Assess the potential of aerial platforms, both manned and unmanned, for transforming agricultural input delivery in India.

In September 2026 the DGCA issued a Civil Aviation Requirement setting out the pilot-licence syllabus for gyroplanes, and it lists agricultural spraying among their uses [1]. Manned aircraft now join drones as a second way to deliver farm inputs from the air. Drones are already transforming this work. Gyroplanes are still only a promise.

Potential: Unmanned platforms (drones)

• Easier rules: The liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 cut the number of forms from 25 to 5 and the remote pilot licence fee to ₹100. Flights in green zones need no permission [2].
• Trained operators: DGCA-approved training organisations have issued 16,000 Remote Pilot Certificates [3].
• Last-mile reach: Namo Drone Didi has an outlay of ₹1,261 crore. It gives drones to 15,000 women SHGs, with the Centre paying 80% of the cost up to ₹8 lakh. The SHGs rent out spraying of liquid fertilisers and pesticides to farmers [4].
• Livelihoods: Each SHG is expected to earn at least ₹1 lakh more a year, and its pilot needs only 15 days of training [4].

Potential: Manned platforms (gyroplanes)

• New category: CAR Section 7, Series B, Part XXI covers ground and flying training for a gyroplane pilot licence [1].
• Uses: These include spraying, survey and surveillance, so gyroplanes could support crop assessment as well as input delivery [1].

Limitations

• Early stage: The Ministry calls the CAR an "initial step". Training organisations and manufacturing are still to come, with no dates set [1].
• Cost: A gyroplane pilot needs a full DGCA licence [1]. A drone operator needs only a short course [4], so drones will be hard to beat on price.
• Regulator capacity: A Parliamentary Standing Committee found nearly 50% of DGCA's posts vacant [5]. Approving and inspecting a new category of aircraft will stretch it further.
• Limited scale: 15,000 SHGs [4] cover only a small part of India's villages.

Way forward

• Use drones for spraying on small farms. Use gyroplanes where they add clear value, such as surveys, and only once cost data supports it.
• Publish timelines for gyroplane training organisations and manufacturing.
• Act on the Committee's call for DGCA autonomy and specialised recruitment [5].

Overall, drones are already changing how farm inputs are delivered, helped by lighter rules and SHG-led subsidies. Gyroplanes are a longer-term addition. If drones and gyroplanes are properly regulated and used together, they can make input use more precise and raise rural incomes, in line with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality).