INFORMATION DELIVERY FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT by G.C. Jain – M.D., MCBS Pvt. Ltd., Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

INDEX 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Information age & Agriculture in India 3.0 Information, Communication & Applications 4.0 Importance of Education & Training 5.0 Various Communication Technologies & their reach 6.0 Use of Satellite technology for delivering IT 7.0 DVB-RCS technology & benefits 8.0 Various examples of use of Satellite Technology in Agriculture & Rural development. 8.1 JDCP 8.2 Govt. of Gujarat 8.3 MANAGE 8.4 Many other Experiments

1.0 Introduction India’s economy is agriculture based and 70% of Indian population live in rural areas. These areas do not have adequate infrastructure such as roads, Electricity & communication which are most essential and considered as basic needs. In the age of information, where knowledge & education play dominant role for the growth and economy, India stands for behind because of the fact that rural and remote areas are cut off from receiving these basis tools of developments. In this article, we will provide brief details of various tools & delivery mechanisms for agriculture & rural development.

2.0 Information Age & Agriculture In India Mankind has passed through various ages and invented various tools in these ages Stone age Iron age Agricultural Information Technology Industrial The Information age is driven by gadgets like computers, internet, e-commerce, m-commerce, broadband, digital compression, multimedia, broadcasting, networking, fibre optics and others.

As we see from above, we have passed through various ages. Although, Industrial, Technology and Information age have been effective and playing important role in development in various regions of the world. In India agriculture age plays a dominant role as most people live in rural areas. India has not taken advantage of industrial & technological developments in the field of agriculture and therefore Agriculture and rural developments remain undeveloped as on date.

3.0 Information, Communication & Applications

4.0 Importance of Education & Training “Education and training more than anything else determine a country’s prospect for economic and human development and competitiveness.” United Nations Development Programme

5.0 Various Communication Technologies & Their Reach LAST MILE TECHNOLOGY 100 Gbps 100 kbps 100 Mbps 10 Gbps 1 Gbps 10 Mbps 1 Mbps Provisioning Rate Dial UP MODEM VSAT Satellite DVB - RCS MMDS LMDS PtP Microwave Wireless Optics FTTR Fibre to the Riser FTTC Fibre to the Curb FTTH Fibre to the Home xDSL Docsis Dense Urban Industrial Sub Urban Residential Rural Remote Population and Geography Fig. 1

Fig. 1 provides details of provisioning rates vs. population geography Fig. 1 provides details of provisioning rates vs. population geography. It is clearly indicated that DVB-RCS is most suitable for semi-urban, sub-urban, rural and remote areas and thereby meeting agricultural needs in relation to information & communication dissemination.

6.0 Use of Satellite Technology for delivering IT AS WE SEE FROM ABOVE, INDIA STILL DOMINATES THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURE ALTHOUGH TECHNOLOGY AGE AND INFORMATION AGE ARE ALSO MAKING IMPACT. INDIA SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BOTH A) TECHNOLOGY AND B) INFORMATION TO PROMOTE AGRICULTURE . INDIA IS A AGRICULTURE BASED COUNTRY. AGRICULTURE IS CARRIED OUT IN RURAL AREAS WHICH ARE REMOTELY LOCATED. INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION CAN EFFECTIVELY BE BROUGHT TO THESE AREAS THROUGH SATELLITES TECHNOLOGY. GOVT. OF INDIA IS NOW GIVING DUE IMPORTANCE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS WHICH WILL HAVE IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION AND ECONOMY.

6.1 SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY SATELLITES ARE ONE OF THE BEST MEANS FOR BROADCASTING AND COMMUNICATION. IT IS A REVOLUTION OF 60-70’s AND IT IS CONTINUING EVEN TODAY AND FOR EVER. SATELLITE IS THE BEST SOURCE FOR QUICKEST DELIVERY TO ANY GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION IN THE SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME. V-SATS HAVE BECOME VERY USEFUL FOR DELIVERY AND TWO WAY COMMUNICATION BEING USED FOR DATA, VOICE, INTERNET & HIGH SPEED INTERNET. VERY USEFUL FOR MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS.

