How much subsidy does an SHG receive under Namo Drone Didi?

The central government provides an 80% subsidy on the cost of the drone and the accessory package, capped at ₹8 lakh per SHG. The remaining cost is met by the SHG either through its own funds or as a loan from the National Agriculture Infrastructure Financing Facility (Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, AIF) at 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹2 crore — so the SHG's effective interest cost on the balance amount is well below market rates.

Which women SHGs are eligible to be selected as Drone Didis?

Eligibility is open to women SHGs federated under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and similar state rural livelihood missions. SHGs are selected by a Cluster Level Federation (CLF) / state mission in 10 progressive districts per state, with priority given to SHGs operating in agriculturally active areas, having a good repayment track record, and willing to identify one member (the 'Drone Didi') aged 18 years or older with a minimum of Class 10 schooling to undergo pilot training.

What training does a Drone Didi go through?

The selected woman undergoes a 15-day residential training programme. This includes 5 days of mandatory remote pilot training certified by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under the Drone Rules, 2021, and an additional 10 days of agriculture-purpose training covering safe handling, spray calibration, nano-fertiliser application, pest and disease scouting, basic data interpretation and routine maintenance / minor repair of the drone. Training is delivered at approved Remote Pilot Training Organisations (RPTOs) and ICAR / state agriculture university partner institutes.

What does the Namo Drone Didi drone package include?

Each selected SHG receives a complete spray-drone package: a DGCA-compliant agriculture drone with a 10-litre spray tank and nozzles suitable for nano-fertiliser and pesticide application, a basic spare set, four extra batteries, a charging hub, anemometer, GPS tracker, a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controller and other accessories required for safe operation. Drones must be sourced from manufacturers approved under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme or the DGCA-compliant manufacturer list to ensure airworthiness, after-sales support and warranty coverage.

How does an SHG actually earn money from a Namo Drone Didi drone?

After the Drone Didi is trained and the SHG receives the drone, the SHG operates the drone as a rental service to local farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) — typically charging on a per-acre basis to spray nano-urea, nano-DAP, water-soluble fertilisers and recommended pesticides over standing crops. Fertiliser cooperatives such as IFFCO and KRIBHCO also onboard Drone Didis for nano-urea / nano-DAP spray campaigns. Government estimates project annual additional income of around ₹1 lakh per SHG once a normal service load is reached, in line with the broader Lakhpati Didi objective.

Who are the implementing partners of the scheme?

The scheme is jointly steered by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), the Department of Rural Development (DoRD), the Department of Fertilizers (DoF), the Department of Women & Child Development and the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) through ICAR institutes. On-ground delivery is anchored by State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) of the women SHG federations, with fertiliser cooperatives (IFFCO, KRIBHCO, etc.), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and ICAR institutes acting as demonstration, training and demand-aggregation partners.

How can a woman SHG express interest in the Namo Drone Didi scheme?

There is no individual online application portal at this stage. Interested SHGs should approach their Cluster Level Federation (CLF) and the District Mission Management Unit of the State Rural Livelihood Mission. The SHG's expression of interest is forwarded to the state-level steering committee, which selects 10 SHGs per identified district per phase. Updates on selection rounds, district lists and approved manufacturers are issued through Press Information Bureau (PIB) releases, the DA&FW website agriwelfare.gov.in and state rural-development department portals.

Namo Drone Didi Yojana — Women SHG Drone Scheme: Eligibility, ₹8 Lakh Subsidy, Training & Application

Namo Drone Didi is a central-sector scheme of the Government of India that puts agriculture-spray drones in the hands of 15,000 women Self Help Groups (SHGs) across rural India over 2024–25 and 2025–26. Each selected SHG receives a complete DGCA-compliant spray-drone package with an 80% central subsidy (capped at ₹8 lakh), one woman member (the “Drone Didi”) is trained as a certified remote pilot, and the SHG then runs the drone as a paid rental service to spray nano-urea, fertiliser and crop-protection chemicals for local farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations. The scheme is part of the Prime Minister's wider Lakhpati Didi goal of helping rural women cross the ₹1 lakh annual-income mark. For the broader policy backdrop, see our India government schemes for farmers reference and our Per Drop More Crop (PMKSY-PDMC) micro-irrigation guide, both of which converge with Namo Drone Didi in the field.

What is the Namo Drone Didi scheme?

