4. Namo Drone Didi Yojana: Empowering Women through Agritech

• Leadership in Precision Farming: Karnataka has emerged as the national leader under the Namo Drone Didi Yojana (NDDY), with 145 women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) trained as drone pilots, followed by Uttar Pradesh (128) and Andhra Pradesh (108). • Scheme Objectives and Outlay: Launched with a budget of ₹1,261 crore (2023-24 to 2025-26), the initiative aims to provide 15,000 drones to women SHGs to modernize agricultural practices and enhance rural livelihoods. • Socio-Economic Transformation: The program successfully challenges traditional gender stereotypes by transitioning SHGs from conventional micro-enterprises (like food processing) to high-tech services, with some pilots earning up to ₹1 lakh per month during peak seasons. • Agricultural Efficiency: Drones are utilized for the precision spraying of fertilizers and pesticides in crops like maize and paddy, which reduces input costs, minimizes health risks to farmers from chemical exposure, and ensures uniform nutrient distribution. • Aviation Hub Synergy: Karnataka’s success is attributed to its established status as an aviation and technology hub, facilitating better access to training centers (e.g., Mysuru) and technical infrastructure for drone maintenance. • National Training Progress: As per recent parliamentary data, a total of 1,094 SHG members have been trained across India, marking a significant step toward the \'Drone Shakti\' initiative and the digitization of the primary sector. Constitutional & Legal Provisions • Article 14 & 15: The scheme promotes gender equality and the state\'s power to make special provisions for women to ensure their socio-economic advancement. • Article 39: Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) mandate that the state shall direct its policy towards securing that citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood. • Drone Rules, 2021: The legal framework managed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation that simplifies drone certification and operation, making it accessible for civilian and agricultural use. • NRLM Framework: The scheme operates within the structure of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), leveraging the existing network of SHGs for targeted intervention. Key Definitions • Self-Help Groups (SHGs): Small voluntary associations of rural people, typically women, who come together to solve their common problems through mutual help and self-effort. • Precision Agriculture: A farming management concept based on observing, measuring, and responding to inter- and intra-field variability in crops using technology like GPS and drones. • Namo Drone Didi: A specific term for women trained under this central scheme to operate drones for agricultural and commercial purposes in rural landscapes. Conclusion: The Namo Drone Didi Yojana represents a critical intersection of women’s empowerment and the \'Digital Agriculture\' mission. By decentralizing high-end technology to the grassroots level, the government is not only boosting rural incomes but also addressing the labor shortage in the agricultural sector. The success in Karnataka serves as a scalable model for other states to integrate technology with existing social capital (SHGs) to achieve the goal of \'Viksit Bharat.\' UPSC Relevance • GS Paper II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population; Governance and the SHG movement; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. • GS Paper III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; IT and Space technology; Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country; Etechnology in the aid of farmers.