Chennai-based drone start-up Garuda Aerospace has pledged to manufacture 6 lakh drones and create 6 lakh jobs by 2025 under its Kisan Drone initiative. This will aid the farmer fraternity with technology and solutions for spraying of insecticides, pesticides and fertilisers. This would help them to keep away from life-threatening medical disorders and diseases, says a company press release.
Garuda Aerospace’s Kisan Drone manufacturing facilities in Gurgaon and Chennai were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.. As a part of this launch, the Prime Minister also flagged off the Kisan Drone Yathra which witnessed 100 drones taking off simultaneously across 100 Indian villages.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Glad to have witnessed Kisan Drones in action at 100 places across the country. This is a commendable initiative by a vibrant start-up, @garuda_india. Innovative technology will empower our farmers and make agriculture more profitable."
‘Drone as a Service’ model
Garuda Aerospace’s affordable drone-based solutions are backed by hardware, software and analytical tools that will improve efficiency and reduce cost for the agriculture industry.
Garuda Aerospace’s `Drone as a Service’ model will help farmers save up to 80 per cent water usage, and 90 per cent less pesticides and takes less time to cover large farming areas. With an increased precision levels of approximately 75 per cent, it has also been observed that usage of Kisan Drones has led to an increase of crop yield by 60 per cent and reduction of crop loss by 20 per cent.
The Kisan Drone is equipped with Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and GPS sensors to help farmers with accurate and real time information about their farms and crops. It can also help farmers with surveillance and mapping system, the release added.