Seema Gupta is a powerful advocate for women in business. She operates a drone service centre for farmers under a central sector scheme. In this episode, Seema tells us that getting women into the workforce requires a sensitive approach that must involve the whole household.
Women Uninterrupted is a podcast by The Hindu in which we host conversations between women about women. This episode was originally recorded in Hindi.
Host: Anna Thomas
Guest: Seema Gupta
Seema’s voiceover: Nidhi Gupta
Title music: Maya Dwaraka
Production: Anna Thomas with The Scribbling Pad
The woman creating VR darshans in Kushinagar
A Master’s degree holder in Arts, Mamta Kushwaha’s journey took a turn when she joined an SHG, a move that propelled her out of her home and into a leadership role. Today, she heads an entire Cluster Level Federation (CLF), overseeing the lives and livelihoods of 4000 women across 20 villages in Uttar Pradesh.
Mamta Kushwaha
In Kushinagar, Mamta runs a souvenir shop that serves as a marketplace for women from the SHG to sell their products. Kushinagar is regarded as the final resting place of Gautama Buddha and is one of the four most important Buddhist pilgrim centres
To cater to the high pilgrim footfall in this town, Mamta provides a virtual darshan experience that showcases Indian pilgrim centres. She is an incubatee of a Jagriti Enterprise Centre – Purvanchal (JECP) project.
Mamta’s ambition is to develop a robust digital strategy across social media platforms to reach a wider audience, and to secure high-quality virtual reality (VR) content covering the Char Dham circuit and other prime pilgrim centres.
“The challenge is to find professional content that will make the customer experience more authentic,” says Mamta. “My dream, towards which I am working, is to present at the Kushinagar Museum which is under the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),” she says.
– Shilpi Singh, Manager, Women Centre of Excellence, JECP
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
This is your host Anna Thomas on the Women Uninterrupted podcast brought to you by The Hindu. For this episode, I joined a video call with Seema Gupta, a drone service operator from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh. Namaste, Seemaji.
Seema Gupta: Namaste, ma’am.
Host: Seema is a shopkeeper and a successful agribusiness entrepreneur. Seema’s days are very busy – with demonstrations to farmers, showing them how to use the drone for applying liquid pesticides and fertilisers, and how to use metrics to improve their farming practices. Seema, welcome to this podcast. How are you? Were you very busy today? What did you do today?
Seema Gupta (fourth from left) with Cisco & Jagriti managers. The pictured drone is 29 kg 800 gm with a battery duration of 19 m 5 secs.
Seema: I went to an exhibition in Deoria today. I went there. I met all the farmers there and I learnt new things. I met the village BMM (Block Mission Manager) there. She has been meeting me very often and she encourages women to grow themselves.
Host: Do you run a business from home or do you have an office room where you can sit and work? Do you have to go out a lot?
Seema: No, I don’t have an office from home. I go out and work in the field.
Host: Seema, you are one of the main participants of Drone Didi Yojana, and you started in 2024, right?
Seema: Yes, in 2024.
Host: Before that, were you a member of a Self-Help Group (SHG)?
Seema: Yes, I was a member of a Self-Help Group and then I became a Samuh Sakhi where I run a group of 350 women. I explain the procedure of getting loans and help them to get loans from the SHG.
Host: What were you doing before the drone business?
Seema: Yes, I was a Samuh Sakhi and then I opened a shop. The shop was already there, but I opened a bigger shop. I sold ladies’ items, opened a grocery shop. After opening a bigger shop, Covid-19 lockdown happened. I earned a lot during the lockdown. I was able to earn more. People saw that women are doing well with SHG and that they are growing well. Then,I decided to join the Drone Didi scheme. People from NRLM (National Rural Livelihoods Mission) chose my name. I am growing more and more with this.
Host: You placed the application in 2024. Did you do it yourself or did someone help you to make this application?
Seema: I got help from NRLM.
Host: And you got help to buy the drone.
