Mr. Chocko Valliappa, MD of The Sona Group, welcomes skilling via ITIs for Drone services through AgriTech.

In the Union Budget 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that start-ups would be promoted to aid ‘Drone Shakti’. Drone technological innovation can empower Agri-tech startups, also creating an expert workforce through many ITIs.

In India, Agri-tech start-ups were 450 two years back. It is believed to increase to 600-700 start-ups. Drone technology is an important part of Argi-techs, which is used for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying seed, pesticides, and nutrients.

Filling the skills gaps in this Agri and tech space is advantageous to a country like India, feels many experts. Mr. Chocko Valliappa says polytechnics are the correct place to start this skills development course. He added polytechnics should be allowed to add advanced and future-oriented skills.