Parliament Question: Drone skill development and training initiatives

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. - 3792 ANSWERED ON 25/03/2026 DRONE SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING INITIATIVES 3792. SHRI SUJEET KUMAR: Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) whether the Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has initiated any specialised programmes for drone pilot training and related skills under initiatives such as Drone Shakti and Namo Drone Didi; (b) whether Government has sent any target for certified drone pilots and technicians to be trained by 2025 and the current progress made towards achieving these targets; and (c) the steps taken to ensure affordable access to drone training for rural and semi- urban youth, including financial assistance or incentives? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (c) The Directorate General of Training (DGT), under Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has taken the initiative to introduce various courses in the field of Drone technology to develop skilled workforce in this emerging field. With a view to further strengthen this initiative and promote wider adoption of drone applications, DGT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) for providing drone pilot training under the PM “Drone Sakhi Yojna” in co-ordination with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Rural Development. Also, the National Skill Training Institute (NSTI), Ramanthapur, Hyderabad has been authorised as Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to impart remote pilot training. In order to ensure the affordable access to drone training, the Directorate General of Training (DGT), has started courses in ‘Drone Technician’ and ‘Drone Pilot (Junior)’ under Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for the youth across the country. Detail of these programs is placed in Annexure-I.Annexure- I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3792 ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 REGARDING “DRONE SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING INITIATIVES” State wise list of courses offered in NSTIs: Sl. No. State Name of Institute Trade Sanctioned Seats 1 Kerala NSTI Calicut Drone Technician 24 2 Odisha NSTI Bhubaneswar Drone Technician 24 3 Punjab NSTI Ludhiana Drone Technician 24 4 Tamil Nadu NSTI Chennai Drone Technician 24 5 Telangana NSTI-Ramanthapur, Hyderabad Drone Technician 24 6 Telangana NSTI-Ramanthapur, Hyderabad Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 7 Uttar Pradesh NSTI (W) Noida DroneTechnician 24 State wise/UT-wise list of courses offered in ITIs: Sl. No. State Name of Institute Trade Sanctioned Seats 1 Chandigarh Govt Industrial Training Institute Drone Technician 48 2 Gujarat INDUSTRIAL TRAINING INSTITUTE, Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 VAGHODIYA (Government) 3 Jharkhand Govt Industrial Training Institute Drone Technician 24 4 Jharkhand Govt ITI Deoghar Drone Technician 24 5 Jharkhand Govt ITI Govindpur Drone Technician 24 6 Jharkhand Govt ITI Lokai, Koderma Drone Technician 24 7 Jharkhand GOVT ITI, MADHUPUR(DEOGHAR) Drone Technician 24 8 Jharkhand Women Govt ITI, Khunti Drone Technician 24 9 Madhya Pradesh GOVT DIVISIONAL ITI, JABALPUR Drone Technician 48 10 Madhya Pradesh Govt. Divisional ITI Indore, MP Drone Technician 48 11 Madhya Pradesh Gyanodaya Private Industrial Training Drone Technician 24 Institute 12 Odisha Gopa Bandhu Govt.ITI Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 13 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Berhampur 14 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Bhubaneswar 15 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Bolangir 16 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Cuttack Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 17 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Phulbani 18 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Rourkela 19 Odisha Govt Industrial Training Institute, Talcher Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 20 Odisha Govt. Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Balasore 21 Odisha Govt. Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Dhenkanal 22 Odisha Govt. Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Hinjlicut 23 Odisha Govt. Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 24 Rayagada 24 Odisha Technical Training Institute, Takatpur Drone Pilot (Junior) 2425 Government Industrial Training Institute Drone Technician 24 Puducherry for Men, Puducherry 26 Tamil Nadu Government Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 North Chennai 27 Tamil Nadu Government Industrial Training Institute, Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 Coimbatore 28 Telangana Govt. Industrial Training Institute for Drone Technician 48 Girls 29 Telangana Rajiv Gandhi Industrial Training Centre Drone Technician 48 30 Dadra and Nagar GOVT. INDUSTRIAL TRAINING Drone Technician 48 Haveli and Daman INSTITUTE, DAMAN and Diu 31 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute Drone Technician 48 Durgapur Muchipara 32 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute Gariahat Drone Technician 48 33 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute Kalyani Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 34 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute Drone Technician 48 Midnapore 35 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute Siliguri Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 36 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Technician 48 Hooghly (Sahaganj) 37 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute, Howrah Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 Homes 38 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute, Malda Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 39 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute, Purulia Drone Pilot (Junior) 48 40 West Bengal Govt Industrial Training Institute, Drone Technician 48 Tollyganj *****