To empower women, Lieutenant-Governor launches ‘Namo Drone Didi’

New Delhi, August 24

Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena rolled out the ambitious ‘Namo Drone Didi’ project here on Saturday. The initiative is a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary mission to empower rural women across India through advanced drone technology, officials said.

200 will be trained to fly drones

• The project aims to train 200 women from

  Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and individuals on how to operate drones and provide them with drone pilot licence certificates

• Post-training, these women will be equipped with drones, which they can utilise or rent out for various activities, thereby creating avenues for employment and entrepreneurship
• A total of ~25,000 will be spent on each trainee and funds will be raised through Corporate Social Responsibility

According to officials from the L-G’s office, the project aims to train women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and individuals on how to operate drones and provide them with drone pilot licence certificates.

Post-training, these women will be equipped with drones, which they can utilise or rent out for various activities, thereby creating avenues for employment and entrepreneurship.

The initiative commenced with a series of drone demonstration events, the first of which took place in Singhola village of North Delhi on Thursday, followed by a similar event at Badu Sarai village in South West Delhi on Friday.

The demonstrations, organised by a designated NGO, are slated to continue across all districts in the Capital. These events will be followed by the training of selected individuals, who will then receive their drone pilot licences upon completion.

“We are looking at issuing around 200 such licences to women across various districts in Delhi,” confirmed an official from the L-G office.

A total of Rs 25,000 will be spent on each trainee and funds will be raised through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

“The enthusiastic turnout at Singhola and Badu Sarai is a testament to the potential impact of this initiative on rural development,” said the official.

Once trained, these ‘Drone Didis’ will have access to numerous employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Officials said these include conducting drone surveys, event shoots, photography, video recordings and even agricultural activities like seeding and pesticide or fertiliser application.

“This initiative is a pivotal step in integrating advanced technology with rural development,” said an official, aligning with the government’s objectives of skill development and technological empowerment in rural areas.