New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) for the flagship Drone Didi Yojna, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to skill women to become drone pilots.

Under this partnership, Mahindra and MSDE will conduct two pilots at National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI) in Hyderabad and Noida to skill 500 women in batches of 20 each.

The 15-day curriculum, which has been approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, will be conducted at these centres by RPTO (Remote Pilot Training Organisation) instructors, the company mentioned.

"The pilot under the Drone Didi Yojana represents a first-of-its-kind convergence of women, farming, and technology. We are delighted to provide technology training to grassroots women and ensure that agriculture is equipped for the future," Dr Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group, said in a statement.

The programme aims to train 15,000 women to operate drones for agricultural purposes such as fertiliser sowing, crop monitoring and seed sowing.

"This collaboration advances our mission of upskilling women for nation-building, particularly through the successful implementation of the Drone Didi programme in empowering women in emerging trades," said Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE.

The learnings and outcomes from the Pilot project will help MSDE in scaling up the Drone Didi Yojana at identified NSTIs or ITIs across the country.

As a further support to the intent of the Drone Didi Yojana, Mahindra said that it will soon roll out this training for women at the company’s skilling centres at Zaheerabad, Telangana and Nagpur, Maharashtra.