The conditional exemption has been granted to the ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute For Semi-Arid Tropics), Hyderabad, Telangana by MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation) and DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) for the deployment of drones to research agricultural activities.

ICRISAT, an international organization to conduct agricultural research, is headquartered in Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana and have regional centers in Nairobi, Kenya and Bamako, Mali. The research stations for the institute are in Kano, Nigeria; Niamey, Niger; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Lilongwe, Malawi; and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

The institute was founded by a consortium of organizations in 1972 and its charter was signed by the UNDP and the FAO.

Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said, "Drones are poised to play a big role in the agricultural sector in India especially in areas like locust control, precision agriculture and improvement in crop field". He further added that the government aims to encourage young researchers and entrepreneurs to look at cost-effective drone solutions for above 6.6 lakh villages in the nation.