Sharad Pawar Inspire Fellowship in Agriculture
Agriculture is both the biggest challenge and opportunity that faces India. India ranks second worldwide in farm outputs. As per 2018, agriculture employed more than 50% of the Indian work force and contributed 17–18% to the country’s GDP. With the rapid onset of climate change, agriculture is facing a multiplicity of challenges namely deteriorating soil health, reducing productivity per acre, extreme floods and droughts etc.
This however means that all of the above listed challenges bring with them the opportunity to disrupt the current practices to bring about positive change. To actualize this opportunity the youth of this nation need to be able to grasp, shape and harness the rapidly evolving technological advances in the agriculture and allied sectors.
Youth need to be well acquainted with latest technologies in agriculture and allied sectors such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, controlled environment agriculture, genetic improvements in animals etc.
India is one of the youngest countries in the world, where the proportion of the rural youth forms the majority share in India's youth population. However, in recent years unemployment rates have been on the rise. Agriculture and allied activities constitute the bulk of the rural economy, however, its dominance has been dwindling over the years.
India is one of the youngest countries in the world, where the proportion of the rural youth forms the majority share in India's youth population. However, in recent years unemployment rates have been on the rise.
Agriculture and allied activities constitute the bulk of the rural economy, however, its dominance has been dwindling over the years. Moreover, drastic climatic changes such as extreme floods and droughts have brought in a plethora of challenges for Indian agriculture. Therefore, engaging youth in productive and sustainable agricultural activities will help India to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend and tackle climate change.
The recent rapid technological advancements have brought with them great opportunity for disruption in the food and agriculture sectors but at the same time pose a major challenge if appropriate skilling does not happen at the same pace. In order to make the most of opportunities and efficiently tackle challenges emerging due to technological advancements and climate change in agriculture we need to inspire and empower the leaders and changemakers of tomorrow in Indian youth.
The Sharad Pawar Fellowship has been designed as a journey from inspiration to excellence in agricultural leadership for Indian youth. It will strive to be a people’s platform and aim to evolve itself into a virtual university for agrarian prosperity. It will equip the youth to harness the recent technological advances in tackling the challenges that pose to Indian agriculture due to climate change, unemployment and growing population.
In the first year the fellowship will focus on climate resilient agriculture, effective monetization of produce to increase farmers income, chemical residue free fruits and vegetables and preventing the attack of wild animals on crops as the key priority areas. The 21 day bootcamp will give the fellows an opportunity to hands on learn new and diverse technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, animal genetic improvement, high tech poly house etc. The following year-long mentorship will help the fellows deep dive into specific problems along with the right resources to prepare and achieve SMART GOALS related to those problems. The fellowship will also provide soft skills that will help the fellows become leaders and changemakers of tomorrow in the food and agriculture sector.
We look forward to your participation in the Sharad Pawar Fellowship!
- learn global state-of-the-art agriculture and allied sector practices,
- deepen understanding of complexities of the agriculture and allied sectors in a rapidly changing global environment,
- learn how to design and implement various next generation technology focused solutions for various problems in the agriculture and allied sectors,
- tap into the global knowledge and entrepreneurship network of YCP & ADT for lifelong support in their journey towards becoming changemakers and leaders of tomorrow in agriculture and allied sectors
Create an inspiration and learning platform for youth in the state of Maharashtra who undergo a 12-month long journey of discovering their own leadership potential and being inspired to bring about transformative change. It includes training, mentorship, reflections and hands-on experience with grassroot organizations working on the issues that the fellowship program has selected.
- To inspire and empower the youth to take up leadership roles in agriculture and allied sectors
- To provide an introduction to the technical aspects of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, protected cultivation, animal genetic improvement etc. and their various applications in agriculture and food industries
- To familiarize fellows in applications of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, quantum computing etc. in food and agriculture sectors
- To provide hands on training to students in design, development and execution of various artificial intelligence projects
- To develop an end-to-end understanding of the process of innovation right from basics of sensors and sensor development to advanced applications of AI in quantum computing
- To engage students with a varied panel of international experts accomplishing groundbreaking results on real world problems with the help of AI in industrial setting
- The unique ecosystem of ADT will help the fellows meet top experts in the priority areas via its ecosystem institutes ie. Drought Action Network, AIC ADT Baramati Foundation-An Incubation and Innovation Centre, AIM, NITI Aayog, Indo-Dutch Center of Excellence on Vegetables and Indo-Dutch Center of Excellence on Animal Genetic Improvement, Collaborative partner universities VHL, Netherlands and AIT, Bangkok.