SATELLITE ARE NOW BEING USED. FOR. “BROADBAND” DELIVERIES. BECAUSE OF SATELLITE ARE NOW BEING USED FOR “BROADBAND” DELIVERIES BECAUSE OF VAST CHANNEL SPACE & BW AVAILABLE ON KU, K & KA BAND ( 10 ~ 20 GHZ). SATELLITES ARE THE BEST SUITABLE FOR A COUNTRY LIKE INDIA WHERE RURAL POPULATION IS HIGH, REGIONS ARE WIDELY DISPERSED & LOCATED AND COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE IS VERY POOR.

6.2 HOW TO USE SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY FOR IT IN AGRICULTURE INDIA IS A AGRICULTURE BASED COUNTRY. AGRICULTURE IS CARRIED OUT IN RURAL AREAS WHICH ARE REMOTELY LOCATED. INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION CAN EFFECTIVELY BE BROUGHT TO THESE AREAS THROUGH SATELLITES TECHNOLOGY. DISSEMINATION OF GENERAL INFORMATION TO ALL RURAL COMMUNITIES ABOUT AGRICULTURE SYSTEM, MARKETING & ECONOMY ETC. IN FACT, THERE SHOULD BE A TV CHANNEL EXCLUSIVELY DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE IN EACH STATES FOR THE BENEFITS OF RURAL PEOPLE.

Satellite Datacasting Technology Proven technology Open standards Wide area coverage Local, national, global Cover remote and isolated areas Many locations simultaneously New services launched quickly “Instant infrastructure” Eliminate last mile problem Highly competitive for Point-to-multipoint High/flexible bandwidth Asymmetric demand A summary of some key benefits of satellite datacasting.

A Road Map for the Future Open standards Affordable information technology Growing deregulation Multimedia and “convergence” “Leap-frogging” and “instant infrastructure” Knowledge-based economies Globalization of information and tools

7.0 DVB-RCS Technology & Benefits 2-Way Sat : NEWTEC’s Interactive Broadband Reality based on DVB-RCS Standards THE REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY THAT PROVES TRUE SATELLITE BROADBAND CAPABILITIES BENEFITS: Open Standard technology Interoperability with hub & SITs Scalable to your needs Removes last mile bottleneck & provides instant connectivity. Suitable for urban, semi-urban, rural & remote areas. Cost effective and a true convergence platform.

8.0 Various Examples of Use of Satellite Technology in Agriculture & Rural Development

8.1 Jhabua Development Communication Project (JDCP) PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: The major elements of the network configuration for JDCP projects are : Ahmedabad Earth Station (AES) of SAC as TV Uplink Station. DECU TV Studio at Ahmedabad acting as a teaching end for live Interactive TV sessions. 150 Direct Reception Sets (DRS) located in 150 selected locations in the district of Jhabua. 12 nos. of Talkback DRS (TV receive & audio transmit) located in 12 block Head Quarters of Jhabua District.

JDCP EXPANSION (GRAMSAT) PROJECT: 876 DRS were added in the Expansion Phase. Uplink was established at Bhopal (MP) with TV studio facility. 12 additional talkback terminals were installed. The entire JDCP project functioned very well and it brought about desired developments in the rural and tribal areas of Jhabua, Dhar & Barwani. ISRO concluded this project as successful and called it Gramsat (MP) and planned several projects in other parts of India. MCBS successfully implemented the entire project.

JHABUA DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION PROJECT (JDCP) AND GRAMSAT (MP)

JHABUA DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION PROJECT (JDCP) AND GRAMSAT (MP)

GLIMPSES OF JDCP PROJECT

8.2 Andhra Pradesh Network(APNET) PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: APNET (Phase-1) comprises 161 terminals with various mix of ROTs and V-SATs terminals, while phase-2 comprise of 1597 terminals of Type-1 only. The distribution of V-SATs and Type-1 terminals for Phase-1 & Phase-2 is based on the basic need of communication, education & e-governance. There are 5 types of terminals used for APNET and MCBS has supplied, installed and commissioned part of the hub and all equipment for ground network i.e. V-SATs & ROTs. APNET Phase-1 project is already operational while Phase-2 is in the process of implementation. It is expected to be completed by Feb. 2003.

