RANCHI: Soon, drones could be seen hovering over the fields in Rando and surrounding villages under the Kanke block of Ranchi, spraying fertilizers on the crops. To make this possible, 10 tribal youths from Rando village are being sent to Hyderabad for drone pilot training under the CSR initiative of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL).
This initiative is part of the CSR project Unnat Krishi, jointly run by Central Coalfields Limited, Ranchi, and the Nidhi Samriddhi Foundation.
After completing the training , the youths will be provided with drones. This will make fertilizer spraying easier and safer for farmers, while also creating a new source of income for the trained participants.
Each trained youth will earn Rs 500 for spraying fertilizers per acre of land.
The Foundation’s Executive Director, Suraj Kumar Sinha, explained that farmers are moving away from traditional practices and adopting modern agricultural methods to mitigate the effects of climate change. Unnat Krishi has given new direction to this effort, he said.
In the first batch, six young tribal farmers are being sent to Hyderabad for drone training. All training courses will be conducted in accordance with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulations. Upon completion, trainees will receive a Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC).
According to Sinha, the youths were selected for drone operation training based on their qualifications and performance in a written examination.
"Ten youths have been selected for training, and six will depart for Hyderabad on Monday. All training courses will be conducted as per DGCA regulations, resulting in trainees receiving a Remote Pilot Certificate," said Sinha.
Based on this certification, the trained youths will be registered and later provided with subsidised drones under government schemes, which will serve as a sustainable source of livelihood, he added.