Need of the hour is to keep pace with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the era of rapid changes in technology: Dr. J.S. Samra
71st Foundation Day celebrations of Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation,Dehradun
Need of the hour is to keep pace with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the era of rapid changes in technology: Dr. J.S. Samra
71st Foundation Day celebrations of Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation,Dehradun
Dehradun, April 7
Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, an organisation of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) celebrated its 71st Foundation Day here today.
At the foundation day ceremony, Dr. Jagir Singh Samra, former Chief Executive Officer of National Rainfed Area Authorityand Former Deputy Director General (DDG) National resource Management, New Delhi emphasised the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of data analysis and need to keep pace with it.
He expressed satisfaction over the progress of the institute so far and underlined the importance of natural sources and called for development of new technologies. He further said that earlier the analysis was based on numericals but now this work is being done with Artificial Intelligence (AI) talking about the ever changing technologies, he said that soil and food scientists need to adapt to these changing times. He said that nowadays a mobile phone placed on the crop will detect the disease affecting the crop based on AI based analysis data. “Everything is changing, we have to update ourselves with this change. A lot is going to change in the coming five years, dependence on digital instruments and AI is going to increase. However, ethical issues will also arise in AI,” he said.
Dr. Samra lamented that very few farmers are going to Krishi Vigyan Kendras from where they get information on their smart phones and Artificial intelligence (AI) component is present in smart mobile phones. Dr. Samra said that earlier scientists used to walk around for data which is now being done through drone technolohy.
Dr M Madhu, Director of the Institute explained in detail about the progress of the Institute, activities among the stakeholders and development of technology being adopted for soil and water conservation. He hoped that the institute’s contribution in soil conservation would pave the way for the economic progress of the country. He presented the situation of land degradation with the help of data in the country and further emphasised that without water conservation the impact of climate change could not be reduced.
Dr RC Srivastava, Ex-Vice Chancellor of Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University (RPCAU), Samastipur, Bihar and Dr Sanjeev Chauhan, Director Research, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forest, Solan, HP. were felicitated as Guests of Honor during the occasion.
Dr Srivastava vividly remembered his student-days life at the Institute as trainee student, that helped him to go on to become Director, ICAR-Central Agriculture Research Institute (ICAR-CARI), Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and later became VC of the RPCAU. He emphasized that this institute caters to the needs of research students, scholars, farmers and executives on the subject of resource conservation.
Dr Sanjeev Chauhan spoke on the significance of soil water conservation in having a balance in nutrient cycle, and oxygen and carbon cycle that sustain our forests and agriculture production systems and propel the growth and development. Dr Charan Singh, Head, HRD&SS Division and Organizing Secretary welcoming the chief guests and participants introduced the events being planned during the day long program. Dr PR Ojasvi, Senior most Hydrologist of the Institute spoke on the research achievements in watershed hydrology and resource conservation happening at the Institute.
At the end, Dr M Muruganandam, Head, PME&KM Unit thanked the Chief guest, guests of honor and other participants and acknowledged the contribution of scientists and officials of the Institute for successful organization of the event. Dr Suresh Kumar, Group Director, IIRS, Dr AK Srivastava, Director (Rtd), ICAR-VPAKS, Almora Dr BL Dhyani, Principal Scientist (Rtd) and Dr N K Sharma Principal Scientist (Rtd) were among the dignitaries of the program.
HN Sharma, Chief Accounts Officer (CAO )presented the financial and administrative achievements made at the Institute during the past financial year. Earlier, progressive farmers spoke on the contribution of the Institute in uplifting their livelihood and food production avenues. Scientists, performing staff, retired staff and women work force of the Institute were facilitated during the program. The program was attended by 250 scientists and staff of the Institute, retired staff and the invited guests from various organizations, NGOs, press & media and academia besides 50 online participants. A cultural evening and sports events followed the inauguration of the celebrations.
The Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation conducts research, training and extension activities in soil-related, agro-ecological areas through its headquarters at Dehradun and a network of regional research centres. The institute is recognized in the country and abroad for providing long-term specialized training to Central and State Government officials and graduate assistants in soil and water conservation and watershed management. The objective of the Central Institute is to develop technologies to control land degradation and ensure food security and environmental, economic and livelihood security of stakeholders on a sustainable basis. The institute works for the conservation and management of natural resources, especially soil and water, on agricultural and non-agricultural lands.
