Raipur, Nov 29 (LatestNewsX)—In Rajnandgaon district’s small village of Achholi, Dongargarh, women are turning the local farm scene on its head. Under the central government’s Namo Drone Didi programme, they’re flying drones to spray nano‑urea and pesticides, modernising every field while boosting rural women’s earnings.
The initiative gives women specialised drone‑piloting training, opening fresh income avenues. Drone spraying saves growers time, labour and money while delivering inputs with pinpoint precision. As more “Drone Didis” take to the skies, the district’s agricultural practices are catching up with technology.
Shanti Vishwakarma—known as “Drone Didi”—has become the linchpin of this transformation. She charges Rs 300 per acre for rice‑field spraying, with varied rates for other crops. The rise in demand has made her money king, earning her the nickname “Lakhpati Didi.” Now she’s helping other rural women jump on the bandwagon and chase similar livelihoods.
With fiscal backing from central and state bodies, Shanti received equipment totalling close to Rs 15 lakh: a drone worth Rs 10 lakh and a vehicle priced at Rs 5 lakh. She now roams the district in this vehicle, delivering drone‑spraying services wherever the farmers need her.
The Drone Didi scheme aims to widen women’s participation in agriculture and to make modern tech mainstream. Shanti’s success story in Achholi clearly shows that, with proper training and institutional support, rural women can lead the march toward agricultural modernisation.
Speaking to LatestNewsX, Shanti revealed that she’s been active in a women’s self‑help group for about fifteen years and now presides over it. “We were told about the drone‑pilot training. After we discussed it, I was chosen. Before this, I ran a small pickle and papad shop. I did a 15‑day course in Gwalior, and later, at a public event, I was handed the drone’s keys,” she recounted. “Since then, I’ve been working for two years, getting plentiful orders—helped by my YouTube channel—and my entire family supports me. Every day I’ve been spraying 10 to 20 acres.”
Shanti expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching women‑empowering schemes and highlighted the Chhattisgarh government’s welfare programmes that create jobs for women both at home and beyond. (ash/dkp/pgh/uk)
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