Current Affairs by Abhishiekh Saxena

Model Answer

Question #1. What is Smart Farming? How can it be utilised to achieve the target of doubling farmers income?

Approach:

• Introduce by giving definition of Smart Farming (30 Words)
• Enumerate the benefits of Smart Farming (30 Words)
• Mention the challenges of Smart Farming (40 Words)
• List the steps taken by Government (30 Words)
• Conclusion (20 Words)

Hints:

"Smart farming" is an emerging concept that refers to managing farms using technologies like IoT, robotics, drones and AI to increase the quantity and quality of products while optimizing the human labor required by production.

Benefits of Smart Farming

Smart farming centres around seven ‘E’s.

• Economic viability of farming;
• Efficient use of limited natural resources such as higher production per unit of water, land, and labour resources;
• Enhancement in production through higher productivity;
• Energy saving of limited fossil fuel
• Equitable distribution of benefits across the farming community and inter and intra-regional distribution
• Environment/ecology protection; and finally,
• Employment generation to ensure high income levels.

Challenges to Smart Farming

• Improving technology: There is work to be done in terms of sensing technologies for weather forecasting, land-use pattern-mapping, cropping-mapping, soil-testing and soil-enriching techniques, mineral-mapping of animals, and so on.
• Digital Divide: While an increase has been seen in penetration of the internet in Rural India, the digital divide still remains, and is a major challenge in implementation of Smart Agriculture.
• Availability of credit: A successful switch to smart farming will largely depend on the availability of credit.
• Emerging threats: Climate change has led to an increase in extreme weather events, which needs better prediction and new innovations to counter these threats.
• Lack of technical expertise knowledge and technology

Smart Agriculture in India

• Some of the schemes like PMKSY (Per Drop More Crop) involve Smart Agriculture practices.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) have formulated a project entitled “SENSAGRI: SENsor based Smart AGRIculture”.
  • The major objective is to develop indigenous prototype for a drone based crop and soil health monitoring system using hyperspectral remote sensing (HRS) sensors.
• Drone technology is also being used. It has the ability for smooth scouting over farm fields, gathering precise information and transmitting the data on a real time basis.
• Mobile apps are being used to provide farmers with weather information and provide early warning.

Conclusion

The need of the hour is to adopt state of the art technology to make agriculture sustainable and profitable. Agricultural renaissance can take shape on a strong digital foundation. Adoption of technology will help in sustaining food security and enhanced livelihood opportunities and thus will contribute to the mission of doubling farmers' income.

Question #2. What are the global protocols that regulate the usage of outer space? Also, discuss the unintended consequences of the private players in the space race.

Approach:

• Briefly introduce with outer space ( 40 words)
• Discuss Global Protocols related to outer space ( 90 words)
• Highlight Unintended consequences of Global space race ( 80 words)
• Conclusion ( 40 words)

Hints:

Outer space is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles, predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, neutrinos, dust, and cosmic rays. The Karman line, an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) above sea level is conventionally used as the start of outer space in space treaties and for aerospace records keeping.

Global Protocols

The treaties commonly referred to as the "five United Nations treaties on outer space" govern the outer space:

1. The Outer Space Treaty-Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. It entered into force on 10 October 1967. India signed the treaty in 1967 and ratified it in 1982.
2. The Rescue Agreement-Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space. It entered into force on 3 December 1968 and is ratified by India.
3. The Liability Convention-Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects. This treaty entered into force on 1 September 1972.
4. The Registration Convention-Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space. Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 3235 (XXIX), opened for signature on 14 January 1975, entered into force on 15 September 1976
5. The Moon Agreement-Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. Adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 34/68, opened for signature on 18 December 1979, entered into force on 11 July 1984.

Unintended consequences of Global space race

1. Space Debris-unfettered space race by humans has resulted in an increased space debris revolving in the orbits. This is not just dangerous for the satellites but also manned space stations and missions, life of which can be jeopardized in case of collisions.
2. Exchange of terrestrial micro-organisms-the outer space is essentially vacuum, the to and fro exchange of life from earth to space, specially moon and mars can transfer micro-organism from earth, which can cause adverse and unknown effects
3. Undue load on resources-space programs requires enormous amount of resources; expensive fuel, technology, rare earth minerals, semiconductors among others. Commercialization of the space race is likely to deplete these resources at a far greater pace.
4. Power struggle-dominance for space is likely to trigger a cold war like situations among various nations. Ex China is already planning to mine Helium from Moon surface making entire world nervous.

Conclusion:

The space is a natural resource shard by entire human race, there is a need for sustainable partnership and global co-operation to harness the benefits arising out of space exploration.