Context: Recently, the Indian Prime Minister announced an initiative- “NAMO Drone Didi”, during interaction with beneficiaries in the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

Why is there a need for the NAMO Drone Didi Scheme?

• For Women Empowerment: The scheme is required to empower women, which is the key to building a strong and developed nation. This is especially the case when women flourish economically and contribute to rural prosperity. 

What is the aim of the Namo Drone Didi Scheme?

• To supply drones to 15,000 women Self Help Groups (SHGs) to rent to farmers for agriculture purposes. 

Self-help Groups (SHGs)

• These are informal associations of people, who come together to find ways to improve their living conditions. 

NAMO Drone Didi Scheme: Significance

Empowerment of Rural Women: The NAMO Drone Didi Scheme will help in harnessing technological innovation to empower rural women. It makes women the backbone of the rural economy.

• It is putting drone technology in the hands of women pilots from SHGs.

Modernize Agricultural Practices: The  NAMO Drone Didi Scheme effectively addresses the need to modernize agricultural practices.

• To increase agricultural productivity by providing cutting-edge technology to rural women. 

• It is a step towards the new agricultural revolution. 

Job Opportunities: It will help by providing new opportunities in the emerging field of drone aeronautics (having a huge untapped potential).

• This new field will also create opportunities for rural women pilots, mechanics, and spare-part dealers.

• Development of an Efficient Fertigation System: It is due to the emergence of innovative new liquid fertilisers like Nano Urea and Nano DAP with the foliar application. (Learn more about Nano Fertilizers, here).

• ‘Fertigation’ is the technique of supplying dissolved fertilisers to crops through an irrigation system. 

• Time-Efficient System: The automation of the spraying system by means of agri-drones provides a time-saving and efficient application system. 

• Equitable System: It will help in making the agrarian family culture more equitable and strong.

• Reduced Physical Hardship for Farmers: The use of drones for agricultural tasks alleviates the physical strain traditionally associated with farming activities.

India’s Fertiliser Challenge and Steps Taken to Counter Them

• High Importer of Fertilisers: Though India is the second-largest producer of fertilisers, it is also the second-largest importer due to inadequate availability of natural resources like gas, phosphatic and potassic minerals, etc. 

• To overcome this dependence on imports, the government focused on the revival of several closed-down fertiliser units and encouraged the setting up of new units to protect Indian farmers from the price volatility of fertilisers in the international markets. 

• Geopolitical Situations: The Covid-19 pandemic and the recent global geopolitical situation posed tough challenges as the price of fertilisers soared very high. 

• To counter this challenge, the government encouraged indigenous research for the development of alternate fertilisers such as liquid nano fertiliser. 

• Efficient Fertigation System: To develop an efficient fertigation system is another challenge. 

• This challenge can be effectively countered by the emerging drone technology.

Conclusion

• The NAMO Drone Didi scheme will be a game-changer by effectively addressing multiple issues by providing an opportunity for rural women to be empowered, which will prove to be a harbinger of modern-day agricultural revolution and prosperity in India.

• To ensure the success of the NAMO Drone Didi Scheme, continuous training for women in drone technology is crucial. Strengthening rural infrastructure and providing financial support to SHGs will also be key. Furthermore, fostering partnerships with tech companies can enhance the scheme’s technological aspect.