UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative for the practice of Mains answer writing. It covers essential topics of static and dynamic parts of the UPSC Civil Services syllabus covered under various GS papers. This answer-writing practice is designed to help you as a value addition to your UPSC CSE Mains. Attempt today’s answer writing on questions related to topics of GS-3 to check your progress.

What are the benefits of using drones to apply pesticides and fertilisers over manual application?

What are the reasons behind the rise in sea levels globally? Which part of the world is most impacted by rising sea levels? Give examples.

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

— Underlining keywords gives you an edge over other candidates and enhances presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be used logically and only where it is required.

Way forward/ conclusion

— The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction.

— You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers.

Self Evaluation

— It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process that will help you to evaluate your answers.

QUESTION 1: What are the benefits of using drones to apply pesticides and fertilisers over manual application?

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Finance Minister has allotted Rs 500 crore for the Namo Drone Didi plan, which aims to supply drones to 15,000 selected women self-help groups. She also offered help for one crore farmers practising ecological farming.

— The Namo Drone Didi plan seeks to give drones to 15,000 selected women SHGs between 2023-24 and 2025-2026 for farmer rental services.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Benefits of using drones over manual application

Protecting farmers from pesticides

— Manual application of pesticides is labour-intensive. It can take a worker several hours to cover an acre of land — a task which drones can complete in only 5-7 minutes — during which they come in close contact with harmful pesticides. This is particularly important when it comes to tall crops like maize and sugarcane, where workers often get drenched in pesticides during application.

— Close and extended exposure to pesticides and chemical fertilisers can be extremely damaging to farmers’ health. In Punjab, this has been a big issue, with farmers reporting higher-than-normal rates of cancer, kidney diseases, immunological disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and infertility as a result of excessive pesticide use. Drones can protect farmer health by taking pesticide application out of their hands.

More efficient application

— Manual spraying frequently leaves portions of the crop untreated. This negatively affects yields. In contrast, drone-based applications are more standardised.

— Drones handle the difficulty of applying nano fertilisers such as nano urea and nano DAP, which must be used in extremely small quantities. Uniform manual application of these nano fertilisers can be difficult, inhibiting widespread use even though they are more cost-effective.

Crop monitoring and emergency applications

— Drones can also be used to capture precise, real-time photos of fields, allowing farmers to monitor crop health and intervene promptly if necessary.

— For example, in recent years, the pink bollworm has decimated cotton crops in Punjab (and surrounding states). This disease can be avoided through regular and proper crop monitoring, which many farmers fail to do. Furthermore, drones may quickly spray large areas of land with pesticides, not just in cases of pink bollworm infestation, but also during locust swarms and whitefly infestation.

Environmental benefits

(i) Up to 90 per cent of nutrients in nano fertilisers applied via drones are absorbed by plants, reducing runoff and minimising air, water, and soil pollution. In contrast, traditional application methods can lead up to 60 per cent of nutrients being lost to the air.

(ii) Leave-based applications — unlike soil-based applications of traditional urea and DAP fertilisers — are significantly better when it comes to soil pollution.

(iii) Traditional methods of pesticide application are extremely water-intensive. Drones can cut down water consumption by up to 90 per cent.

Other uses

— Besides spraying pesticides and fertilisers, drones are also being explored for innovative projects such as “seed ball” bombing — basically dropping balls of soil and cow dung containing seeds over swathes of land.

Conclusion:

— The use of drones is eliminating various tasks that were formerly held by labourers. Drones cost approximately Rs 200 per acre of coverage, whilst labour costs now average around Rs 300 per acre.

— Furthermore, pilots require training not only to fly drones but also to effectively cover entire fields while spraying fertiliser and pesticides.

(Source: How drones can revolutionise pesticide and fertiliser application in Punjab fields by Anju Agnihotri Chaba)

Points to Ponder

What is the ‘NAMO Drone Didi’ scheme?

What are the challenges for implementing drones instead of the manual application of fertilisers?

How is manual application of pesticides harmful for farmers?

Related Previous Year Questions

What are the present challenges before crop diversification? How do emerging technologies provide an opportunity for crop diversification? (2021)

What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing the water-use efficiency. (2016)

QUESTION 2: What are the reasons behind the rise in sea levels globally? Which part of the world is most impacted by rising sea levels? Give examples.

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— Sea level is driven by global warming, caused by carbon dioxide, methane and other emissions released from the burning of fossil fuels for uses including energy, industry, and transport.

— Oceans and seas have absorbed an estimated 90% of atmospheric warming over the last 50 years, with ocean heating doubling in the previous 20 years and growing three times faster than the world average in the southwest Pacific Sea.

— Thermal expansion is the mechanism by which water increases in volume as it heats up. Changes in land water storage, such as pumping groundwater, can result in a net change in ocean water volume.

— However, one of the primary causes of sea level rise is the melting of ice sheets and mountain glaciers owing to rising temperatures. Antarctica loses an average of 150 billion tonnes of ice each year, whereas Greenland loses 270 billion tonnes.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Region/areas most impacted by rising sea levels

— Low-lying small islands, such as Fiji, the Maldives and Tuvalu, are facing some of the most critical threats from sea level rise — with even a moderate increase posing an existential danger.

— Coastal cities and villages around the world are already dealing with coastal erosion, agriculture, and freshwater issues caused by saltwater intrusion and increasingly destructive flooding and storms.

— However, sea level rise poses a global concern because about 40% of the world’s population lives along the coast, with approximately 900 million living in low-elevation areas.

— According to a 2022 study, tropical regions, notably in Asia, will be struck the most, with Bangladesh, India, and China particularly vulnerable. River deltas, which are large areas where rivers meet the sea and are frequently home to port towns, will be among the most susceptible areas.

— Megacities such as Cairo, Lagos, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Buenos Aires and London are all expected to face serious impacts.

Conclusion:

— The approach to preventing dramatic sea-level rise is to reduce emissions rapidly. However, some degree of sea level rise is now unavoidable – even if the world stops producing all greenhouse gases tomorrow, there is a time lag in the effect of global warming on ocean temperatures, ice, and glacier melting.

— Countries around the world are implementing a variety of adaptation strategies, from erecting sea walls and storm surge barriers to strengthening drainage systems and flood-resistant buildings.

— Responses to sea level rise in low-lying tiny island republics include Fiji transferring entire towns to higher ground, the Maldives developing floating cities, and Tuvalu recovering territory from the water.

(Source: Why are sea levels rising?)

Points to Ponder

What is land reclamation?

Where is Gardi Sugdub located?

What are the possible solutions to counter rising sea levels?

Related Previous Year Questions

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted a global sea level rise of about one metre by AD 2100. What would be its impact in India and the other countries in the Indian Ocean region? (2023)

Explain the causes and effects of coastal erosion in India. What are the available coastal management techniques for combating the hazard? (2022)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 71)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 72)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 72)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 71)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 71)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 72)

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