Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
To enhance income of farmers, consider Agri-tourismedit
The New Indian Express – Online
India’s growth is mainly backed by the existing rich natural and cultural resources. Capitalising on that, our tourism sector has witnessed one of the fastest growth rates worldwide. The travel and tourism industry has proven its importance as an economic growth engine for the world economy. For nine continuous years, its growth rate had exceeded that of the global economy.
In 2019, it grew at 3.5% compared to the global GDP growth rate of 2.5%. Accounting for 10.3% of total GDP, the industry contributed $8.9 trillion to the global GDP and created approximately 330 million jobs, one in 10 that year. The tourism sector makes a significant impact on the economy of our country. Data ...
Explained Ideas: Why agricultural subsidies worsen air pollution in North Indiaedit
The Indian Express – Online
People of Delhi, and the Indo- Gangetic plains at large, are living in a “highly-polluted airshed” and “choking toward a slow death” according to a joint opinion piece by Jessica Seddon (Fellow, Chadha Center for Global India at Princeton University) and Ashok Gulati (Infosys Chair Professor for Agriculture at ICRIER) in The Indian Express.
As winter dawns, the wind slows, temperatures drop, and suspended particulate matter (PM) accumulates. The more-than-enough pollution in Delhi and surrounding cities from congested traffic, dust, construction, waste-burning and power generation accumulates and gets a top-up from the burning of paddy stubble in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.
Dairy Farming
India’s first ‘Cow Cabinet’ to whip up sacred love for dairy, dung and moreedit
RFI News – Online
The departments in charge of forest, revenue, rural development, home and animal husbandry have been roped into the so-called ‘cow cabinet’, which held its inaugural session at a cattle shelter in Madhya Pradesh state on Sunday.
“Six departments of the state government would work together in the activities of cow protection and betterment,” a Madhya Pradesh government statement added.
Technology in Agriculture
Indian app to support farmers wins 2020 ‘Call for Code’ challengeedit
IndiaLink. – Online
India-based agri-tech startup AI Farm has been chosen as the Asia Pacific Regional Winner of Call for Code, a competition asked developers to create solutions to help communities fight back against climate change and Covid-19.
AI Farm won for developing an intelligent system that evaluates climate and soil conditions to provide farmers with information to adapt their crop strategies.
Stubble Burning
New Town stubble-burning leads to spike in pollutionedit
The Times of India – Online
Air Quality Index (AQI) in New Town has consistently remained in the moderate to poor range over the last one week with a high PM2.5 count, especially in the evenings and through the nights, according to readings taken by a private agency. As per the readings, AQI has been rising from the evening and remaining high till early morning and sliding during the day. On Sunday, the AQI was 163 at 10 am. It dropped to 101 at 1 pm but again increased to 120 at 6pm.
As per the West Bengal Pollution Control Board’s automatic station in Bidhannagar, which is close to New Town, the AQI was 250 at 1 pm, 229 at ...
Fine to be imposed for stubble burning in Jhansiedit
The New Indian Express. – Online
The Jhansi district administration in Uttar Pradesh said on Sunday that it would register an FIR and impose a fine of Rs 2,500 for any case of stubble burning.
Taking cognizance of stubble burning at 259 places, District Magistrate Andra Vamsi said police would monitor the situation for the next 15-20 days.
Vamsi said farmers were being informed and made aware not to burn stubble.
Chatbot for queries on stubble managementedit
The Tribune – Online
Aimed at answering queries of farmers, assisting them in operating agricultural equipment and spreading awareness regarding proper management of paddy stubble, agricultural experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) would be providing guidance through a WhatsApp chatbot.
To avail the service introduced by the state government, farmers need to type “parali” and send it on WhatsApp to the mobile number 6283191730 to generate queries or seek information. Farmers can also visit this link http://bit.ly/2HxncFu.
Tractor industry
Overloaded tractor-trailers pose a threat to commuters in Narwanaedit
The Tribune – Online
OVERLOADED tractor-trailers carrying wheat straw are a common sight on main highways in Narwana. It seems that the administration is not acting tough against these vehicles. These trucks and tractor-trailers are overloaded beyond capacity, leaving no space for other vehicles to pass by on roads. These overloaded vehicles also overturn when they lose balance and lead to accidents. Sometimes the straw loaded on it gets scattered on the road after the weak jute-wrapping tears off on being scratched by a vehicle coming from opposite direction, leading to the blockage of the highway. It causes an inconvenience to commuters by blocking the entire road for hours. The number of fatal accidents reported due to these overloaded tractor-trailers ...