Lok Sabha Question No. 1630 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-10
Subject: Namo Drone Didi Scheme
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind, Shri Jagdambika Pal, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Dulu Mahato, Dr. Nishikant Dubey, Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Kali Charan Singh, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Shri Parbhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Smt. Sanjna Jatav, Shri Mukesh Rajput, Shri Anup Sanjay Dhotre, Shri G M Harish Balayogi, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1630 ANSWERED ON 10/02/2026

## NAMO DRONE DIDI SCHEME

## 1630. Smt. Mala RajyaLaxmi Shah:

Smt. SmitaUdayWagh:

Shri G M Harish Balayogi:

Shri JaswantsinhSumanbhaiBhabhor:

Shri Jagdambika Pal:

Shri DuluMahato:

Shri VishweshwarHegdeKageri:

Dr. NishikantDubey:

Shri Anup Sanjay Dhotre:

Shri ParbhubhaiNagarbhaiVasava:

Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi:

Dr. Rajesh Mishra:

Shri Anurag Singh Thakur:

Shri Mukesh Rajput:

Smt. SanjnaJatav:

Shri Kali Charan Singh:

Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi:

Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind:

## Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENTbe pleased to state:

- (a) the  total  number  of  agricultural  drones  distributed  to  Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs)under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme in the country as of January 2026 State and district-wiseincluding Maharashtra,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Andhra  Pradesh  especially Dahod and Konaseemadistricts;
- (b) the  number  of  women  beneficiaries  who  have  been  officially transitioned  into  the  'LakhpatiDidi'  category  through  income earned from drone rental and spraying services during 2024-25 includingJalgaonLokSabha  Constituency,  State  and  districtwise  including Maharashtra, UttarPradesh and Andhra Pradesh especially Dahod and Konaseema districts;
- (c) the  number  of  women  who  have  completed  the  mandatory fifteen days Drone PilotTraining and five days Drone Assistant Training  during  the  current  financial  year,  State  anddistrict-

- wise including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh especially Dahod andKonaseema districts;
- (d)   the  number  of  women  who  have  been  imparted  the  said trainings along with the number ofwomen who have obtained authorized license, State-wise including BharatpurLokSabhaConstituency;
- (e) the  success  rate  of  trained  women  in  obtaining  Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) authorised drone pilot licenses and the reasons for any shortfall, State-wise includingMaharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh especially Dahod and Konaseema districts;and
- (f) the support mechanisms  in place to ensure sustainable livelihoods, maintenance supportand assured demand for drone services post training?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

- (a): 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.

Lead Fertilizer Companies (LFCs) have distributed 1094 drones to  drone  didis  of  SHGs  in  2023-24.  Out  of  these  1094  drones,  500 drones have been distributed under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme for providing rental services to the farmers for spraying Nano fertilizers. The  details  of  State-wise  distribution  of  1094  drones including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh State is given at Annexure-I. The district-wise information of drone didis in the  States  of  Maharashtra,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Andhra  Pradesh  is given at Annexure-II, III & IV respectively.

- (b): There  is  no  study  or  assessment  has  been  conducted  to ascertain  the  number  of  women  beneficiaries  who  have  been officially  transitioned  into  the  'LakhpatiDidi'  category  specifically through  income  earned  from  drone  rental  and  spraying  services under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme during 2024-25.
- (c) & (d): The  drone   didis  provided  with  the  drones  have  been trained as drone pilots at various Remote Pilot Training Organizations  (RPTOs)  authorized  by  Directorate  General  of  Civil

Aviation (DGCA). All these  dronedidis have secured the drone pilot licences.  The  State  and  district-wise  details  of  drone  didis  in  the States of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh is given at Annexure-I, II, III & IV respectively.

- (e): Agricultural  Development  and  Rural  Transformation  Centre (ADRTC),  Bangalore  have  carried  out  a  study  on  economics  and business viability of drone operations on the 500 drones provided by LFCs under Namo Drone Didi scheme. The study indicates that the SHGs  earlier  were  primarily  engaged  in  agriculture  and  allied activities and the drones provided to them has expanded their niche to modern agricultural practices through drone technology, enhancing their efficiency and productivity. Overall, the adoption of drones has diversified SHG activities, improved agricultural practices,  and  increased  income  opportunities  for  women  in  rural communities.
- (f): The  Committee  at  State  level   with  members  drawn  from Department  of  Agriculture/Agricultural  Engineering  of  the  State, Rural  Development, State Mission  Directorate  of  DAY-NRLM, State Cooperative Department, Lead Banks/ National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD), representatives of LFC nominated for  the  State,  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)/State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)/KrishiVigyanKendras (KVKs) is responsible  for  selection  of  appropriate  clusters  for  drone  usage, selection of the progressive women SHGs under DAY - NRLM in the States  in  the  identified  clusters  for  providing  drones,  selection  of members  of  the  women  SHGs  for  drone  pilot  and  drone  assistant training,  assessment of district-wise drone usage, identification of existing  gap,  availability  and  future  requirements  of  drone  usage, providing/ensuring business to selected Women SHGs in coordination with the LFCs and Pesticide companies etc.

