In rural Bihar, girls like Sangita Devi and Kajol Kumari are remodeling agriculture and their lives via the Namo Drone Didi program. Launched in 2023 by the Indian authorities, this initiative equips girls with drones to spice up crop yields and incomes, mixing cutting-edge expertise with financial empowerment.
Precision Farming Takes Flight
The Drone Didis use drones to spray liquid fertilizer, a game-changer for India‘s smallholder farmers. In contrast to handbook strategies, drones atomize fertilizer into advantageous droplets, protecting extra crops with much less product—as much as 5 acres within the time it takes 5 individuals to cowl half an acre.
“Because the drones hover a number of toes above the fields, the Didis can use much less fertilizer to succeed in extra crops,” notes Invoice Gates, who met the pilots in Delhi.
This effectivity cuts prices and reduces environmental impression by minimizing water and fertilizer use.
Empowering Ladies, Uplifting Communities
Past farming, this system is a lifeline for rural girls. Every Didi belongs to a self-help group (SHG), small collectives of 12–25 girls who pool financial savings and entry microloans. Supported by JEEViKA in Bihar, these teams foster monetary and social independence. Kajol, a Didi and entrepreneur, used her drone revenue to broaden her seed store and plans to fund higher education for her youngsters. Sangita, as soon as unable to afford a bicycle, now owns an auto rickshaw. “Pilot Mummy” Sumintra evokes her children, who dream of her flying planes, difficult gender norms in a area the place early marriage typically limits girls’s roles.
READ MORE: DJI’s Drone Revolution Transforms International Farming at Agrishow 2025
Excessive-Tech Horizons
This system’s ambitions are sky-high. By 2026, India goals to distribute 15,000 drones to SHGs nationwide. Future upgrades embody sensors and imaging tech for real-time crop monitoring, enabling Didis to detect pests, assess soil moisture, and optimize yields. Coaching in Hyderabad and Noida equips girls to pilot drones and keep them, with some SHG members changing into technicians. Studying to fly, surprisingly, is faster than mastering fertilization, Gates observes.
DroneXL’s Tackle Drone Didis
The Drone Didi program isn’t nearly drones—it’s about rewriting what’s doable. These girls aren’t solely boosting harvests; they’re planting seeds of change in rural India. Think about a farmer’s awe as a drone hums overhead, piloted by a lady as soon as confined to family chores. For DroneXL readers, this can be a reminder: drones aren’t simply devices for aerial selfies—they’re instruments for fairness and progress. As Kajol says, “That is only the start.” If a Didi can flip a drone right into a ticket to independence, what’s stopping us from pushing our personal limits? Keep watch over India’s skies—this revolution is simply warming up.
Photographs courtesy of Gates Notes
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