- Fellows will go under rigorous mentoring and learning sessions.
- Each fellow will be allotted to a specific mentor for further follow ups of his progress.
- Interaction with successful entrepreneurs and startups.
- Access to world class infrastructure and facilities.
The applicants should be between the age of 18 and 30. The applicants should demonstrate the following qualities:
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Passion and Self Awareness
- Potential for Impactful Leadership
- Students applying for fellowship must be from Maharashtra, his/her mother tongue is Marathi.
- Student pursuing any degree, who need to go to college to complete their academics during December 2022 to December 2023, should not apply for this fellowship.
- Inspirational Stories.
- Hands-on project-based learning.
- Expert Interaction - learning from industry and academia experts.
- Field visits.
- Case studies.
- During the bootcamp we will inspire the students with various success stories and motivate them to pick one flagship project for their Concluding Design Showcase Exhibition.
- Bootcamp is just the beginning of the fellow’s journey where they get the resources to work on their ideas and receive continued support and guidance during the 12-month journey
Bootcamp Timeline
12 December to 21 December 2024
Baramati AIC - ADT
12 December to 21 December 2024
Sahyadri Farms (Nashik) 4 April to 10 April 2025
Shahyadri Farm
August 2025
Internship
August 2025
Interested Agriculture Graduates should apply online at https://apply.sharadpawarfellowship.com before 18 October 2024
18 July 2024
Announcement of Fellowship
18 July 2024
18 July 2024 to 18 October 2024
Online Form Submission
19 October 2024 to 19 November 2024
Scrutiny and Result Preparation
19 October 2024 to 19 November 2024
26 November 2024
Result Announcement
8 December 2024
Fellowship Award Ceremony
8 December 2024
Fellowship Workshop – May 2024 to May 2025
12 December to 21 December 2024
Baramati AIC - ADT
12 December to 21 December 2024
Sahyadri Farms (Nashik) 4 April to 10 April 2025
Shahyadri Farm
August 2025
Internship
August 2025
| Day | Topic | Morning Session | Afternoon Session |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Climate Resilient Approach in Agriculture | Study of the particular zone/district from where the particular fellow belong based on some particular criteria.An introduction in discussion altogether. | On-farm climate resilient technologies and agronomic practices. Climate resilient development of catchment areas |
| 2 | Climate Resilient Approach in Agriculture | Study of Climate smart Post Harvest Post Harvest Management and value chain practices. Strengthening Farmer Producer Companies. Sustainability and Institutional capacity development | Emerging value chains for climate smart commodities. Residue Free Vegetables and fruits and value addition in them. Knowledge of policies adopted in Maharashtra. |
| Interaction with Academic and Policy Experts in Agronomy | |||
| 3 | Artificial Intelligence and Sensors | Introduction and fundamental theory of artificial intelligence What is a sensor? How does a sensor work? How to use a sensor for scientific purposes? | Case studies on use of AI in agriculture Hands on design and building of an ultrasonic sensor system capable of detecting pests |
| Academia Interaction Mr. Pete Scourboutakos - Senior Scientist, Humanistic Intelligence Lab, University of Toronto, Canada |
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| 4 | Augmented Reality | Theory What is humanistic intelligence? What is Augmented Reality(AR)? How does AR work? Applications of AR in agriculture | Practical Hands on building your own augmented reality headset capable of on-field disease diagnosis |
| Industry Interaction Mr. Max Hao Lu - Special Projects and Product Development Lead, Bloomberg New Economy Forum, New York, USA |
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| 5 | Computer Vision | Theory What is Computer Vision(CV)? How does CV work? How to use CV for scientific purposes in agriculture? |
Practical Hands on coding of computer vision system for realtime disease diagnosis |
| Academia Interaction Mr. Ambarish Gurjar - Research Scientist, Indiana University, USA |
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| 6 | Blockchain | Theory What is blockchain? Applications of blockchain. Use of blockchain in agriculture and food sectors. Ethics of blockchain |
Practical Hands on setting up of a blockchain system for food traceability |
| Industry Interaction Mr. Amrit Prasad - Director, CaminoSoft Technologies, Vancouver, Canada |
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| 7 | Quantum Computing | Theory Principles of Quantum Computing. Traditional computing vs quantum computing. Applications of quantum computing in agriculture |
Practical Hands on development of quantum machine learning algorithm for novel climate smart pesticide compound design |
| Industry Interaction Mr. Deep Prasad - CEO, ReactiveQ, Toronto, Canada |
