Drones can help raise $100-bn GDP boost: The World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a new report that putting drones at the centre of a technology-led transformation of Indian agriculture can enhance the nation’s GDP by 1–1.5% and create at least five lakh employment in the next few years.
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Drones can help raise $100-bn GDP boost: Key Points
- The report created by WEF’s Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution in India in partnership with the Adani Group and released here, described how drone-based technology may revolutionise Indian agriculture.
- The WEF report presents use cases for drones that combine military and civilian technologies and are made possible by digital adoption, analytics, digital financing, and a concerted local stakeholder effort.
- It also offers a framework for the creation of scalable pilots that can be put into practise by different governments.
World Economic Forum Report (WEF Report): Other Important Highlights
- Aviation industry is undoubtedly one of the most regulated in the world.
- Indian efforts to promote unmanned aviation have been praised by a broad range of stakeholders for their audacity and caution.
- The WEF underlined the enormous potential for enhancing farm outcomes through precision agriculture expertise and advising, which can lead to a 15% improvement in productivity in India’s $600 billion agricultural sector, by citing much research.
What is a green microcosm?
- The establishment of a “green microcosm” in which an integrated “drone-centric rural hub” is set up and stabilised throughout crop cycles is required to support the mainstreaming of drones in agriculture.
- India has over six lakh inhabited villages, all of which are reported to be engaged in agriculture to a respectable extent.
- As per various reports the per-hectare production of a mechanised farm tends to be higher than that of a non-mechanized and irrigated farm, agricultural productivity is mostly influenced by the inputs utilised by farmers at the time of cultivation.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) report:
- The report used a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) report to demonstrate how digital technology-based agriculture can unlock an additional $65 billion in value by 2025.
- It also claimed that the impact of digital agriculture on the gross domestic product (GDP) will be even greater.
- Additionally, a 15% boost in productivity using precision agriculture know-how and farm advisory services based on numerous existing and emerging data sources (soil health cards, meteorological data, farm/tractor-based sensors) can create a $25 billion economic potential.
- In a similar vein, digital interventions have the potential to create around $15 billion in agricultural loans and insurance.
According to the WEF, by 2025, there is a possibility for 40–60% of the agricultural surplus to be traded through digital marketplaces, and selling produce through electronic channels is expected to enhance farmers’ price realisation by 10%, opening up a $25 billion opportunity.