Seema: I got help from SHG. I did not buy the drone. I got the drone from the Prime Minister’s scheme. I got help from HURL company; Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited. I got funds from Jagriti. They asked what I wanted to do with the funds. I said I have one set of batteries. It would be great if I could get one more set of batteries. They asked me what would be the benefit from it. I said that this would be the benefit – I said that if we have a lot of work, we can charge the drone twice and use it for two acres. If we get one more battery, we might be able to use it for four acres. I said that this is very good. So, I got help for a battery. I also got a Honda generator.
Host: Did you take drone pilot training?
Seema: Yes, I took drone pilot training. I took it in Samastipur, Bihar, Pusa. After that, I took it in Prayagraj Naini Aerospace. After that, in Motihari district. I took it in Samastipur for 10 days. I took it in Prayagraj for 5 days. I took it in Motihari for 7 days.
Host: You also have an e-rickshaw for which you have hired a driver.
Seema: Yes. Jagriti introduced me to a group of farmers. After that, my income started increasing. I thought that I should be able to earn as much as possible. I was confident that I would be able to earn. So, I bought an e-rickshaw loader for Rs. 1,80,000. After that, I started earning a lot. In January and February, I earned Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 70,000.
Host: Do you get time for yourself? Do you have any other hobbies?
Seema: I don’t like anything other than work.
Host: How many hours do you work in a day?
Seema: I work according to the weather. I leave work at 6 a.m. and come home at 6 p.m. I don’t have a clear schedule. Right now, I work from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sometimes, I work from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Host: How do you go to work? Do you drive a car or an auto rickshaw?
Seema: No, I don’t drive a car. I drive the e-rickshaw, but I can’t drive it in a traffic jam. If there is no traffic, I can drive the rickshaw.
Host: Seema, for your support, there is the government, Jagriti Udyam Kendra, and Techshakti-JECP. They are your supporters. You have met a lot of people. NGOs, mentors, business coaches, politicians. You have studied up to the intermediate level. Now, you are on LinkedIn.
Seema: Yes, I have a LinkedIn profile.
Host: After joining the Drone Didi Yojana, how did your life change? In your family, in your village, with your relatives. Does anyone run a business in your family? Or are you the first businesswoman in your family? What was your family’s reaction?
Seema: I am my family’s first businessperson.My life is going very well. My family members are supporting me. People in my village regard me so well. When I leave for work, they feel proud that someone from the village, someone’s daughter-in-law, someone’s wife is leaving, is starting from home to do good work. They feel proud..
Host: How many children do you have, Seema?
Seema: I have three children. One is a girl and she is smarter than me, in studies, and two are boys.Yes. I take care of them. I take care of my children. I take care of their education and other expenses. I have seven people in my family.
Host: Seema, in your opinion, this is a good business – this drone operator service. And there are 15,000 self-help groups in this Yojana. What else can the government do for you? What can we do?
Seema: I am thinking of providing women with jobs. I want to support women so that they do not sit idly and beg their husbands. I want to support women.
Host: What difficulties have you faced?
Seema: First of all, women do not want to leave their homes. They do not want to leave their homes at all. They say that if they leave their homes, it will be evening when they come back; their in-laws and husbands will ask them where they are and why they are taking so long. They find it difficult.
Host: What advice would you give them?
Seema: I don’t have any advice for women. First of all, we go to the house of the women whom we want to reach. We talk to the men first, to the elders. We talk to their in-laws first. We don’t talk to the women first. What can take one day, will take four days – to finish talking to them. When I understand their situation, I tell them about the schemes that I receive from the block and SHG. Then they understand and connect and follow the schemes.
Host: This is the Women Uninterrupted podcast and I was talking to drone entrepreneur Seema Gupta. Do you have anything more to say, Seema?
Seema: Yes.
Host: Tell me. If a young woman wants to start a business, what would be your advice to her? To her family? You told me once, but tell me again.
Seema: I think that it is important for a young woman to start a business. She should support her family and children. She should progress. She should solve her problems and move forward.First of all, the society will respect them. The family will respect them when they go out to work. When the family is happy, everyone will be happy.
Host: Thank you for talking to me, Seema. Signing off from Women Uninterrupted, a podcast for women by women. Brought to you by The Hindu.
Published – April 03, 2025 12:44 pm IST
