Namo Drone Didi

Namo Drone Didi was launched in November 2024. It gives agricultural drones to women's self-help groups, with a large subsidy, and the group earns by renting the drone to farmers for spraying and crop monitoring.

The design is deliberate: the drone is a business asset for the SHG, not a one-off grant. Farmers who cannot justify buying a drone can hire one; the SHG earns a service income.

Where it stands

The scheme is scaling up unevenly. Against ₹677 crore budgeted for 2026-27, only about ₹100 crore is estimated to have been spent in 2025-26 — so delivery has been slower than the allocation suggests. Actual spending in 2024-25 was ₹1 crore.

That gap is worth knowing: the funding is there, but an SHG should ask what the realistic timeline is in its own state rather than assume quick sanction.

• An agricultural drone for the self-help group, with up to 80% subsidy on the cost.
• The group earns by renting the drone to farmers for spraying and monitoring — a continuing income rather than a one-time benefit.
• Farmers in the area gain access to drone spraying without buying equipment.

• Women's self-help groups. The scheme is specifically for women's SHGs, not for individual farmers or mixed groups.
• The group needs members willing to be trained as drone pilots, since operating an agricultural drone requires certification.

• Not available to individual farmers or to groups that are not women's SHGs. A farmer who wants drone spraying hires from a Drone Didi group rather than applying for a drone.
• The subsidy is up to 80%, so the group still funds the balance plus running costs — batteries, maintenance, insurance and pilot training. Ask for a full cost estimate including these, not just the drone price.
• Pilot training and certification is required to operate the drone legally.

How an SHG applies

1. Apply through your block or district level federation under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, or through your district agriculture office. SHG schemes are routed through the rural livelihoods machinery.
2. Ask for: the total project cost including batteries, maintenance and insurance, the group's own contribution, and the pilot training arrangement.
3. Nominate members for drone pilot training and certification.
4. Before taking the drone, work out the rental rate per acre you will charge and roughly how many acres in your area will use the service. This is what decides whether the asset pays for its running costs.

If you are a farmer wanting drone spraying

Ask your district agriculture office or your block federation which Drone Didi group operates near you, and what they charge per acre.

• SHG registration documents and member list
• SHG bank account details
• Nominations for drone pilot training
• Project proposal with full cost, including running costs