The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (Mechanization & Technology Division) organized a one-day national workshop on the Implementation of the Online Centralized Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Platform Version 2.0 and the NaMo Drone Didi Yojana in New Delhi today.
The NaMo Drone Didi Yojana is a flagship initiative aimed at training and equipping women from Self-Help Groups to operate drones for agricultural purposes such as spraying of fertilizers and pesticides. The newly developed Drone Portal, presented to all States for their reviews, will facilitate mapping and tracking of drone operations, pilot training and certification management and access to all stakeholders with a comprehensive dashboard.
The workshop included live demonstrations of the Centralized DBT Platform Version 2.0, and newly developed Namo Drone Didi portal allowing state nodal officers and stakeholders to understand the features, workflows, and implementation protocols. The upgraded portal is a major reform aimed at resolving longstanding challenges faced by farmers in accessing benefits under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM). Challenges like delayed subsidies, lack of transparency, and manual bottlenecks are addressed with the new advanced features of the DBT portal. Open discussions provided a platform for states to share feedback and implementation strategies. The State nodal officers from various states shared their insightful feedback, ground experiences and good practices which will be helpful in shaping the way forward for improving the portals and preparing a roadmap for effective implementation of agricultural mechanisation schemes.