Uttara Kannada          | Karnataka      | 63    |   79    |     117 |
|  123 | Kolar                   | Karnataka      | 250   |  250    |    2200 |
|  124 | Udupi                   | Karnataka      | 375   |  395    |    1377 |
|  125 | Belagavi - II           | Karnataka      | 315   |  250    |    1012 |
|  126 | Kalaburgi - I           | Karnataka      | 40    |  388    |     637 |
|  127 | Puttur                  | Karnataka      | 65    |   91    |    2951 |
|  128 | Calicut                 | Kerala         | 500   |  202    |    8000 |
|  129 | Thiruvananthapur am     | Kerala         | 500   |  500    |    1350 |
|  130 | Kasaragod               | Kerala         | 30    |  165    |     750 |
|  131 | Wayanad                 | Kerala         | 205   |  388    |     570 |
|  132 | Palakkad                | Kerala         | 6     |  138    |     324 |
|  133 | Kottayam                | Kerala         | 190   |  250    |     120 |
|  134 | Kollam                  | Kerala         | 11    |  160    |     425 |
|  135 | Pathanamthitta          | Kerala         | 64    |   64    |     622 |
|  136 | Hyderabad               | Telangana      | 136   |  492    |    2419 |
|  137 | Karimnagar (Jammikunta) | Telangana      | 87    |  386    |    1327 |
|  138 | Medak-II                | Telangana      | 40    |  186    |    1018 |
|  139 | Rajamundry              | Andhra Pradesh | 42    |  108    |     350 |

| 140   | West Godavari   | Andhra Pradesh   |   543 |      806 |   4942 |
|-------|-----------------|------------------|-------|----------|--------|
| 141   | Guntur          | Andhra Pradesh   |   326 |   592    |   2245 |
| 142   | Kurnool         | Andhra Pradesh   |   224 |   850    |   2581 |
| 143   | Tirupati        | Andhra Pradesh   |   206 |   335    |   1410 |
| 144   | Adilabad        | Andhra Pradesh   |   110 |   250    |    825 |
| 145   | Nalgonda        | Andhra Pradesh   |   155 |   250    |    932 |
| 146   | Coimbatore      | Tamil Nadu       |   145 |   173.41 |   2810 |
| 147   | Chennai         | Tamil Nadu       |     7 |    65    |   4158 |
| 148   | Trichy          | Tamil Nadu       |    20 |    53    |    313 |
| 149   | Cuddalore       | Tamil Nadu       |   175 |   462    |   1238 |
| 150   | Erode           | Tamil Nadu       |   250 |   250    |    345 |
| 151   | Ariyalur        | Tamil Nadu       |   311 |   395    |    751 |
|       | Total           |                  | 26920 | 29416    | 309738 |

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