The Government of India has introduced visionary financial assistance under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) and the Drone Shakti initiative to rapidly scale up drone adoption in Indian farming.

1. Subsidy Tiers Breakdown

Financial subsidies are structured based on the applicant category to support smallholder farmers and community organizations:

  • Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): Up to 75% of the drone purchase cost (capped at ₹7.5 Lakhs per drone) for establishing custom spraying fleets.
  • Small, Marginal, SC/ST, and Women Farmers: 50% financial grant (up to ₹5.0 Lakhs) on DGCA type-certified agricultural drones like the Falkdrone F-series.
  • Other General Category Farmers: 40% grant (up to ₹4.0 Lakhs).
  • ICAR Institutes, KVKs, & State Agriculture Universities: Up to 100% grant (capped at ₹10.0 Lakhs) for field demonstration and farmer training.
  • Rural Agri-Entrepreneurs & CHCs: 40% assistance or contingent financial backing for custom hiring centers.

2. Mandatory Eligibility Criteria

To successfully claim the subsidy through State Agriculture Departments (such as MahaDBT in Maharashtra):

  1. DGCA Type Certification: The drone must hold or be undergoing Type Certification approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
  2. Make in India Compliance: The manufacturing origin must be certified local, such as Falkdrone’s Paithan facility.
  3. Land 7/12 Extract or FPO Registration: Verified land records or cooperative society credentials.
  4. Aadhaar-Linked Bank Account: For direct benefit transfer (DBT).

3. Step-by-Step Application Workflow

Applicants submit their application through state portals like MahaDBT or the national agrimachinery portal. Falkdrone India assists FPOs and farmers with quotation generation, technical specification sheets, and pilot training compliance documents required for fast sanctioning.