Parliament Digest: Drone Didi Scheme Cleared, 275 Million Children Face Lead Contamination

The Union Cabinet has approved the Namo Drone Didi scheme with an outlay of Rs 1,261 crore for 2023–24 to 2025–26 to provide drones to women self-help groups for agricultural services including fertiliser and pesticide spraying, the Lok Sabha was informed. Parliament was also told that an estimated 275 million children under 19 in India have blood lead levels above the safe threshold of 5 micrograms per decilitre.

Under the Namo Drone Didi scheme, lead fertiliser companies have distributed 500 drones so far. On public health, Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav informed the Rajya Sabha that data from 89 datasets covering 36 studies conducted between 1970 and 2014 underpin the 275 million figure, drawn from a joint NITI Aayog and CSIR report released in July 2022. Four Nipah virus cases were reported in Kerala in 2025 and two in West Bengal in 2026. The CPCB monitors water quality at 4,922 locations including 227 marine sites under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme.

The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana had installed 2,619,879 rooftop solar systems since February 2024 as of March 19, 2026, with central financial assistance of Rs 17,967.53 crore disbursed to date. India's installed power generation capacity stood at 524 GW as of February 28, 2026, including 266.7 GW from renewable sources. The 20 per cent ethanol blending target for the current supply year was achieved in December 2025. Of 3,754 groundwater samples analysed in 2024, around 6.71 per cent exceeded the uranium permissible limit of 30 ppb, with elevated concentrations in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.

The Central Water Commission is running AI and machine learning pilot projects for short-range flood forecasting, with seven-day advisory forecasts available for major Himalayan river basins. The Defence Research and Development Organisation is piloting an autonomous avalanche forecasting system for the Himalayan region using remote sensing and AI. Under AMRUT, 348 projects worth Rs 1,022.27 crore have been grounded covering 430 kilometres of pedestrian walkways and 43 kilometres of dedicated cycle tracks across 500 mission cities.

Key figure — 275 million children under 19 in India with blood lead levels above safe threshold