Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena’s AI-powered drones failed to bring artificial rain to Ramgarh Dam on Tuesday. Thousands attended a puja and demonstration intended to revive the dam, once the biggest water source for Rajasthan’s capital but dry in recent years. The drones wobbled and crashed without producing rain; officials blamed the crowd for disturbing GPS signals. A similar attempt last month was postponed because of rain.

The Rajasthan Agriculture Department and US–Bengaluru-based technology firm GenX AI will conduct 60 cloud-seeding test flights over the Ramgarh region on Tuesday, 12 August 2025. Agriculture Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena is scheduled to inaugurate the trial at 2 pm. Scientists have been in Jaipur for several days conducting preliminary drone tests, and residents have been invited to watch the launch.

The pilot will target a smaller area than earlier aircraft-based attempts. Cloud seeding disperses substances such as silver iodide, sodium chloride or dry ice into clouds, where particles help moisture condense into raindrops; success depends on sufficient cloud moisture.

A ₹10-crore aircraft-based cloud-seeding exercise at Bhaisunda Dam in Chittorgarh two years ago failed to produce rain despite chemical dispersal. Officials hope drones will make artificial rain more efficient and viable for drought-hit areas.

• Jaipur’s Agriculture Department has partnered with a US company for a cloud-seeding experiment expected in August. US scientists are in Jaipur; specially designed drones ordered from Taiwan would release sodium chloride into moisture-laden clouds. It may be India’s first artificial-rain operation using drones and AI; earlier Indian cloud seeding used aircraft.
• The project awaits Director General of Civil Aviation approval. A Jaipur District Administration meeting involved the Water Resources Department, Meteorological Department, Pollution Control Board and company representatives. Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena discussed the initiative with the firm in June.
• If successful, seeding would continue for several days to recharge the dam, with data recorded and studied for a month. Success depends on cloud cover and atmospheric moisture.
• Built by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh in 1903, Ramgarh Dam supplied Jaipur drinking water from 1931 until the 1980s. Its storage capacity is 75 million cubic metres; it hosted a boating competition during the 1982 Asian Games. It has been dry since 2005, after encroachments and illegal construction choked its catchment and inflow channels.
• India’s first cloud seeding was conducted by Tata Chemicals over Kerala’s Western Ghats in 1951. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Delhi have also used it.

Ramgarh lake, 32 km from Jaipur, has been dry since 2000 after encroachments and obstructions blocked water flow to the dam. Rajasthan Water Resources Minister Suresh Singh Rawat laid the foundation stone for repair and beautification work. The state proposes to spend ₹2.53 crore over 12 months on repairing the embankment road, building a parapet wall, repairing the control-room building and stairs, and adding stone pitching to the slope. Water is proposed to be brought from the Parvati-Kali Sindh-Chambal link project, mainly for drinking. The Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project is integrated with the link project, which was included in the national perspective plan; Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh signed its implementation agreement on December 17, 2024. The government previously identified and removed encroachments and obstructions on 323.30 hectares near the dam. Anicuts and check dams taller than two metres were demolished or reduced to that height under a Rajasthan High Court direction. Sawai Ram Singh II built the lake in 1876; it hosted rowing events at the 1982 Asian Games.