The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on 28 November 2023 and formally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 November 2023. The Cabinet sanctioned a total outlay of ₹1,261 crore for the period 2024–25 and 2025–26, with the objective of providing agricultural-purpose drones to 15,000 selected women SHGs and turning each SHG into a sustainable drone-service-provider unit. Implementation is anchored by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) in convergence with the Department of Rural Development (DoRD), the Department of Fertilizers (DoF), the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) through ICAR institutes, and fertiliser cooperatives such as IFFCO and KRIBHCO.

Key features at a glance

Beneficiary unit: a women Self Help Group (SHG) federated under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) or a state rural livelihood mission.
Coverage: 15,000 SHGs across 2024–25 and 2025–26, with 10 progressive districts per state identified in each phase.
Subsidy: 80% of the cost of the drone and accessories, capped at ₹8 lakh per SHG, paid as a central-sector grant.
Balance financing: remainder of the cost can be raised through the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) with 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹2 crore.
Training: a 15-day residential programme — 5 days of DGCA-certified remote-pilot training plus 10 days of agriculture-purpose training.
Income target: around ₹1 lakh per year in additional income per SHG once a regular service load is reached, as per the Lakhpati Didi outcome metric.
Total outlay: ₹1,261 crore (Cabinet approval, 28 November 2023).

Who is eligible?

Selection is institutional, not individual. A women SHG is eligible if it meets the following conditions, as specified in the scheme guidelines issued by DA&FW and the Department of Rural Development:

The SHG is federated under DAY-NRLM or an equivalent state rural livelihood mission and has been active for at least two consecutive years with internal lending and meeting discipline.
The SHG operates in a district identified by the state-level steering committee as a progressive agricultural district with demand for nano-fertiliser / pesticide spray services.
The SHG nominates one woman member, aged 18 years or older, with at least Class 10 schooling and an interest in technology, to undergo the residential pilot-training programme as the “Drone Didi”.
The SHG nominates a second member (often a male family member of the Drone Didi, electrician or mechanic) as a Drone Sahayak to assist with battery handling, field logistics and minor maintenance.
The SHG has the willingness and capacity to take a top-up loan for the balance 20% of the drone-package cost through the AIF or another scheme-approved channel.

The drone package

Each selected SHG receives a complete spray-drone kit so that the unit is field-ready from day one. The package, as per the operational guidelines published by DA&FW, includes:

One DGCA-compliant agriculture spray drone with a 10-litre tank, suitable nozzles and a PWM controller, sourced from a manufacturer approved under the Drone PLI scheme or the DGCA airworthiness route.
Four extra batteries and a charging hub for sustained field operation between charge cycles.
A basic spare-parts set covering propellers, ESC, common wear-and-tear items, plus consumables for one season.
An anemometer, GPS tracker and field-safety accessories for spray-quality and audit compliance.
Full one-year warranty from the manufacturer with on-call support and after-sales service tied to the procurement contract.

How a Drone Didi is trained

The training is delivered in two stacked modules at approved Remote Pilot Training Organisations (RPTOs) certified by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under the Drone Rules, 2021, and at partner ICAR institutes / Krishi Vigyan Kendras:

5-day mandatory remote-pilot training. Theory and practical flight hours on a DGCA-approved syllabus leading to a Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) valid for 10 years. Topics include airspace rules, pre-flight checks, manual and autonomous flight, emergency procedures and battery safety.
10-day agriculture-purpose training. Spray calibration for nano-urea, nano-DAP, water-soluble fertilisers and recommended pesticide formulations; safe handling of agrochemicals; pest and disease scouting; basic data interpretation; routine maintenance and minor on-field repair.

During training the Drone Didi also learns customer-facing skills — quoting per-acre rates, logging service jobs, and basic accounting of revenue versus consumables and battery wear — so that the SHG can run the drone as a small enterprise from day one.

How an SHG earns from the drone

Once trained and equipped, the SHG operates the drone as a rental spray service to nearby farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations. The principal revenue streams are:

Nano-fertiliser spraying for IFFCO / KRIBHCO and other fertiliser cooperatives — particularly nano-urea on wheat, paddy and cotton crops at recommended growth stages. See our Nano Urea & Nano DAP guide for per-acre dosage, tank-mix and drone-calibration guidance.
Pesticide and fungicide spraying for individual farmers and FPOs at per-acre rates that are sharply lower than traditional knapsack-sprayer labour costs.
Government and KVK demand — demonstration plots, pest-outbreak response runs and state-sponsored spray campaigns.
Mapping and pest-scouting flights using the same airframe with a swappable payload, where supported.

