The Agri Infra Fund (AIF) has sanctioned the first ever drone loan for a Kisan drone manufactured by Chennai-based Garuda Aerospace.
AIF functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and has spearheaded many schemes that are farmer-centric. Its Joint Secretary Samuel Praveen Kumar said, “The advanced Agri Drone manufactured by Garuda Aerospace and its unique affordable service model will motivate thousands of drone service providers to avail these Kisan drone loans in quick time.” He added, “AIF has a target to facilitate loans up to ₹1 lakh crore into the Agri Infra ecosystem and recently we crossed ₹10,000 crore”.
After receiving the loan, the beneficiary Ram Kumar, one of the 25 drone service providers, said, “Kisan drones cover 25 acres per day for precision spraying operations, save pesticide usage by 70%, save water usage by 80% and I’m generating ₹1 lakh a month in revenue.”
“Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Garuda Kisan Drone yathra in February this year, where he flew 100 drones simultaneously in 100 villages across the country, our goal has been to get loan approval sanctioned for our type certified Kisan Drones” said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace. “Garuda Aerospace has already pre-booked over 2,500 drones and will manufacture 1 lakh Made in India Kisan Drones by 2024,” he added.
