US professor praises India's 'Drone Didi' scheme

US professor praises India's 'Drone Didi' scheme

MIT Sloan School of Management Senior Lecturer Jonathan Fleming on Saturday lauded India's efforts in women's empowerment through technology during a visit to the ICAR Pusa campus here.

"I'm excited to see how India is using technology for women empowerment," Fleming said after interacting with participants of the "Namo Drone Didi" scheme.

"This initiative is an inspiration not only for rural Indian women but also for other countries,” he said.

The visiting professor observed a live demonstration of drone technology used for agricultural purposes by four women participants – Gita, Sita, Priyanka, and Hemlata – who sprayed fertilizers and pesticides in crop fields using drones, an official statement said.

During the interaction, the women explained how the government program provided training and financial assistance to help them adopt drone technology. They reported significant improvements in their financial conditions and expressed pride in their new designation as "Drone Didis" (drone sisters).

"One hundred per cent of drone incentive scheme beneficiaries in the USA are men, while in India it's totally opposite as all the beneficiaries are women," Fleming told the media. "This is a great example of how India is using technology for women's empowerment." Fleming also toured the Drone Robotic and Machine Learning Centre at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), where he was briefed on various indigenous drones developed by the institute and how they are transforming traditional farming methods.

The visit was attended by officials from the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, IARI scientists, and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, IFFCO, and state livelihood missions from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.