2. AGRICULTURE
• Agriculture in India has a significant history.
India ranks second worldwide in farm output.
• The economic contribution of agriculture to
India's GDP is steadily declining with the
country's broad-based economic growth
• India's agricultural economy is undergoing
structural changes. Between 1970 and 2011, the
GDP share of agriculture has fallen from 43 to
16 %.
3. Major developments and
investments
• The Abu Dhabi-based Al Dahra International
Investment LLC is set to invest about Rs 112 crore
(US$ 16.61 million) in Kohinoor Foods Ltd.
• Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms
invested US$ 126 million across nine Indian agribusiness companies during the first six months of
2013, as per data from Venture Intelligence.
• Coromandel International Ltd, India's leading
fertiliser manufacturer, with its joint venture (JV)
partners have inaugurated a 1.4 million tonne (MT)
phosphoric acid plant in Tunisia.
-This isn't because of reduced importance of agriculture, or a consequence of agricultural policy. This is largely because of the rapid economic growth in services, industrial output, and non-agricultural sectors in India between 2000 to 2010.Its contribution to the nation's GDP is about 18.5 per cent in 2006-07. It is also an important source of raw material and demand for many industrial products, particularly fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural implements and a variety of consumer goods.
The total outlay of Rs 27,049 crore (US$ 4.01 billion) has proposed for the Ministry of Agriculture in the Union Budget 2013-14, which is 22 per cent more than the revised estimates of the year 2012-13. Further, Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 148.38 million) has been allocated to continue support to the new green revolution in Eastern States like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal to increase the rice production. An outlay of Rs 500 crore (US$ 74.19 million) is also proposed for starting a programme of crop diversification that would promote technological innovation and encourage farmers to choose crop alternatives in the original green revolution States.
Autonomous Robot TractorAutonomous system component includes a system to act the acceleration and steer, processing unit, and sensors to locate the position including GPS system.Sensors and a powerful computer is not enough to keep the tractor on the right path. The development team creates an application where the user calibrates the robot according to each terrain type.Autonomous robotic lawn mowerThis is not a simple task, the robot has to avoid collisions and obstacles, and in the same time has to taking care to cut the grass at the desired height. A fully autonomous robot supposes to not require the human intervention for some actions like a detailed path to follow. The robot has to work alone according to owner specifications.
-Nanotechnology for crop biotechnologyNanoparticles can serve as ‘magic bullets’, containing herbicides, chemicals, or genes, which target particular plant parts to release their content. Nanocapsules can enable effective penetration of herbicides through cuticles and tissues, allowing slow and constant release of the active substances.62. Nanotechnology is also applied to prevent waste in agriculture, particularly in the cotton industry. When cotton is processed into fabric or garment, some of the cellulose or the fibers are discarded as waste or used for low-value products such as cotton balls, yarns and cotton batting. With the use of newly-developed solvents and a technique called electrospinning, scientists produce 100 nanometer-diameter fibers that can be used as a fertilizer or pesticide absorbent. These high-performance absorbents allow targeted application at desired time and location.
