Additionally, the Prime Minister gave SHGs a digital transfer of capitalization assistance funds valued at ₹2000 crore.
A growing group of women from self-help groups (SHGs) who have been trained to use remote-controlled aerial vehicles (RCAVs) for agricultural purposes, known as “Namo Drone Didis,” received over 1,000 drones from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, marking the beginning of a women-led technological revolution in India.
As part of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in the capital’s “Sashakt Nari, Viksit Bharat (Empowered Women, Developed India)” program, Modi gave ₹8,000 crore in bank loans to Self-Help Groups (SHGs) at discounted interest rates. Additionally, the Prime Minister gave SHGs a digital transfer of capitalization assistance funds valued at ₹2000 crore.
Modi praised the importance of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in revolutionizing the rural economy and stated that women were at the centre of all government policies.
“Any society can progress only through creating opportunities and ensuring the dignity of the Nari Shakti (women power),” he said. Earlier, the Prime Minister witnessed drone-driven agricultural operations by Namo Drone Didis at a demonstration farm of IARI at Delhi’s Pusa complex.
In the past 10 years, the BJP-led government has won over women voters with several major schemes, from piped water to every rural household, and from clean cooking fuel to sanitation.
“Transformative influence of drone technology in agriculture is being steered by women of the nation. I have full faith that Nari Shakti will lead the technology revolution of the 21st century in the country,” the PM said.
Modi claimed to be the first prime minister to address women’s empowerment issues from the Red Fort’s ramparts, including the provision of affordable sanitary pads, clean cooking fuel, piped water, and registered PM Awas Yojana homes in the names of women recipients.
“In order to stop female foeticide, campaigns like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and schemes like ₹6,000 for expectant mothers, Sukanya Samriddhi for ensuring resources for girls’ schooling, Mudra Yojana to help women become entrepreneurs, expansion of maternity leave, free medical treatment and affordable medicines, all these have brought a change in the old mindset,” Modi said.
The prime minister predicted that drone technology will grow rapidly in the near future, affecting everything from product delivery to medical applications. “It is an honor that women will be the first drone pilots, bringing modernization to the agriculture industry.”
From healthcare to agriculture, India’s drone industry is growing quickly. Both public and commercial organizations are launching a variety of services and applications, some of which will improve last-mile delivery in remote locations. An official prediction states that investments are likely to exceed ₹5,000 crore over the following three years.
