Sangareddy: Drone training set to help generate good income to SHG women

Fifty-seven SHG women in Sangareddy were trained to operate drones for pesticide and fertiliser spraying under the Namo Didi scheme. With support from SERP Telangana, they are set to become certified drone pilots and earn up to Rs 25,000 daily.

Sangareddy: Aiming to empower the women financially, the Sangareddy district administration trained some 57 selected self help group women in operation of drones as part of Namo didi programme.

The women were trained to spray pesticides and fertilisers on agriculture fields in villages. After the Union government launched Namo drone didi programme, Sangareddy district was first in entire India to complete the 10 day mandatory training for these selected women.

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Society for Elimination for Rural Poverty (SERP), Telangana, nodal agency for the programme inTelangana, roped in Bangalore based Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace training institute to train these women in March this year. After completion of the training the women also demonstrated the operation of drones which drew the attention of even Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During Mank ki baat programme, Modi lauded the efforts of the SERP Telangana and district administration Sangareddy in training the women. The women were expected to get drone pilot certificates in a week or two when the agriculture operations would commence in Telangana. Meanwhile, the drones will be distributed at 80 per cent subsidised rate to these women. While the union government would bear 8 lakhs out of 10 lakhs, the women would need to bear the rest Rs 2 lakhs. Two women will be paired to run one unit of drone. The government has granted 6 drones to Sangareddy out of 90 allotted to Telangana so far.

However, Collector, Valluru Kranthi was so eager to get more units to district to create employment to all the trained women.

Speaking to Telanangana Today, SERP Officer, K Janga Reddy said that the commercial drone operators in Telangana were charging Rs 400 to Rs 500 per spraying pesticides. They can spray upto 50 acres in a day. During the peak of season, he said that the women can earn upto Rs 25,000 per day which would certainly empower the women financially.