APNET UPLINK EARTH STATION: Comprises 5 digital video channels & 1 IP channel using IP over DVB technology to broadcast data and Internet to various users in the network. TYPE OF REMOTE TERMINALS IN APNET PROJECT: Type-1 (2) Type-2a (3) Type-2b (4) Type-3a (5) Type-3b Figure 1 gives details of all type of ROTs. Figure 2 gives details of Uplink Glimpses of various activities

5 DIFFERENT TYPES OF TERMINALS (A COMBINATION OF ONE-WAY & TWO WAY) FOR APNET PROJECT

6 CH. TV & IP UPLINK ON KU BAND FOR APNET PROJECT

8.3 Training & Education Project for Gujarat 1. Objective : To provide Training & Education to various Govt. Departments & Educational organizations in Gujarat. 2. Name of the Organization : a) Remote sensing and Communication Centre of Govt. of Gujarat b) DECU (SAC) / ISRO c) Various Govt. Departments such as DRDA, Health, Forest, Tribal, Agriculture, Polytechnics & Engineering, Colleges, Open Universities, Self–employed women’s association (SEWA) 3. Assignment : I) MCBS has installed & commissioned more than 200 Digital DRS Systems in whole of Gujarat MCBS also does maintenance of these.

8.4 Satellite based network for IT Connectivity for National Institute of Extension Management (MANAGE) MANAGE plans to link various centres for effective two-way communication among researchers, extension Manager, Farmer clients for transfer of technology and information in the most cost effective manner. This interaction will be through IP, Video conferencing & support of data & graphics

Electronic access through video interaction / email / internet of all the participating agencies including Directorate of Extension (DOE), National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), State Agricultural Universities (SAU), State Agricultural Management Extension Training Institutes (SAMETIs), Agricultural Management Technology Agencies (ATMAs) (including all line departments), Zonal Research Stations (ZRSs), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs), Farm Information Advisory Centres (FIACs) and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) working in agricultural sector. The agriculture research data related to plant physiology is also needed to be exchanged between agricultural universities.

Project also proposes to support creation of information contents so as to provide critical information to the farmers about SREP, crop technology, market intelligence and other information (as per their demand) on continuous basis.

8.4.1 Network Requirement Since the network need to be flexible in connectivity for numerous nodes, the network need to be VSAT based. Requirement of non-broadcast type of video interaction also supports use of VSAT for such requirement. Various network parameters like the VSAT population, traffic pattern, connectivity, services required, traffic type, connectivity etc. are listed below to form the requirement of the network based on which the design will be carried out. If may become necessary to plan number of Close User Group (CUG) for uniform traffic in the network.

8.4.2 VSAT population at: Phase I Phase II Total Centre 1 - 1 State 30 100 130 District 42 1000 1042 Block 400 6000 6400 ICAR 10 100 110 DOE 1 - 1 Total 486 7200 7684 Note: Phase II may be divided in 2 phases depending upon the implementation approach / requirements.

8.4.3 Primary Hub - dedicated Located at Hyderabad Uplink with studio Broadcast pipe – A2 MBPS or 3 MBPS pipe with data required for one hour per month transmission. This will be required for MANAGE broadcast and could be reconfigurable with other channels.

8.4.4 Services Video conferencing File transfer Multicast Video broadcast Push Internet In addition few dedicated channels (PAMA) will be required between ICAR, DOE and Govt. of India, Secretary to GOI.

8.4.5 Connectivity Centre with State, District, Block, SAU, ICAR, DOE State with Centre, District, Block, DOE, SAU District with Centre, State, District, Block within its own district. Block with Centre, SAU, District, Block in its own district ICAR with Centre, SAU, DOE, ICAR DOE with Centre, States, ICAR, SAU SAUs within themselves, Centre, State, OCAR, DOE

Thank you MCBS