• The agriculture ministry was allowed to use drones for the purpose of remote sensing data collection under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• The conditional permission was granted to use the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
• The RPAS will be used by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) for remote sensing data collection in the agricultural areas of 100 districts.
• It will be used at the gram panchayat level yield estimation.
• This conditional exemption will be valid for one year after the date of issue or until the operationalisation of the Digital Sky Platform.
• The use of the drones will still require to obtain necessary clearances from the local administration.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

• This scheme was launched in February 2016. It is an insurance service for farmers to secure their yields.
• This scheme was launched under the theme if “One Nation–One Scheme”.
• It replaced the two schemes namely the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).
• The scheme was launched with the aim of reducing premium burden on farmers.
• It also seeks to ensure early settlement of crop assurance claim.