With a moderate service load — typically 30–40 acres per day during peak spraying windows — government estimates put additional SHG income at around ₹1 lakh per year, in line with the broader Lakhpati Didi target. Actual income varies by district, crop mix, season length and rental rate.

How Namo Drone Didi sits with other schemes

Namo Drone Didi sits alongside, not in place of, the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) drone subsidy. SMAM funds drones for individual farmers, FPOs, Custom Hiring Centres and agriculture graduates at different rates (50% capped at ₹5 lakh for FPOs, 40% capped at ₹4 lakh for individual farmers, and higher rates for SC/ST, small / marginal, women farmers and the North-East), while Namo Drone Didi targets the women-SHG channel as a rural-livelihood intervention. In a typical district, SMAM-funded FPO drones and Namo Drone Didi SHG drones together build the spray-service supply.

The scheme also converges with:

PM-KISAN — many of the farmers served by Drone Didi spray services are PM-KISAN beneficiaries and can use the income-support tranche to pay for per-acre spray rates.
Kisan Credit Card (KCC) — short-term KCC limits cover input expenses including drone spray service charges booked against the cropping season.
PMKSY — Per Drop More Crop — drip / sprinkler irrigated plots are the natural fit for foliar nano-urea application sprayed by Drone Didi units.

How to express interest

There is no individual online application portal for SHGs at the moment. The selection route is institutional:

Approach the Cluster Level Federation (CLF)under the State Rural Livelihood Mission to register the SHG's expression of interest.
The CLF forwards the proposal to the District Mission Management Unit (DMMU), which screens against the eligibility checklist (active SHG, repayment record, willing Drone Didi candidate, available demand).
The state-level steering committee, chaired by the State Rural Development Secretary, finalises the selected 10 SHGs per district per phase and shares the list with DA&FW.
Selected SHGs are mapped to an approved drone manufacturer and the nearest RPTO; training and drone hand-over are scheduled in a single window.

Updates on selection rounds, district lists, approved manufacturers and standard operating procedures are issued through Press Information Bureau (PIB) releases, the DA&FW website agriwelfare.gov.in and the respective state rural-development department portals.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Choosing the wrong Drone Didi candidate. Pick a member who is confident with smartphones and willing to travel for the 15-day residential training. A mid-course drop-out forces the SHG to nominate a fresh candidate and pushes the drone hand-over by months.
Underestimating battery economics. Spray flights are battery-intensive. Build a charging plan around the four extra batteries supplied and budget for replacement every 200–300 cycles.
Ignoring the rental ledger. The SHG should log every job — date, customer, acres sprayed, agrochemical used, rate, payment mode — from day one. The same ledger doubles up as the loan-repayment evidence trail for the balance AIF loan.
Spraying without crop advisory. Drone spraying is not a substitute for crop-stage advisory. Tie up with the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra or agriculture-extension officer to plan the spray calendar around the actual phenological stage of the crop.

Where to read more

agriwelfare.gov.in — DA&FW website, scheme guidelines and operational SOPs.
Press Information Bureau (PIB) — Cabinet approval and PM launch press releases (28–30 November 2023) and subsequent district-rollout updates.
agriinfra.dac.gov.in — Agriculture Infrastructure Fund portal for the balance-financing loan and 3% interest subvention. See our AIF deep-dive guide for the eligibility, subvention math and CGTMSE credit guarantee.
dgca.gov.in — DGCA Remote Pilot Certificate rules, RPTO list and Drone Rules, 2021.
aajeevika.gov.in — DAY-NRLM portal for SHG / CLF / SRLM information and state-mission contacts.
Krishi UDAN 2.0— MoCA's companion agri-aviation intervention that waives airport charges for air movement of perishable agri produce from NER, hilly and tribal districts; the two schemes together anchor MoCA-linked interventions in the farmer portfolio.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Namo Drone Didi scheme?: Namo Drone Didi is a central-sector scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on 28 November 2023 and rolled out in 2024–25 by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW). Under the scheme, agri-spray drones along with a complete accessory package are provided to 15,000 selected women Self Help Groups (SHGs) over 2024–25 and 2025–26, so that the SHGs can offer drone-based spraying of fertiliser, nano-urea and crop-protection chemicals as a rental service to farmers and earn additional income. The total outlay approved by the Cabinet is ₹1,261 crore.
How much subsidy does an SHG receive under Namo Drone Didi?: The central government provides an 80% subsidy on the cost of the drone and the accessory package, capped at ₹8 lakh per SHG. The remaining cost is met by the SHG either through its own funds or as a loan from the National Agriculture Infrastructure Financing Facility (Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, AIF) at 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹2 crore — so the SHG's effective interest cost on the balance amount is well below market rates.
Which women SHGs are eligible to be selected as Drone Didis?: Eligibility is open to women SHGs federated under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and similar state rural livelihood missions. SHGs are selected by a Cluster Level Federation (CLF) / state mission in 10 progressive districts per state, with priority given to SHGs operating in agriculturally active areas, having a good repayment track record, and willing to identify one member (the 'Drone Didi') aged 18 years or older with a minimum of Class 10 schooling to undergo pilot training.
What training does a Drone Didi go through?: The selected woman undergoes a 15-day residential training programme. This includes 5 days of mandatory remote pilot training certified by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under the Drone Rules, 2021, and an additional 10 days of agriculture-purpose training covering safe handling, spray calibration, nano-fertiliser application, pest and disease scouting, basic data interpretation and routine maintenance / minor repair of the drone. Training is delivered at approved Remote Pilot Training Organisations (RPTOs) and ICAR / state agriculture university partner institutes.
What does the Namo Drone Didi drone package include?: Each selected SHG receives a complete spray-drone package: a DGCA-compliant agriculture drone with a 10-litre spray tank and nozzles suitable for nano-fertiliser and pesticide application, a basic spare set, four extra batteries, a charging hub, anemometer, GPS tracker, a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controller and other accessories required for safe operation. Drones must be sourced from manufacturers approved under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme or the DGCA-compliant manufacturer list to ensure airworthiness, after-sales support and warranty coverage.
How does an SHG actually earn money from a Namo Drone Didi drone?: After the Drone Didi is trained and the SHG receives the drone, the SHG operates the drone as a rental service to local farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) — typically charging on a per-acre basis to spray nano-urea, nano-DAP, water-soluble fertilisers and recommended pesticides over standing crops. Fertiliser cooperatives such as IFFCO and KRIBHCO also onboard Drone Didis for nano-urea / nano-DAP spray campaigns. Government estimates project annual additional income of around ₹1 lakh per SHG once a normal service load is reached, in line with the broader Lakhpati Didi objective.
Who are the implementing partners of the scheme?: The scheme is jointly steered by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), the Department of Rural Development (DoRD), the Department of Fertilizers (DoF), the Department of Women & Child Development and the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) through ICAR institutes. On-ground delivery is anchored by State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) of the women SHG federations, with fertiliser cooperatives (IFFCO, KRIBHCO, etc.), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and ICAR institutes acting as demonstration, training and demand-aggregation partners.
Does Namo Drone Didi replace the existing SMAM drone subsidy for farmers?: No. The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) continues to offer drone subsidies directly to individual farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) and agriculture graduates — at different subsidy rates (50% capped at ₹5 lakh for FPOs, 40% capped at ₹4 lakh for individual farmers, with higher percentages for SC/ST/small/marginal/women farmers and the North-East). Namo Drone Didi is targeted specifically at women SHGs as service providers and runs alongside SMAM; an SHG / FPO chooses the channel that matches its institutional form.
How can a woman SHG express interest in the Namo Drone Didi scheme?: There is no individual online application portal at this stage. Interested SHGs should approach their Cluster Level Federation (CLF) and the District Mission Management Unit of the State Rural Livelihood Mission. The SHG's expression of interest is forwarded to the state-level steering committee, which selects 10 SHGs per identified district per phase. Updates on selection rounds, district lists and approved manufacturers are issued through Press Information Bureau (PIB) releases, the DA&FW website agriwelfare.gov.in and state rural-development department portals.

Scheme details summarised from publicly available guidelines on agriwelfare.gov.in, aajeevika.gov.in, aif.dac.gov.in and PIB releases on the Union Cabinet's approval of the Namo Drone Didi scheme (28 November 2023). Subsidy ceilings, district lists and SOP details are subject to revision; SHGs should verify current terms with their State Rural Livelihood Mission and Cluster Level Federation before committing to the AIF top-up loan.