Swayampurna Goem - Farm Sector Interventions by NABARD in times of COVID-19



  • Low cost polyhouses project by NABARD- Goa Posted On: 10 DEC 2020 6:18PM by PIB Mumbai


  • COVID-19 pandemic has caused reverse migration in the State as many people, especially youth of Goa were left jobless and Goa with its tourism centric service sector economy, was no exception. Low cost polyhouses project initiated by NABARD came handy as it ensured livelihood opportunities for jobless youth and SHG members. 10 such nurseries were sanctioned by NABARD to


  • Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) covering five blocks of the State.


  • Ms. Usha Ramesh, General Manager / OiC, Goa RO, Shri Vasant Savardekar, DGM and Shri Sushil Naik, DDM visited a few nurseries. Shri Dilip Paranjape, Project Director, ATMA and the Zonal Agriculture Officers of Pernem & Bardez Blocks coordinated the visit. Interaction with farmers revealed that the first cycle during the festive season of Dussehera and Diwali was very remunerative and with the logistics support of ATMA, they were to take up the nursery activities on an ongoing basis.


  • This unique livelihood project has helped attract youth to Agriculture and has provided them with livelihood options. The concept of Swayampurna Goem has been realized in the true sense as earlier the seedlings used to be sourced from Maharashtra and sold at double the prevailing price. The project has demonstrated the benefits of Farm Sector Interventions in times of COVID-19 through a project which can be replicated all over.


BSNL, in partnership with Skylo, to introduce worlds' first, satellite-based narrowband-IoT network in India Posted On: 10 DEC 2020 6:06PM by PIB Delhi



  • BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, announced today a breakthrough in satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrow Band-Internet of Things), in pursuance of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modis vision of a truly Digital India starting with fishermen, farmers, construction, mining andlogistics enterprises. With this solution, India will now have access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices.


  • This new ‘Made in India’ Solution, which is indigenously developed by Skylo, will connect with BSNLs satellite- ground infrastructure and provide PAN-India coverage, including Indian seas. The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir &Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.


  • Shri P.K.Purwar, CMD, BSNL, said:“The solution is in line with BSNLs vision to leverage technology to provide affordable and innovative telecom services and products across customers segments”.He further added:Skylo would also help provide critical data for the logistics sector to enable effective distribution of COVID-19vaccine in 2021and will be a big contributor in service to the nation.”


  • Shri Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and Co-founder, Skylo, said: For centuries, industries, including agriculture, railways and fisheries, have been operating offline, and havenot had the opportunity to take full advantage of the latest advancements in AI&IoT until today.This is theworlds first satellite-based NB-IoT network and I am proud to launch this capabilityin India first to transform lives and our domestic industries”.


  • Shri VivekBanzal, Director (CFA), BSNL Board, said, Successful POCs have already been conducted by BSNL and Skylo in India and we will soon approach various user groups before the New Year 2021 begins.


  • This breakthrough announcement is very timely because it comes during the ongoing Indian Mobile Congress 2020. This new technology supports the Department of Telecom and NITI Aayogs plan of bringing indigenous IoT connectivity to India’s core sectors. Examples of where this technology has already been tested successfully include, Indian Railways, fishing vessels, and enabling connected vehicles across India.


  • A small, smart, incredibly rugged box, the Skylo ‘User Terminal’ interfaces with sensors and transmits data to the Skylo Network and into peoples hands. The accompanying Data Platform provides an immersive, visual, experience for industry-specific applications on mobile or desktop. Itgives users the ability to take immediate and appropriate action, no matter where they are. This new digital machine connectivity layer will serve as a complement to smartphone-centric mobile & Wi-Fi networks, and covers India’s full geography to bring online new applications for the first time.