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Bihar Introduces Agricultural Drone Scheme for Crop Spraying

Source:indianmasterminds ↗

Why It Matters

Crucial for BPSC aspirants tracking Bihar government schemes, technological modernization of agriculture, and rural development initiatives.

Summary

The article details the Bihar Agricultural Drone Scheme, which promotes the adoption of drone technology for crop spraying and other agricultural operations in the state to enhance efficiency, reduce chemical exposure, and modernize farming practices.

Key Points

  • The Bihar government has introduced an agricultural drone scheme to promote the use of modern technology like crop spraying via drones.
  • The initiative aims to reduce manual labor costs, save time, and minimize chemical exposure for farmers during pesticide and fertilizer application.
  • Subsidies and financial assistance are provided to farmers or farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to adopt drone technology in agriculture.

Important Terms

Bihar Agricultural Drone Scheme

A state government initiative promoting drone technology for crop spraying, fertilizer application, and pest management to modernize farming, reduce manual labor, and minimize chemical exposure under the Agriculture Road Map.

UPSC context

Crucial for BPSC General Studies (Paper II - Governance & Economy/Agriculture), testing state-level technological interventions in rural development.

Source
Agriculture Department Bihar

The state department responsible for formulating and executing agricultural policies, promoting modern technologies like drones, and managing farmer welfare schemes such as the Direct Benefit Transfer portal.

UPSC context

Important for BPSC Bihar Special current affairs, focusing on institutional mechanisms driving agrarian reforms in the state.

Source

Prelims Trap

Financial assistance and purchase subsidies for drone technology are exclusively restricted to individual marginal farmers holding under 2 hectares.

Aspirants often assume drone subsidies are only for individual landowning farmers, missing that Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and custom hiring centers are primary beneficiaries for ownership subsidies.

Static Concepts Connected

Bihar Special Economy & Agriculture

What are the key structural pillars and objectives of Bihar's Agriculture Road Maps?

  • Strategic Focus: Initiated in 2008, Bihar is currently implementing its Fourth Agriculture Road Map (2023-2028) focusing on diversification, climate resilience, and value addition.
  • Core Sectors: Emphasis on seed production, mechanization, irrigation expansion, storage infrastructure, and promotion of organic farming along riverine tracts.
  • Tech & Delivery: Integration of technology dissemination, digital agriculture, and direct benefit transfer (DBT) mechanisms for transparent subsidy delivery.

Cross-Topic Patterns

  • Agritech Subsidies & Bihar Agriculture Road Maps

    Agricultural technology adoption in Bihar is directly tied to the state's Fourth Agriculture Road Map, aligning modern agritech with state-level development financing.

  • PM-KVY & State DBT Portal Integration

    Drone deployment under PM-KVY connects state-level DBT portal execution with national agricultural modernization frameworks and chemical safety guidelines.

Bihar Agricultural Drone Scheme targets (subsidies, acreage, and FPO eligibility) are high-yield objective facts for BPSC prelims.

Linked PYQs · 1

Linked PYQs · 1

  • 2023BPSC_PRELIMSGS1

    Consider the following statements regarding the SVAMITVA scheme: 1. It is a Central Sector Scheme under the Ministry of Mines. 2. This scheme seeks to create geopositioning infrastructure like CORS network to benchmark the location and provides five centimetre level accuracy. 3. CORS means Cross-Origin Resource Sharing. 4. The scheme is a reformative step towards establishment of clear ownership of property in rural inhabited (Abadi) areas, by mapping of land parcels using drone technology.