Best overall: 25 rural women complete agricultural drone training under FlySakhi initiative

Rural Development

Hyderabad: Twenty-five rural women have completed the first cohort of FlySakhi – Drone Queens of Bharat, a programme aimed at building women-led agricultural drone-service businesses and expanding access to technology-driven farming services. The women received their certificates at a valedictory session held at TiHAN, IIT Hyderabad, on October 15. The programme combines drone-operation training with business skills to help participants explore opportunities to provide services to farmers, cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). FlySakhi is led by the World Cooperation Economic Forum (WCOOPEF) and the Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI), with TiHAN–IIT Hyderabad as its technology partner and Syngenta India as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) partner. It is a flagship activity under the Civil Society Resilience and National Awareness Mission (CSRNAM) 2026 and is aligned with the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026. The first cohort began training on October 5 with virtual theoretical modules, followed by practical drone-flight sessions at TiHAN, IIT Hyderabad. The training covered drone operation, flight safety, agricultural applications and the Drone-as-a-Service business model. The programme aims to help graduates move beyond operating drones to establishing their own service enterprises. According to the organisers, certification is intended to support credit...