*****

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  OF  PART  (a),  (c)  and  (d)  OF LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1630  ANSWERED  ON 10.02.2026 REGARDING 'Namo Drone Didi Scheme'.

State-wise number of women SHGs who have been provided drones by the Lead Fertilizer Companies and trained as drone pilot

28

32

15

1

58

4

2

15

51

89

60

16

57

40

44

81

3

15

| S. No State Name   | No. of SHGs provided with the Drones by LFCs & No. of members of Women SHGs trained as drone pilot   |   No. of SHGs provided with the Drones by LFCs & No. of members of Women SHGs trained as drone pilot |
|--------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.                 | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                       |                                                                                                  108 |
| 2.                 | Assam                                                                                                |                                                                                                   28 |
| 3.                 | Bihar                                                                                                |                                                                                                   32 |
| 4.                 | Chhattisgarh                                                                                         |                                                                                                   15 |
| 5.                 | Goa                                                                                                  |                                                                                                    1 |
| 6.                 | Gujarat                                                                                              |                                                                                                   58 |
| 7.                 | Haryana                                                                                              |                                                                                                  102 |
| 8.                 | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                     |                                                                                                    4 |
| 9.                 | Jammu & Kashmir                                                                                      |                                                                                                    2 |
|                    | 10. Jharkhand                                                                                        |                                                                                                   15 |
| 11.                | Karnataka                                                                                            |                                                                                                  145 |
| 12.                | Kerala                                                                                               |                                                                                                   51 |
| 13.                | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                       |                                                                                                   89 |
| 14.                | Maharashtra                                                                                          |                                                                                                   60 |
| 15.                | Odisha                                                                                               |                                                                                                   16 |
| 16.                | Punjab                                                                                               |                                                                                                   57 |
| 17.                | Rajasthan                                                                                            |                                                                                                   40 |
| 18                 | Tamil Nadu                                                                                           |                                                                                                   44 |
| 19.                | Telangana                                                                                            |                                                                                                   81 |
| 20.                | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                        |                                                                                                  128 |
| 21.                | Uttarakhand                                                                                          |                                                                                                    3 |
| 22.                | West Bengal                                                                                          |                                                                                                   15 |
| Total              |                                                                                                      |                                                                                                 1094 |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  OF  PART  (a),  (c)  and  (d)  OF LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1630  ANSWERED  ON 10.02.2026 REGARDING 'Namo Drone Didi Scheme'.

## District-wise number of women SHGs in Maharashtra who have been provided drones by the Lead Fertilizer Companies and trained as drone pilot

| S. No.   | Name of District of Maharashtra State   |   No. of SHGs provided with the Drones by LFCs and No. of members of Women SHGs trained as drone pilot |
|----------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Ahmednagar                              |                                                                                                      6 |
| 2.       | Akola                                   |                                                                                                      2 |
| 3.       | Amravati                                |                                                                                                      1 |
| 4.       | Beed                                    |                                                                                                      3 |
| 5.       | Bhandara                                |                                                                                                      1 |
| 6.       | Buldhana                                |                                                                                                      1 |
| 7.       | Chandrapur                              |                                                                                                      1 |
| 8.       | ChatrapatiSambhaji Nagar                |                                                                                                      1 |
| 9.       | Dharashiv                               |                                                                                                      1 |
| 10.      | Dhule                                   |                                                                                                      2 |
| 11.      | Gadchiroli                              |                                                                                                      1 |
| 12.      | Hingoli                                 |                                                                                                      1 |
| 13.      | Jalgaon                                 |                                                                                                      1 |
| 14.      | Jalna                                   |                                                                                                      2 |
| 15.      | Kolhapur                                |                                                                                                      5 |
| 16.      | Latur                                   |                                                                                                      1 |
| 17.      | Nandurbar                               |                                                                                                      1 |
| 18.      | Nashik                                  |                                                                                                      4 |
| 19.      | Osmanabad                               |                                                                                                      2 |
| 20.      | Palghar                                 |                                                                                                      1 |
| 21.      | Parbhani                                |                                                                                                      2 |
| 22.      | Pune                                    |                                                                                                      5 |
| 23       | Raigad                                  |                                                                                                      1 |
| 24       | Sangli                                  |                                                                                                      4 |
| 25       | Satara                                  |                                                                                                      3 |
| 26.      | Sindhudurg                              |                                                                                                      1 |
| 27.      | Solapur                                 |                                                                                                      4 |
| 28.      | Wardha                                  |                                                                                                      1 |
| 29.      | Washim                                  |                                                                                                      1 |
|          | Total                                   |                                                                                                     60 |

## ANNEXURE-III

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  OF  PART  (a),  (c)  and  (d)  OF LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1630  ANSWERED  ON 10.02.2026 REGARDING 'Namo Drone Didi Scheme'.

District-wise number of women SHGs in Uttar Pradesh who have been provided drones by the Lead Fertilizer Companies and trained as drone pilot

4

2

2

4

6

1

2

5

4

1

1

2

1

2

2

2

8

3

1

1

5

3

1

2

3

2

1

4

3

4

3

|   S. No. | Name of District   |   No. of SHGs provided with the Drones by LFCs and No. of members of Women SHGs trained as drone pilot |
|----------|--------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Agra               |                                                                                                      4 |
|        2 | Aligarh            |                                                                                                      2 |
|        3 | Ambedkar Nagar     |                                                                                                      2 |
|        4 | Amethi             |                                                                                                      4 |
|        5 | Ayodhya            |                                                                                                      6 |
|        6 | Badaun             |                                                                                                      1 |
|        7 | Balia              |                                                                                                      2 |
|        8 | Barabanki          |                                                                                                      5 |
|        9 | Bareili            |                                                                                                      4 |
|       10 | Basti              |                                                                                                      1 |
|       11 | Bijnore            |                                                                                                      1 |
|       12 | Bulandshahr        |                                                                                                      2 |
|       13 | Chandauli          |                                                                                                      1 |
|       14 | Deoria             |                                                                                                      2 |
|       15 | Etah               |                                                                                                      2 |
|       16 | Gonda              |                                                                                                      2 |
|       17 | Gorakhpur          |                                                                                                      8 |
|       18 | Hardoi             |                                                                                                      3 |
|       19 | Hathras            |                                                                                                      1 |
|       20 | Jalaun             |                                                                                                      1 |
|       21 | Jaunpur            |                                                                                                      5 |
|       22 | Jhansi             |                                                                                                      3 |
|       23 | Kanpur Nagar       |                                                                                                      1 |
|       24 | Kushinagar         |                                                                                                      2 |
|       25 | Lakhimpur Kheri    |                                                                                                      3 |
|       26 | Maharajganj        |                                                                                                      2 |
|       27 | Mahoba             |                                                                                                      1 |
|       28 | Mainpuri           |                                                                                                      4 |
|       29 | Meerut             |                                                                                                      3 |
|       30 | Moradabad          |                                                                                                      4 |
|       31 | Pratapgarh         |                                                                                                      3 |

3

2

4

4

1

2

2

9

<!-- image -->

| 32.   | Prayagraj           | 16   |
|-------|---------------------|------|
| 33.   | Raebareli 3         |      |
| 34.   | Sant Kabeer Nagar 2 |      |
| 35.   | Shahjahanpur        | 4    |
| 36.   | Sitapur             | 4    |
| 37.   | Sonbhadra           | 1    |
| 38.   | Sultanpur           | 2    |
| 39.   | Unnao               | 2    |
| 40.   | Varanasi            | 9    |
| Total | Total               | 128  |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  OF  PART  (a),  (c)  and  (d)  OF LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1630  ANSWERED  ON 10.02.2026 REGARDING 'Namo Drone Didi Scheme'.

## District-wise number of women SHGs in Andhra Pradesh who have been provided drones by the Lead Fertilizer Companies and trained as drone pilot

| S. No.   | District             | No. of SHGs provided with the Drones by LFCs and No. of members of Women SHGs trained as drone pilot   |     |
|----------|----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
| 1        | Anakapalle           |                                                                                                        |   1 |
| 2        | AlluriSeetharamaraju |                                                                                                        |   1 |
| 3.       | Ananthapuram         |                                                                                                        |   5 |
| 4.       | Annamayya            |                                                                                                        |   5 |
| 5.       | Bapatla              |                                                                                                        |   6 |
| 6.       | Chitoor              |                                                                                                        |   6 |
| 7.       | Dr B R Konaseema     |                                                                                                        |   1 |
| 8.       | Eluru                |                                                                                                        |   6 |
| 9.       | Guntur               |                                                                                                        |   1 |
| 10.      | Kakinada             |                                                                                                        |   4 |
| 11.      | Krishna              |                                                                                                        |   7 |
| 12.      | Kurnool              |                                                                                                        |  10 |
| 13.      | Nandyal              |                                                                                                        |   9 |
| 14.      | NTR                  |                                                                                                        |   3 |
| 15.      | Palnadu              |                                                                                                        |   4 |
| 16.      | Prakasam             |                                                                                                        |   6 |
| 17.      | SPSR Nellore         |                                                                                                        |   5 |
| 18.      | Sr. SatyaSai         |                                                                                                        |   1 |
| 19.      | Srikakulam           |                                                                                                        |  11 |
| 20.      | Tirupathi            |                                                                                                        |   2 |
| 21.      | West Godavari        |                                                                                                        |   6 |
| 22.      | YSR Kadapa           |                                                                                                        |   8 |
|          | Total                |                                                                                                        | 108 |

*****