By Sunil Kataria

FARIDABAD, India (Reuters) - A group of women in rural India has found an unexpected path to earn an income and some independence: operating drones for agricultural uses such as crop spraying.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government launched the so-called "Drone Didi" or "Drone Sisters" initiative in 2023 and so far 500 drones have been distributed, the Agriculture Ministry said in parliament in December.

The programme equips women-led self-help groups with drones to provide agricultural services, aiming to empower them and enhance agricultural efficiency. It has a target of distributing 15,000 such devices.

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Rupinder Kaur, a resident of the northern, breadbasket state of Punjab, enrolled in the programme in 2024 and uses industrial-sized drones weighing between 25 kg and 35 kg (55-77 lb) to spray pesticides and fertilizers on farmland.

The task involves filling up canisters on the drones with the chemicals, and then manoeuvring the devices remotely over the fields to spray the crops.

"This is not an easy task...especially for women who were (earlier) staying at home ... this work has increased respect for us in society and in the home and family," she told Reuters.