Hyderabad: Youth in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are increasingly finding lucrative opportunities as agricultural drone pilots, earning up to Rs 60,000 a month by spraying pesticides on farmlands. This surge in demand for drone pilots comes amid a significant shortage across India. Reports indicate that while there are around 24,000 registered drone pilots in the country, the actual requirement is far higher, running into lakhs.
V Prem Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Hyderabad-based Marut Drones, emphasised this growing gap between supply and demand. “Currently, India has 1 lakh drones in operation, but by 2027, that number is expected to rise to 1 million across various industries. Despite this growth, we face a serious shortage of skilled drone pilots,” he said.
Under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) Drone Rules 2021, anyone flying small to medium-sized commercial drones must hold a remote pilot certification and a license. Each drone is assigned a unique serial number, which can be verified on the DGCA portal. However, Prem Kumar pointed out that many drones in operation lack these numbers. “The number of drones without serial numbers could be five to ten times more than those registered,” he added.
To meet the growing demand, Marut Drones and other companies have begun working with service providers to scale up operations. “Agriculture, in particular, is offering vast potential, with lakhs of drones needed regularly for various tasks,” Prem Kumar added.
In Hyderabad, several drone training academies have emerged, including the Marut Drone Academy, which has partnered with Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU). Other institutions include the govt-run Telangana Academy, India Drone Academy, and Dronacharya, a North India-based organisation.
Prem Kumar highlighted that the training programmes focus on empowering farmers, women self-help groups (SHGs), farmer producer organisations (FPOs), young farmers, and agriculture graduates. “We are equipping them with the skills to adopt drone technology in agriculture,” he said. So far, over 700 pilots, including 150 women from SHGs, have completed the training.
The seven-day training module covers drone aviation, advanced operations such as payload installation, spraying systems, and practical flying sessions. “Graduates can find employment in a range of sectors, from agriculture and mining to mapping and construction. During peak farming seasons, trained and licensed drone pilots can earn between Rs 60,000 and Rs 70,000 per month,” Prem Kumar shared.
These trained pilots invest in drones worth Rs 6 lakh each, and farmers hire them much like they would hire a tractor service. The use of drones has drastically reduced the time taken to spray pesticides — from days to mere hours — while also keeping farmers safe from the harmful effects of pesticide exposure.As drones continue to revolutionise agriculture, the demand for skilled pilots is only expected to rise further.
Link – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/lucrative-careers-agriculture-drone-pilots-soar-in-demand-across-india/amp_articleshow/114227144.cms
