Drone subsidy in India: SMAM Kisan Drone and Namo Drone Didi explained

Two central schemes fund agri drones

Agricultural drone purchases in India are subsidised through two central schemes. The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), the "Kisan Drone" component, gives tiered grants to individual farmers, farmer groups, custom hiring centres and institutions. Namo Drone Didi, a separate central sector scheme, gives women self-help groups a much higher subsidy to run drone-spraying as a rental business.

Both schemes fund the purchase of a type-certified drone and its accessories, not the cost of getting a field sprayed. If you are a farmer who wants your crop sprayed, you do not need either scheme: you book an operator who already owns a drone, often one bought under these very schemes.

SMAM Kisan Drone: subsidy by who is buying

The grant is a percentage of the drone cost, capped at a rupee ceiling. Caps have been revised more than once, so confirm the current figure with your state agriculture department before you plan finances.

Funds are released to state governments, which run the applications through their agriculture departments and DBT (direct benefit transfer) portals. Several states add their own top-up or run parallel schemes, so the effective subsidy in your state may be higher than the central figure.

Namo Drone Didi: 80% for women self-help groups

Namo Drone Didi provides drones to 15,000 women self-help groups over 2024-25 and 2025-26 so they can rent out spraying services to farmers. The central assistance is 80% of the cost of the drone and accessories, up to ₹8 lakh, with the balance available as a loan under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund at a 3% interest subvention.

One member of each group is trained as a drone pilot (a 15-day course leading to the DGCA Remote Pilot Certificate) and another as an assistant for maintenance and support. The scheme expects each group to earn at least ₹1 lakh a year from rental spraying. Groups are selected through the state rural livelihood missions, not by direct application.

What you need before applying

• A type-certified agricultural drone from the DGCA-approved list, registered on Digital Sky with a UIN (unique identification number)
• At least one operator holding a DGCA Remote Pilot Certificate for the drone class (small or medium category)
• Proof of agricultural land or, for CHCs and FPOs, registration documents and a bank account for DBT
• Insurance for the aircraft, and a quotation from the drone manufacturer or dealer
• For Namo Drone Didi: membership of an SHG registered with the state rural livelihood mission

Should a farmer buy a drone at all?

A 10-litre spraying drone with batteries, charger and a generator costs several lakh rupees even after subsidy, needs a certified pilot, and only pays for itself when it flies most days of the season. For a farmer with a few acres, the arithmetic rarely works: a season of booked sprays costs a fraction of the loan instalment.

Where buying does make sense is as a business: an FPO or an individual with a Remote Pilot Certificate who sprays for the whole village at a per-acre rate. That is exactly the operator side of Sky Spray, and the app sends those operators paid jobs from farms around them.