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Shimla, 02 December (HS). Under the Central Government’s NaMo Drone Didi scheme, 16 self-help groups of Himachal Pradesh have received drones this financial year. In response to the question of MP Dr. Sikandar Kumar, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur gave this information in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
He said that this scheme has been started with the aim of providing technical training to rural women and making them self-reliant. Under this, women are being trained in operation and maintenance of drones, so that they can use them in agriculture, health care and other fields.
Ramnath Thakur informed that under this scheme, the first 500 drones have been purchased by major fertilizer companies in the year 2023-24 and distributed to selected self-help groups, which includes four drones provided to self-help groups in the state of Himachal Pradesh. . He informed that a target has been set to distribute drones to 3090 women self-help groups in the first phase during the financial year 2024-25, out of which 16 self-help groups are from Himachal Pradesh.
He said that an inter-departmental committee comprising representatives of all other concerned departments and domain experts has also been constituted for effective planning, implementation and monitoring of the scheme.
Responding to the questions of Dr. Sikandar Kumar, Ramnath Thakur said that the Government has launched a Central Sector Scheme for providing drones to women self-help groups with an outlay of Rs 1261 crore for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26. Namo Drone Didi has been approved. The objective of this scheme is to provide drones to 15000 selected women self-help groups to provide rental services to farmers for spraying liquid fertilizers and pesticides.
He informed that the state level committee comprising members drawn from various departments and institutions will be responsible for selecting suitable clusters for drone use, selecting progressive women self-help groups from the clusters identified within the states for providing drones, and promoting drone use. Responsible for conducting assessments, ascertaining the existing gap, availability and future requirements of drone usage, providing/ensuring business to selected women SHGs in coordination with LFCs and pesticide companies, etc.
Earlier, MP Dr. Sikandar Kumar wanted to know from the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister about the current status of a centrally sponsored scheme named NaMo Drone Didi to empower women-led self-help groups by equipping them with drone technology to provide agricultural services. What is the situation? Has any committee been constituted to guide and supervise the technical and operational rollout of this scheme to ensure its widespread implementation? Will the scheme be implemented at the state level, if so, what are the criteria adopted for its implementation and evaluation at the state level? Is the government taking any important steps to inspire the new generation of women entrepreneurs in Himachal Pradesh?
