Corporate Citizen claps for the “Drone Sisters” programme that envisages modernising Indian farming by reducing labour costs and saving time and water.

The sector has been challenged by growing climate changes and the need to adapt to technological breakthroughs, and the “Drone Sisters” concept is expected to uphaul farming techniques and steer a social change. The programme involves hundreds of women who are trained to fly fertiliser-spraying aircraft under a government-backed programme. It enables any aspiring woman to become a remote pilot, operating a drone, at the Drone Destination training centre in Manesar, Gurugram district, Haryana. The women are trained as pilots and are provided with 30kg (66-pound) drones for free, including battery-run vehicles for transporting the drones. The changing attitudes in rural India have promoted the scheme for women, who have traditionally been restricted from joining the labour force or stigmatised for aspiring to go beyond their household or traditional farming roles. Sharmila Yadav, 35, a mother of two, is among the first 300 women trained by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), one of India’s largest chemical fertiliser manufacturers. “The scheme is not just about employment but also empowerment and rural entrepreneurship,” said Yogendra Kumar, Marketing Director of IFFCO. Other fertiliser companies have also joined the programme, aimed at training 15,000 “Drone Sisters”, nationwide. Sharmila was a homemaker for 16 years, in a small rural hamlet near Pataudi, a few hours’ drive from New Delhi. Her current earnings are estimated at `50,000 ($600) for spraying 150 acres (60 hectares) of farmland twice over five weeks. Her pride as a drone pilot is not merely the paycheck she earns, but an aspiration that few have fulfilled in the past. “I feel very proud when someone calls me a pilot. I have never sat on a plane, but I feel like I am flying one now,” she said. A government survey last year pegged that a little over 41 per cent of rural Indian women are in the formal workforce compared to 80 per cent of rural men. The “Drone Sisters” initiative could be the step in the right direction for reducing the rural employment gender gap.

Corporate Citizen slaps the estimated 16,000 kg of shark fins that were seized between January 2010 to December 2022, as reported in the latest TRAFFIC and WWF-India factsheet titled "Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India."

Published on 14 March, 2024, the factsheet noted that shark fins constituted the most common shark-derived product seized. It was reported in over 80 per cent of the seizures, with significant volumes of shark cartilage and teeth as part of the loot. Tamil Nadu accounted for nearly 65 per cent of the shark seizure incidents, followed closely by Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra. The confiscated products were routed to Singapore, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Sri Lanka and mainland China. The new factsheet alerts conservationists to India’s illegal shark trade, highlighting ongoing threats and conservation issues. Shark fins and meat have a critical demand and are the most sought-after shark products used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy. "Other shark products are also in demand, albeit to a lesser extent. Shark meat is consumed as food; skin as leather; liver oil (squalene) as a lubricant, in cosmetics, and as a source of vitamin A; cartilages for chondroitin sulphate extraction in the preparation of medicines and jaws and teeth for making curios," said Dr. Merwyn Fernandes, Associate Director of TRAFFIC India. A mere 26 sharks and rays amongst 160 shark species in India, have highest protection status under the amended Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 by listing them in Schedules I and II. “Mis-declaring relevant species on permits is one of the main reasons that sharks are traded illegally worldwide. The lack of capacity to identify the shark fins against numerous potential shark species in trade is a significant gap in curbing their illicit trade. Insufficient monitoring mechanisms further make it challenging to differentiate between legal and illegal trade of sharks,” said Dr. Dipankar Ghose, Senior Director of Biodiversity Conservation, WWF-India and Interim Head of TRAFFIC India. Sharks constitute the topmost predators in the oceanic food web, as they prey on marine mammals, plankton, crustaceans and fish. They have a higher extinction risk when compared to other vertebrates due to overfishing and low biological productivity. The conflict arises between shark traders, shark conservationists and ambiguity in listing endangered species/parts under wildlife protection norms. Would anyone then risk swimming with the sharks?