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| 8 | 3D Printing | Theory What is 3D printing? Functioning of a 3D printer. Creative use of 3D printing in agriculture. 3D printing and AI |
Practical Hands on design and real-time 3D print of drip line fitting |
| Industry Interaction Mr. Vaibhav Goradia - CEO, VISER8 3D Printing, Mumbai |
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| 9 | Introduction to IoT | Introduction to IoT in Agriculture; Introduction to IoT Irrigation Controller System | IoT Irrigation Controller System Component Working and Design; Design and Implementation of IoT Irrigation Controller System |
| Keynote Talk Prof. Steve Mann - Professor, University of Toronto; also known as the “Father of Wearable Computing” |
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| 10 | Advanced Dairy Technology and Practices | Practical Advanced Technologies and practices of Dairy Product Preparation Management of Dairy Processing | Practical Advanced Technologies and practices of Dairy Product Preparation |
| Industry Interaction CoE Dairy and Other related industries expertise |
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| 11 | Green House: Introduction | Introduction; Green house Structure and climate | Climate Control; Growing media and Propagation |
| Industry/Field Interaction CoE Protected Vegetables Cultivation |
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| 12 | Green House: Practices | Vegetable Grafting; Irrigation and Fertigation | Cultivation Practices of Vegetables crops; Integrated Pest Management |
| Industry/Field Interaction CoE Protected Vegetables Cultivation |
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| 13 | Green House: Value Addition and Execution | Field Visit; Pre Harvesting & Harvesting | Value addition & Market linkages; Assessment /Ending /Certificate |
| Industry/Field Interaction CoE Protected Vegetables Cultivation |
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| 14 | IPR | Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights; Introduction to different types of IPR; IPR Laws (India & Abroad) | Intellectual Property Rights: Application & commercialization, Hands on Training on Patent Drafting |
| 15 | Agricultural marketing | Changes in Agricultural Marketing in India and AgriBusiness developments in the World Supply Chain Analysis-Brief Emerging modes of Modern Agricultural Marketing Broken links in Agricultural Supply Chains | Changing system of marketing and Impacts in Maharashtra. Aligning the marketing practices to global economy. Price Discovery of agricultural commodities. |
| Policy and Academic Experts in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Marketing and Agribusiness Management | |||
| 16 | Consumer Centric Approach in Agri Marketing | An introduction to Consumer centric Marketing | Different Strategies and models for creating a customer based marketing |
| Expert in Agribusiness and Marketing: interactive session | |||
| 17 | Design Thinking & Concept Prototyping | Introduction and Theory of Design Thinking; Empathy, Need finding, problem analysis and problem definition; Idea generation, Conceptualisation and Presentation Concept Prototyping | |
| Whole day Interactive session with Experts | |||
| 18 | Business Model & Pitch | Prototype Testing and Presentation; Introduction to Business Model Canvas Idea to Business Model Creation; Business Idea Pitch Final Presentation; Workshop Conclusion | |
| Whole day Interactive session with Business Experts | |||
| 19 | Critical Report Writing | Introduction to Creative Report Writing Hands on training on Creative Report Writing | |
| Whole day Interactive session with Experts | |||
| 20 | Concluding Session | Reflection paper Submission | |
SMART Goal Setting Fellows will be asked to convert their GOAL to a SMART GOAL by following the below methodology:
S Specific
M Measurable
A Achievable
R Realistic
T Timely
Fellows will develop SMART GOAL on Day 1 and Day 21 to observe the difference in their approach before and after the Bootcamp. The SMART GOAL will be targeted towards solving the major problem in the Fellow’s PIR
Some of the topics that will be covered in bootcamps are:
- Morden Technology in Agriculture
- Greenhouse Introduction
- Advance Dairy Technology and Practice
- Business Planning and financial sustainability (Agri-Marketing / Digital Marketing)
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Block Chain Technology
Soft Skills Development
1. Time Management
2. Communication Skill Development
3. Leadership Skill Development
4. Interpersonal Conflict Resolution
Soft Skills Development is crucial for breaking the language barrier and boosting the confidence and self-esteem of the Fellows
Agriculture
Education
Literature
The SPF is meant for the leaders and changemakers of tomorrow. We are looking for candidates who have excelled in their career so far and have real substantial potential to bring about game changing impacts on the field of Agriculture and allied sectors.
