NECTAR and Jawaharlal Nehru College Launch Assam's First Drone Pilot Training Centre with Inaugural Women's Batch in Boko

Boko: The North-East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), Government of India in collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru College, Boko has set up a RPTO (Remote Pilot Training Organisation), popularly known as Drone Pilot at Jawaharlal Nehru College, Boko to impart skill enabling and enhancing requirements to gear up with 21st Century demands for the people of North-East India as a whole and Assam in particular. The RPTO was officially inaugurated with the first women batch on Tuesday at Jawaharlal Nehru College, Boko.

In this regard, the principal of the J N College Boko, Dr. Tapan Dutta said that this is a very important day for the college and the state that a centre of RPTO or Drone Pilot Training centre has opened in the college today. Drone training started at college level for the first time in Assam. Dutta said, “After getting permissions from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), in collaboration with NECTAR, we officially launched the training programs in our college.”

The Director General of NECTAR Dr. Arun Kumar Sarma said, “The first batch of this training will be conducted for the women, who came from Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Assam. Total 10 women from the five states will get the five day-long training free of cost under the central government scheme of Drone DiDi. These trainees are nominated by their state governments. The central government is initiating to build up the dorne concept at the village level and through the scheme the government also gives low interest loans to buy drones which is very important in many important sectors which includes agriculture, defence, media and many others.”

“Our country needs more than 1 lakh drone pilots, instead of having only 10 to 20 thousands drone pilots. That is why NECTAR established this drone pilot training centre in the college. So that youths will attract this and will be the future drone pilots. We are also targeting our neighbour countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh etc. Because they too lack Drone pilots and they will come here and can easily take the drone pilot training.” added Dr. Arun Kumar Sarma during the media interactions.

A day-long programme was held in the college premises on the occasion of the inauguration of the RPTO center. Laya Madduri, IAS, Secretary to Government of Assam took part as chief guest along with the Boko MLA Nandita Das, Dr. Arun Kumar Sarma The Director General of NECTAR, many other distinguished guests, and college students took part in the programme. After the meeting, the NECTAR team demonstrated various drones which are used in various sectors.   A meeting was held in the college regarding uses of drones and other drone-related matters. The meeting was presided over by the college Principal Dr. Tapan Dutta. Laya Madduri gave a speech on the practical aspects of drones. She said, “Drones are being used to carry out flood mapping and provide essentials in Assam’s Silchar, so there is lots of potential from drones.”

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