Gandhinagar, Aug 8 The Namo Drone Didi scheme of the Central government has given flight to the dreams of thousands of women by empowering them financially, paving the way for their self-reliance.
Thousands of women, taking advantage of this scheme, have embarked on this journey to become self-dependent.
In Gujarat’s Banaskantha district, Ashaben Chaudhary, a native of Talepura village, has benefitted immensely from the 'Namo Drone Didi' Yojana.
She received requisite training under the scheme by trained professionals and is now earning a good income by spraying pesticides in the fields through drones.
There was a time when Ashaben was confined to the kitchen of her house, but today, her transformation as ‘drone didi’ has given flight to her dreams and also enthused many fellow villagers.
She has brought a revolution in farming with the help of drones and is benefiting thousands of farmers.
‘Drone Didi’ Ashaben Chaudhary told IANS that after getting information about the 'Drone Didi Yojana', she opted to try her hand at it.
“Earlier, I used to work from home, but with this scheme, I am earning a handsome amount of money," she said.
“This is a big source of income for me. Under this scheme, I got a kit worth about 17 lakhs, which includes a drone worth 10 lakhs, a car worth 5 lakhs and a generator. This was given free of cost by the government,” she informed.
She expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also encouraged other women to take advantage of this scheme.
She further said that her annual income is more than three lakhs now.
Initially, she underwent 15 days of drone operation training in Pune, which included information on DGCA regulations as well as practical sessions. After the training, she started spraying pesticides with the help of drones in Vav, Tharad, Deesa, Vadgam and Mehsana districts of Banaskantha.
Today, she is also the head of 'Ashapuri Sakhi Mandal', which works with the women of villages to encourage and persuade them to join the mission.
The major objective of the ‘Namo Drone didi yojana’ is to promote advanced technology in agriculture for improved efficiency, enhanced crop yield & reduced cost of operation.
It seeks to empower SHGs as drone service providers for increasing their income and providing livelihood support to them.
--IANS
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