Budget 2022: Kisan Drones to be used to technologically advance farming sector

India, home to 1.3 billion people spread across some 3.2 million square kilometres (1.15 million square miles), is the world's seventh-largest country by land mass. "Drone technology would have a huge impact in those areas where emergency medicines and vaccines could be supplied," co-founder of lobby group the Drone Federation of India, Vipul Singh, told AFP. (Image: AFP)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget Speech for the upcoming fiscal year has announced that Kisan drones will be used to drive a wave of technology in the agriculture and farming sector.  These drones will be used for crop assessments, land records and spraying of insecticides.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the upcoming fiscal year of April 2022- March 2023 in Parliament on February 1. This is the fourth budget that Sitharaman is presenting and third budget being presented while India still reels under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"This budget seeks to lay the foundation and a blueprint to steer the economy over 'Amrit Kaal' of the next 25 years from India at 75 to India at 100", said the FM while presenting the budget.

She also announced a series of other schemes and reforms to deal with India’s chronic agrarian distress. These include- Ken Betwa Linking project which will provide irrigation benefits to 9.0 lakh hectare farmland, drinking water supply to 62 lakh people, 103 MW hydropower, and 27 MW solar power generation. The total estimated cost of the project is at Rs 44,605 crore.

The FM further added that funds will be facilitated through NABARD to finance startups for agriculture and rural enterprise, relevant for the farm produce value chain. Startups will support FPOs and provide tech to farmers.