**Summary:**
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying is promoting the use of drone technology in fisheries and aquaculture, particularly in shrimp culture and monitoring, under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). Fisheries Research Institutes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are conducting research on drone applications, including water sample collection, feed and medicine distribution, biomass estimation, and health monitoring. ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI) is developing a prototype drone with a 70kg payload capacity for transporting fish and shrimp from production centers to markets. A Technical Committee has been formed by the Department of Fisheries to establish Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for drone application in fisheries and aquaculture. The PMMSY central sector scheme component provides financial support for promoting drone technology in the sector, covering activities such as surveillance, stock assessment, environmental monitoring, disease detection, automated feeding in aquaculture (including shrimp farms), water sampling, and precision fishing. This initiative aims to bring significant technological advancements to the fisheries sector. The announcement was made by the Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on July 23, 2025.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying: The central ministry responsible for fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairying in India.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research: An autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute: A fisheries research institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada: A scheme for development of fisheries sector.
Department of Fisheries: The department responsible for fisheries within the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Rajya Sabha: The Upper House of the Parliament of India, where a written reply was provided.
George Kurian: Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Delhi: Location where the information was posted by PIB.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Drone technology in shrimp culture and monitoring
Posted On: 23 JUL 2025 4:22PM by PIB Delhi
Fisheries Research Institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have initiated research
programmes on Drones and expanding its uses to collect water samples for analysis from open-water bodies
and difficult terrains; distribution of feed and medicines into culture systems; biomass estimation; health
monitoring, etc. Further, a prototype drone is being developed by ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research
Institute (ICAR-CIFRI) for transportation of fish and shrimp from production centre to market with a capacity
of 70kg payload under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada (PMMSY).
The Department of Fisheries has constituted a Technical Committee to formulate the Standard Operating
Procedure (SoP) on application of Drone technology in fisheries and Aquaculture.
Innovations and innovative projects/activities, technology demonstration including startups, incubators and
pilot projects is one of the activity under central sector scheme component of PMMSY which also cover
extending financial support for promotion of drone technology in fisheries and aquaculture. Key activities
such as surveillance, stock assessment, environmental monitoring, disease detection, automated feeding in
aquaculture including shrimp farm, water sampling, and precision fishing represent significant technological
advancements in the fisheries sector which can cover under central sector scheme component of PMMSY.
This information was given by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and
Dairying, Shri George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 23rd July, 2025.
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(Release ID: 2147326)