Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Ministry: ICAR developed 838 high-yielding crops in 3 yearsedit
The Pioneer – Online
The Ministry of Agriculture has said that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a total 838 high yielding and trait specific field crop varieties, of which 578 are climate resilient, 41 short duration and 47 bio-fortified varieties in the last three year. Besides, India has developed only 63 Integrated Farming System (IFS) in 18 States so far and these models are suitable to 26 States and Union Territories and have the potential to increase the income of farmers by 2 to 3 times or more vis a vis existing systems/practices in a period of 3 to 4 years. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) 345 varieties of different crops were developed in ...
Decoding E-NAM – Catalyst To Digital Transformation Of Mandi Systemedit
Businessworld – Online
There are 10 crore farmers in India out of which around 1.69 crore farmers registered on the e-NAM platform. With the integration of 38 new Mandis with e-NAM or the electronic National Agriculture Market, the Government has brought in a total of 1000 mandis under it and another 1,000 mandis will get added in FY-22
The National Agriculture Market or e-NAM is a pan-India electronic trading platform for farmers, traders, and buyers to sell or buy their agricultural produce smoothly in India. While the government is claiming a significant success having managed to incorporate 1,000 mandis under e-NAM, statistics suggest, a lot more work is required. Industry reports suggest that India has a little over 6,000 Mandis ...
Technology in Agriculture
MoU inked to check pollution through artificial intelligenceedit
Times of India – Online
The state will now use artificial intelligence and remote sensing technology to spy the main sources of air pollution and take action against the violators. To begin with the new initiative, the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Under the MoU signed online by BSPCB chairman Dr Ashok Kumar Ghosh and India based representative of the UNDP Shoko Noda, the BSPCB would use the Geo AI platform developed by the UNDP Accelerator Lab and the University of Nottingham.
Ghosh told this newspaper that the BSPCB would use the ‘digital solution’ technology for identifying the faulty brick kilns, places of stubble ...
Agri-tech can attract $10 billion investment over the next 10 years: FICCI-PwC reportedit
The Hindu Business Line – Online
The Indian agri-tech ecosystem has the potential to attract investments of over $10 billion over the next ten years, according to a FICCI-PwC report.
Titled “Agri-start-ups: Heralding next level of agricultural transformation,” the report reveals that the existing start-ups in the country, estimated at over 600, account for merely one per cent of the potential market opportunity estimated at $24 billion. This connotes of the immense potential for agri start-ups in the country, the report said.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Scientists suggest early Indian monsoon forecasts could benefit farmersedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Farmers in India should be provided with early forecasts of expected variations in the monsoon season in order to reduce crop losses, said a team of scientists.
Researchers at the University of Reading and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) led the first-ever in-depth study into how accurately ECMWF’s latest long-term global weather forecasting system can predict when the summer monsoon will start, and how much rainfall it will bring.
They found the model provided accurate forecasts a month in advance for the timing of the monsoon in India’s major agricultural regions. Providing this information to farmers could help them prepare earlier for unexpected heavy rainfall or extended dry periods, both of which regularly ...
Stubble Burning
Stubble burning in Indiaedit
Goa Chronicle – Online
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for around 58% of Indians. India is one of the major producers of the most important cereals and cash crops in the world. As a result, the primary sector of India is poised to grow tremendously and increase its contribution to the world food trade every year. Thus, definitely Indian agriculture is one of the major facets of our development and self- sufficiency which has turned India from a begging bowl at the time of her independence to a major exporter of agricultural and allied produce. These are the reasons which highlight the fact that agriculture cannot be underestimated even though its contribution to the gross domestic production has ...
Air pollution: SC asks Govt to come out with steps to deal with stubble burningedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre to file an affidavit detailing “concrete steps” to deal in future with the situation of stubble burning, which is a major cause of air pollution in the Delhi-national capital region (NCR) during the winters.
The order by a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, came after it was submitted that the pollution caused due to stubble burning will again come to fore in future.
“Mr Tushar Mehta (Solicitor General), you come back with some concrete steps on stubble burning,” the bench said.
The top court was hearing a petition which has raised the issue of pollution caused due to stubble ...
Tractor industry
VST Tillers Tractors in technical supplier partnership with Monarch Tractorsedit
IIFL Securities – Online
The two companies have worked collaboratively for over a year on the technical development of tractor hardware for the first series of Monarch Tractors.
CEO of VST Antony Cherukara Spoke and informed Electric and driver-optional technology is the latest advancement in agriculture mechanisation and specifically tractor technology,” adding he said, “VST Tillers Tractors Ltd. is excited to be part of this journey along with Monarch Tractor.”
VST Tillers in its regulatory filing on Monday highlighted that farmers today face numerous challenges including labour shortages, effects of climate change, safety concerns, increased customer scrutiny for sustainability demands, government regulations, and more. The award-winning Monarch Tractor addresses these issues by combining electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis ...