Noida based Agri-tech company, Leads Connect Services in collaboration with, Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra organised National Seminar-cum-Workshop on Application Of Space Technology and Artificial Intelligence for Climate Resilient Agriculture & Disaster Management. The seminar-cum-workshop, held at BIT Mesra, Ranchi campus, had to be conducted virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The event was conducted on October 29 and 30 over Zoom with the objective of exchanging healthy and insightful conversations on environmental issues, management strategies, sustainable practices and technologies for climate-resilient agriculture and disaster management, using artificial intelligence (AI), space technology and GIS among other technologies, for the future.
The virtual event was addressed by speakers from academia, research organisations, industries and also saw the presence of 250 students from various colleges and institutes. The national seminar was comprised of activities spanning expert talks, keynote addresses, and technical sessions. The seminar started with an inauguration session by Navneet Ravikar, Chairman & Managing Director, Leads Connect Services; Yogesh Singh, Vice-President – Agri-Research, Leads Connect Services and Dr. (Prof.) AP Krishna, Professor & Head, Department of Remote Sensing, BIT Mesra. In the inaugural session, a book flyer of the book titled ‘Space Technology & Artificial Intelligence for Climate Resilient Agriculture and Disaster Management’ was also launched in the event.
Speaking at the seminar, Navneet Ravikar, Chairman & Managing Director, Leads Connect Services highlighted the need of bringing together experts of different fraternities and domains to convey a people-centric solution for climate-resilient agriculture and climate change-induced disasters. He also discussed on the need of using proven technologies for climate-resilient agriculture and disaster management, and the timely implementation of apt, feasible and cost-effective solutions for all stakeholders in the agri-value chain.
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As part of the seminar-cum-workshop, Leads Research Lab, the R&D unit of Leads Connect Services, also conducted a workshop pertaining to climate-resilient agriculture and disaster management.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. (Prof.) AP Krishna, Professor & Head, Department of Remote Sensing, BIT Mesra said, “Leads Connect Services and the team can play a good role particularly in agricultural productivity and changing crop patterns, for people opting for cash crops and future food security systems. This can work particularly well in northeastern states, considering the disaster management risk is higher there.”
The 2-day virtual event had names such as Rajeev Sharma, CTO Grid Dynamics; Dr. Subimal Ghosh, Institute Chair Prof. & Convener – Interdisciplinary Program in Climate Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay; Dr. Gulab Singh, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay; Dr. KK Sarma, Scientist/Engineer – SG at North Eastern Space Applications Centre; and Dr. (Prof.) Bijay Singh Mipun, Professor & Head, Department of Geography, School of Human and Environmental Sciences, North-Eastern Hill University, among others attending the event. The event was culminated with a panel discussion by experts on an important note that there was an urgent need for collaborative efforts and discussions for tackling challenges of agriculture and climate change. In addition, the need for technological interventions for addressing such pressing issues. The panel had academia, research and industry experts along with young research panel sessions which had names like Dr. Fayma Mushtaq; Bijoylakshmi Gogoi; Dr. Trideba Padhi; and Dr. Madhurananda Pahar.
Leads Connect Services has been working in collaboration with Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra for the last two years, for investigating the environmental and livelihood dynamics of the Santhal Pargana region of Jharkhand using space technology and machine learning algorithms. They are involved in developing people-centric products, the research lab of the organisation has been active in different scientific platforms, like chairing sessions on artificial intelligence, agriculture and disaster management in prestigious scientific conferences and organising scientific seminars at the national level.
