Parliament Question: Drone technology in shrimp aquaculture

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1323 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11th FEBRUARY, 2026 Drone technology in shrimp aquaculture 1323 Shri Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha: Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING be pleased to state: (a) the expected timelines for completion, field trials and commercial deployment of the 70 kg payload shrimp-transport drone under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and whether Andhra Pradesh will be included in pilot phase; (b) whether any financial assistance or subsidy has been finalised under PMMSY to support shrimp farmers, FPOs and cooperatives in Andhra Pradesh for adopting drone technology, the details thereof; (c) the status of SOPs for drone use in aquaculture including safety norms, insurance and environmental protocols; and (d whether drone-based environmental monitoring and disease surveillance is proposed in major shrimp-producing districts of Andhra Pradesh, timelines and implementation plan details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH (a): The Department of Fisheries, Government of India has taken an initiative to promote the use of drone technology in fisheries and aquaculture. This is a first-of-its- kind initiative in the fisheries sector for introducing drone applications in fish and shrimp transportation, surveillance, disease monitoring and feed spraying. With a view to create awareness about the application of drone technology in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, demonstrations were organized at Kolkata and the Sundarbans in West Bengal, Kochi in Kerala, Patna in Bihar, and at the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad.In addition to the drone demonstrations, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India, under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), has approved a pilot project to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Barrackpore, West Bengal, with budgetary support of ₹1.16 crore through NFDB for developing Drone technology for live fish transportation. Under the said project, deployment of a fish transport drone with a payload capacity of 70 kg has been successfully completed and field-tested. The drone is capable of transporting up to 70 kg of fish/shrimps and other related materials. (b): The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) provides financial support for undertaking innovative projects and entrepreneurship development initiatives by start-ups, State Governments and Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs) for implementation of pilot-scale projects aimed at adopting new technological interventions, including drone technology, in fisheries and aquaculture. (c) and (d): The Department of Fisheries, Government of India has constituted a Technical Committee for drafting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the application of drone technology in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The SOPs will serve as a guiding document to streamline the adoption of drone technology, ensuring efficiency, safety and sustainability in fish transportation, feed distribution, disease control and management, and underwater monitoring and surveillance. The Technical Committee constituted by the Department of Fisheries, Government of India has finalized the draft SOPs. The draft SOPs, inter alia, envisage drone-based monitoring and disease surveillance in aquaculture farms across the country, including Andhra Pradesh. ****