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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Sharad Pawar’s heart bleeds for farmers

AI Generated Image Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar attempted to corner the Maharashtra government over the alarming rain deficit and resultant crises in farmlands, by demanding that a ‘drought’ must be immediately declared in rain-starved talukas besides announcing a relief package of at least Rs 50,000 per hectare for affected farmers, on Friday. In a strong letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar warned that the prolonged failure of the monsoon has...

Sharad Pawar’s heart bleeds for farmers

AI Generated Image Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar attempted to corner the Maharashtra government over the alarming rain deficit and resultant crises in farmlands, by demanding that a ‘drought’ must be immediately declared in rain-starved talukas besides announcing a relief package of at least Rs 50,000 per hectare for affected farmers, on Friday. In a strong letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar warned that the prolonged failure of the monsoon has pushed farmers, farm labourers and farm animals plus other livestock into a grave crisis. Moreover, standing crops of soybean, cotton, bajra, maize, tur, moong and urad are withering in the blazing sun in several regions while rampant pest and disease attacks adding to the damage, with threats of further crises as shortage of drinking water and fodder looms ahead. Urging the government to move before the formal drought-assessment process, Pawar sought immediate identification of the worst-affected talukas and extending drought concessions without waiting for the procedural criteria. “The critical ground situation warrants an emergency intervention,” he said. Proposing a wide-ranging financial package of aid beyond merely crop loss compensations, Pawar sought Rs 25,000 as special assistance for every farm labourer, an immediate farm-loan waiver and extending fresh crop credits to help the distressed agriculturists. The NCP (SP) supremo called for hiking the incentives for regular loan repayment from Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000, besides covering those farmers who took crop loans in 2025-26 but subsequently defaulted into the proposed (new) waiver scheme. Referring to crop insurance, Pawar has rooted for retrospective implementation of the Re 1 premium scheme and restoration, retrospectively, of previously excluded insurance triggers. He has also sought immediate release of the Rs 17,000-per-hectare assistance announced for crop damage caused by unseasonal rains in 2025. The larger scheme Pawar proposed mentions implementing employment guarantee scheme works including water conservation and farming-related projects on priority in the talukas facing drought-like conditions, survey of villages facing water-scarcity, plus arranging tanker water supply to salvage fruit orchards in the parched farms. Additionally, he urged the government to start fodder camps, drinking water for the people, livestock, veterinary medical services, special drive to repair electricity transformers with the possibility of increased load-shedding in the affected regions. For the students, Pawar suggested a complete waiver of educational fees, examination fees for all school and college students and other educational institutions to reduce the cost burden on their families, and control rooms at various levels to monitor daily rainfall, crop conditions, water and fodder stocks. Pawar’s letter-bomb came barely days after Fadnavis said the government was making preparations for crop-loss assessments early October onwards and would provide assistance from state resources pending central support. This week, the government announced that 83 talukas spread in 19 districts have gone without rain for more than three weeks, and 20 of the state’s 36 districts had recorded rainfall deficits of at least 20 pc. Govt doing needful on drought, says CM, dubs Rahul ‘anarchist’ Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said his government is taking the drought-like situation in the state seriously and was coming up with measures to deal with it and provide relief to farmers. Speaking to reporters about NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar’s letter on the prevailing situation due to lack of adequate rain, Fadnavis said his government would consider suggestions made by the former Union agriculture minister. “Pawar saheb is a senior leader. It is a matter of happiness that he has sent a letter. I do not want to give any political colour to it. I feel the state government is doing what it needs to do. If we have received suggestions from him, or if he has given us suggestions in such a situation, we will certainly listen to them,” he said. Pawar had urged Fadnavis to take immediate measures in view of the rainfall deficit and crop losses in several parts of Maharashtra. The veteran leader has sought, among other measures, declaration of drought in severely affected areas and financial assistance of Rs 50,000 per hectare for farmers. The chief minister made it clear that the state would provide assistance to farmers without waiting for financial help under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The crop damage assessment required for a NDRF proposal (for relief) would be undertaken after October 5, Fadnavis added. Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Election Commission of India’s decision in the Trinamool Congress case, Fadnavis said the “mentality” of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha is “anarchist” and his objective was to undermine constitutional institutions. On Thursday, the ECI temporarily removed the All India Trinamool Congress name and its ‘flowers and grass symbol’ from the ballot during the October 6 West Bengal bypolls, barring both rival factions from using the political identity associated with Mamata Banerjee and her party for nearly three decades. Gandhi’s objective is that people’s trust in constitutional bodies is lost, and once that happens then trust in democracy itself will also be lost, Fadnavis said. Gandhi is taking the Constitution in his hand and then sowing the idea that faith in it should be lost, the CM alleged. “There is an attempt to completely discredit these institutions somewhere, so that people’s faith in these institutions is lost. Rahul Gandhi has been continuously doing this kind of thing. Rahul Gandhi’s mentality is anarchist,” Fadnavis said. The senior BJP leader said Gandhi has been unable to accept the fact that the people of India have rejected his leadership. ‘No scarcity’ of drought politics Congress’ Vijay Wadettiwar: “Govt is merely performing, but not active, delays are caused due to the assessment procedures. The government must provide Rs 50,000 / ha. electricity-bill relief and suspension of farm loans’ recoveries.” Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT): “83 talukas in the state are parched… But the government is busy lighting ‘lamps’ and has no time for the suffering farmers.” Aditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT): “We support the farmers, please don’t lose heart. We shall take up your issues with the government.” Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Revenue Minister: “We are carrying out district-level reviews on all aspects and the prevailing ‘drought-like’ situation. The government will not let down the farmers.”

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Writer: Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Nov 7, 2024
3 min read

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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