The Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, under the Tea Research Association, has signed a MoU with RC Hobbytech Solutions Private Limited, a Guwahati-based technology company, to promote drone technology in tea research, precision agriculture, skill development and technology transfer.

Key Features of the Partnership

• The partnership will establish a Drone Centre of Excellence at Tocklai, creating a multidisciplinary platform for research, innovation and practical application of drones in tea plantations.
• The Centre will focus on precision agriculture, tea plantation management, geographic information system mapping, remote sensing, AI-based crop analytics, drone data processing and scientific field trials.
• The collaboration will undertake joint research and field validation to assess how drones can improve crop monitoring, plantation management and farm-level decision-making.
• Industry-oriented training will include drone operations, drone spraying, precision agriculture, remote sensing, geographic mapping and drone data analytics, along with courses leading to the Remote Pilot Certificate under DGCA framework.
• The initiative is expected to create skilled employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth, while helping tea planters, estate managers, researchers, students and technical personnel adopt emerging agricultural technologies.
• The initiative is spearheaded by Tea Research Association Director Dr. Venkatesan Selvaraj, with industry collaboration from RC Hobbytech Solutions.

About Tocklai Tea Research Institute

• • The Tocklai Tea Research Institute is the research centre of the Tea Research Association and has been a major institution for tea research in Northeast India. 
  • It is the world’s largest and oldest tea research centre, established as Tocklai Experimental Station in 1911, it carries out all kinds of research related to tea.
  • The labs here research, among other things, microorganisms that inhibit plant disease and promote growth. 

• Its work covers plant improvement, cultivation, processing, productivity and technology transfer.

• It houses a tea museum and model tea factory, exhibiting the machines that turn leaves into teapot-ready tea.

Significance of the MoU

• Drone-based agriculture can enable rapid crop surveillance, targeted spraying, early identification of pest and disease stress and data-driven plantation management. 
  • For Assam’s tea sector, this can improve productivity while supporting more efficient use of agricultural inputs.
• The initiative also reflects the broader shift towards precision agriculture, where technology is used to make farm decisions more accurate, resource-efficient and climate-responsive.

Note: Drone operations in India are governed primarily by the Drone Rules, 2021, administered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Exam Hook – Prelims

Consider the following statements regarding the Tocklai Tea Research Institute:

1. It functions under the Tea Research Association.
2. Its research activities include tea cultivation and technology transfer.
3. Its proposed Drone Centre of Excellence will focus only on drone manufacturing.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: 1 and 2 only.

One-line wrap: Tocklai’s drone initiative can help Assam’s tea sector move from traditional plantation management towards data-driven and precision agriculture.