Agriculture in India is rapidly shifting toward precision farming, automation, and smart crop management. One of the biggest innovations driving this transformation is the use of agricultural drones for spraying, crop monitoring, mapping, and precision input application. However, the high initial investment of agri drones often becomes a challenge for farmers and rural entrepreneurs.
To address this, the Government of India introduced financial support mechanisms under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), enabling farmers, FPOs, SHGs, startups, and agri-service providers to purchase agricultural drones with subsidized loans and interest benefits.
The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium-to-long-term financing scheme launched by the Government of India to support agriculture-related infrastructure and community farming assets.
What is the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)?
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development backed Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) is a ₹1 lakh crore financing facility designed to improve agricultural infrastructure in India. Under this scheme, eligible beneficiaries can avail loans with interest subvention and credit guarantee support for agriculture-related assets, including agricultural drones in certain operational models.
The scheme is particularly useful for:
- Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)
- Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs)
- Agri startups
- Rural entrepreneurs
- Self Help Groups (SHGs)
- Agri drone service providers
- Cooperatives and PACS
How AIF Supports Agricultural Drone Financing
Under AIF-linked financing models, eligible applicants can receive:
1. Interest Subvention
The government provides interest support of up to 3% on eligible loans under AIF.
2. Credit Guarantee Support
Collateral-free loans may be available for certain categories and loan limits, reducing the burden on rural entrepreneurs and FPOs.
3. Long Repayment Period
Many banks offer repayment tenures of up to 5 years with moratorium benefits.
Who Can Apply for Agricultural Drone Loans?
The following entities are generally eligible:
- Individual farmers
- Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)
- Agricultural startups
- Custom Hiring Centres
- Cooperatives
- Women SHGs
- Agri service companies
- Rural youth entrepreneurs
Many farmers, FPO’s, agricultural startups and CHC’s have already purchased our MD-10H/MD-10H+/MD-10HV1 agricultural spraying drone through AIF from banks like Union Bank, SBI, IDFC and Canara Bank. For more information contact +91-6362900034