Congratulations, Dr Om Prakashji

Congratulations, Dr Om Prakashji

Commissioner – Agriculture /  Rajasthan  /

  cag.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

What for ?

For taking first step towards implementing my suggestion re use of DRONES to drive away locust swarms

How ?

Here is that report :

 In a first, drone used to clear locust swarms in Chomu

Highlights :

Ø  These are designed to spray 10-litre of chemicals, along with creating a sound that would disperse the locusts into different areas……..

Ø  “It has successfully contained the movement of locusts in an open area and on the foothills where it was not possible for the usual tractors to make it reach “ 

 

Ø  An official at the agriculture department says that they are soon rolling out a tender for engaging 30 drones for the said purpose

Ø  “ The biggest advantage of the drone is that it can fly above the flying zone of the locusts giving the flexibility to the officials to carry out combat operation while they are flying. Earlier , the operations were restricted to when they are resting on a tree or on a crop “ , said Om Prakash 

 

Ø  Their demand for drones is in the hundreds but due to the lockdown, it is not being made available by the State

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What was your suggestion ?

Nearly 2 years back ( 04  Sept  2018 ) , I sent following mail :

Flock Dynamics      ,

-           Where I wrote :

 DRONES  HERDING  OTHER NON-HUMAN SPECIES

 This could comprise herding of :

*   Locusts / Insects / Hornets / Wasps / Mosquitos etc chased / led by a drone , to self-

     destruct by flying into electrified fences

 

See Graphics :

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Then a few days back , I sent following e-mail :

Locusts are invading !   ………………………………………..[  24  May  2020  ]

-          Where I reasoned :

Now , we would need lakhs of drones ( with load carrying capacity of 25 kg of pesticide ) to spray over millions of acres of farm land

       This may not be feasible

Can we enable this DRONES to herd away these swarms of locust to some remote deserts ?

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This e-mail being sent to the following Policy Makers 

:

ns.tomar@sansad.nic.in

p.rupala@sansad.nic.in

kailashchoudhary@gmail.com

amber.dubey@gov.in

gulshankumar.moca@nic.in

cfc.moca@gov.in

divya.arora@gov.in

cag.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

adldir.ext.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

adldir.research.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

adldir.input.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

fa.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.plan.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.input.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.chem.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.pp.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.atc.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.wuc.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.stat.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.admn.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.qc.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

rkvy.raj.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.ext.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.nmoop.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.crop.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

jdagr.me.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.inf.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.ext.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.plan.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.imp.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.chem.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.adm.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.seed.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

adagr.fert.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.qc.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.rkvy.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

dlr.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

acp.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

ddagr.atc.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

adagr.admn.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

adagr.plan.agri@rajasthan.gov.in

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With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecuitGuru.com   /   28  May  2020

Locusts are invading !

Over the past few days, there are reports of millions of locusts invading farms in Northern India

Ready crops are getting eaten up within hours

Farmers are trying to shoo away the invading armies by beating drums and vessels – all to no avail

This has been happening for decades – with no real solution at hand

Now comes the news that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved use of drones to fight the pest

Here is that report :  

  India likely to use drones to beat back locusts  

Extract :

The Ministry of Civil Aviation, in an order dated May 21, granted conditional exemption to the agriculture ministry to use remotely piloted aircraft - as drones are more formally known - to spray pesticide and in aerial surveillance and photography, specifically in “anti-locust” measures

The drones will need to have a Unique Identification Number (UIN) or Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN), as per the order. India has granted DANs to around 20,000 drones so far.

We seek a balance between socio-economic, safety and national security considerations before allowing a particular type of drone operation,” said Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, who overlooks the drones division at the ministry.

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Now , we would need lakhs of drones ( with load carrying capacity of 25 kg of pesticide ) to spray over millions of acres of farm land

This may not be feasible

Can we enable this DRONES to herd away these swarms of locust to some remote deserts ?

Or over the sea ?   Or fly into some raging fire ?  Or fly into electrified wire-mesh SCREENS ( 30 feet x 30 feet ) - mounted on a truck-trailer ?

Just the way people of small town Hamelin hired the Pied Piper to herd those thousands of rats into the river, by playing a ( rat – captivating ) tune on his flute !

[ read : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_Piper_of_Hamelin  ]

 Yes, here is how :

[ source :   Flock Dynamics   /  04  Sept  2018  ] 

– where I described the underlying technology as follows :

Now, researchers have equipped drones with an algorithm that lets them herd away flocks of birds without human input.

=========================================================

DRONES  HERDING  OTHER NON-HUMAN SPECIES

This could comprise herding of :

*   Locusts / Insects / Hornets / Wasps / Mosquitos etc chased / led by a drone , to self-

     destruct by flying into electrified fences

*   Rats to follow a drone to drown in rivers / ponds ( Pied Piper of Hamelin ? )

*   Sharks made to stay away from beaches where humans swim

*   Schools of fishes lured to swim into the fishing nets of trawlers

*   Migrating herds of animals to reach water-holes , following a low flying drone

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I urge following officers from the Civil Aviation Department to consider my suggestion :

Ø  Shri N S Tomar – Hon Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare / ns.tomar@sansad.nic.in

Ø  Shri Parshottam Rupala – Hon Minister of State  /  p.rupala@snsad.nic.in

Ø  Shri Kailash Choudhar  /  Hon Minster of State   /  kailashchoudhary@gmail.com

Ø  Shri Amber Dubey      /     amber.dubey@gov.in

Ø  Shri Gulshan Kumar   /     gulshankumar.moca@nic.in

Ø  Smt Bandhula Sagar   /    cfc.moca@gov.in

Ø  Ms  Divya Arora          /    divya.arora@gov.in

==================================================================================

Related Readings :

A Swarm-O-Drone is born                                      [  16  Nov  2017  ]

Drone – a – Charya                                                 [  02  Sept  2018  ]

=========================================================

With regard,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  25  May  2020

Mothballing Mega-Projects ?

During her recent press briefings , Smt Sitaramanji announced an ECONOMY  STIMULUS  PACKAGE of Rs 20.97 lakh*crore

[ source : https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/breakup-of-the-rs-20-lakh-crore-economic-stimulus-package-by-fm-sitharaman/1961843/ ]

But , it would be incorrect to call it an ECONOMY STIMULUS PACKAGE , since allocation for “ job-generating “ INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS , was only Rs 1.4 lakh crore !  

Rest was more in the nature of a RELIEF to individuals by way of CASH and some support to businesses to avoid winding up

When asked by a journalist , how Government plans to raise funds for this ambitious outlay , Smt Sitharamanji said :

“ We are borrowing – we will continue to borrow from the market “  [ approximate words ]

Obviously, she could not say : 

“ We will tax the rich taxpayers , some more “

My guess is that , out of the total of Rs 6 lakh*crore of PERSONAL INCOME TAX revenue , those Super Rich , probably contribute no more than Rs 1 lakh*crore !

Raising their tax-rate by 100 % , would fetch , may be an additional , Rs 1 lakh*crore !

Peanuts compared to the funds required for the following ( mostly, incomplete ? ) mega-projects :

Ø  Mumbai – Nagpur  Super Expressway ……………………………………. Rs   46,000   crore

Ø  Ahmedabad – Mumbai Bullet Train    …………………………………….. Rs  108,000  crore

Ø  Shri Shivaji Maharaj Statue  ……………………………………………………  Rs       3,644  crore

Ø  Mumbai Trans Harbour Link …………………………………………………… Rs    14, 262  crore

Ø  Amaravati Capital City ( Andhra ) ……………………………………………  Rs  109,000  crore

Ø  GIF-Tec City ( Gujarat )  …………………………………………………………..  Rs  140,000  crore

Ø  Navi-Mumbai International Airport ( NAMI ) ………………………….. Rs  112,000  crore

Ø  Delhi – Mumbai Trade Corridor  ……………………………………………… Rs  630,000  crore

Ø  Central Vista Project ( Delhi )  …………………………………………………. Rs     20,000  crore

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Ø  TOTAL   …………………………………………………………………………………… 

Rs  21.90  Lakh*Crore

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And this is only a partial list . For a better understanding of what we are facing, read :

Ø  Centre resolves 615 infrastructure projects worth Rs 22.35 trillion   …………………[  24 June 2019  ]

Ø  Infra funding requirement pegged at ₹111 lakh crore during 2020-25  ……………..[  29 April  2020  ]

This must be looked in the following context :

Ø  If our expected GDP was $ 2.9 trillion ( $ 2920 billion ) for 20-21 , that would work out to  $ 8 billion ( Rs 56,000 cr  ), PER DAY

Ø  Hence , in past 58 days of lockdown , our GDP has lost $ 464 billion ( Rs 32.48 Lakh*Crore )

Both, the Centre and the States, are spending huge amount of funds for fighting Corona crisis

Their reserves have depleted, treasuries are hitting rock bottom. The end of this crisis is not in sight !

One thing is crystal clear. Capital Spending on Infrastructure Projects would have to be suspended

With dwindling revenues from taxes ( direct + indirect ),  States – and Centre – will not have , even enough money for Revenue Expenditure ( salaries etc )

And if there are no Infra Projects, how will economy revive ? How will jobs get generated ?

Not through MGNREGA

During her press brief , talking about MGNREGA, Smt Sitharamanji said :

Ø  Additional allocation of Rs 40,000 cr , will generate 300 crore MAN-DAYS of work

Ø  Therefore, earlier / original allocation of Rs 60,000 cr , could provide 450 crore MAN-DAYS

Ø  A total allocation of Rs 101,000 cr giving , 750 cr MAN-DAYS

Ø  Now , MGNREGA promises 100 Man-days / year / to Rural – Unskilled – Unemployed

Ø  Hence, this works out to providing work to 7.5 crore workers only ( in rural areas )

 Will Centre approach World Bank – IMF – Asian Development Bank etc for Rs 111 lakh*crore ?

With dozens of poor countries approaching these institutions for funds, India cannot expect much help from them

Whatever is given, will carry stringent conditions ( for “ Ease of Doing Business “ reforms ?  ) – besides untenable “interest rates  / repayment terms “

If there ever was a time to put BLACK MONEY to productive use – to revive Economy and generate jobs ,  that time is NOW !

To undo the ravages of the TINY VIRUS , what we need is an ELEPHANT !

To be precise , ELEPHANT BONDS ( modified as suggested by me ), as outlined in :

Congratulations, Shri Surjit Bhallaji,   ………………………………….[ 31 Oct 2019 ]

Dear Madam Sitharamanji,

Times of extreme calamity demand “ unorthodox and out-of-the-box “ solutions

Reducing Repo Rate from 4.4 % to 4.0 % ( as announced a few minutes back by RBI Governor , Shri Shaktikant Das ),  is no more than applying a BAND-AID to a likely fatal wound !

If you announce ELEPHANT BONDS right now, no one will misunderstand

No one ( including Experts / Economists / Opposition leaders ) will criticize your announcement because none of them have anything better to offer !

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  22  May  2020