The selected fellows will receive a stipend of ₹30,000 upon successful completion of the fellowship program.
The fellowship program will start on 2024 at the Fellowship Commencement and Orientation Event and will end at the Fellowship Concluding and Final Design Showcase Event. The entire journey will be of 12 months. The fellows are required to attend a 2 bootcamps at the following locations: Agricultural Development Trust Baramati, Baramati and Shahyadri Farm, Nashik
The fellows will learn from various industry and academic experts in the relevant domains. The fellows will also be mentored by members of the advisory committee which comprises pioneering veterans from the respective fields.
80 fellows (40 male, 40 female)
The applicants should be between the age of 18 and 30. Applicants for fellowship must be from Maharashtra, his/her mother tongue must be Marathi.
Yes, the SPF is meant for youth between the ages of 18 and 30.
1. Intellectual Curiosity
2. Passion and Self Awareness
3. Potential for Impactful Leadership
The reference letters should be from people who have inspired you and who you have personally worked with in professional or academic capacity.
Only online applications will be accepted. The application form can be found here for Agri and Literature.
The last date to apply for The Sharad Pawar Inspire Fellowship in Agriculture is 15 Oct 2024.
The Sharad Pawar Fellowship is committed to giving equal opportunity and representation to both male and female candidates, 50% of the fellows will be females.
The selection committee will be composed of experts and pioneering veterans from the respective fields of agriculture, technology and literature.
शरद पवार इन्स्पायर फेल्लोशीप, कृषी ( Sharad Pawar Inspire Fellowship in Agriculture)
इच्छुक कृषी पदवीधरांनी दिनांक १८ ऑक्टोबर २०२४ पूर्वी https://apply.sharadpawarfellowship.com या संकेतस्थळावर ऑनलाईन अर्ज करावा
फेलोशिपच्या अर्ज प्रक्रियेचे वेळापत्रक
१८ जुलै २०२४
फेलोशिपची घोषणा
१८ जुलै २०२४
१८ जुलै २०२४ ते १८ ऑक्टोबर २०२४
ऑनलाइन फॉर्म सबमिशन
१९ ऑक्टोबर २०२४ ते १९ नोव्हेंबर २०२४
अर्जाची छाननी आणि निकालाची तयारी
१९ ऑक्टोबर २०२४ ते १९ नोव्हेंबर २०२४
२६ नोव्हेंबर २०२४
निकालाची घोषणा
८ डिसेंबर २०२४
फेलोशिप प्रदान सोहळा कार्यक्रम
८ डिसेंबर २०२४
फेलोशिपचा कार्यशाळा – मे २०२४ ते मे २०२५
१२ डिसेंबर ते २१ डिसेंबर २०२४
प्रथम बूटकॅम्प - AIC- ADT : बारामती
१२ डिसेंबर ते २१ डिसेंबर २०२४
सह्याद्री फार्म (नाशिक) ४ एप्रिल ते १० एप्रिल २०२५
द्वीतीय बूटकॅम्प – सह्याद्री फार्म्स , नाशिक
ऑगस्ट २०२५
इंटर्नशिप -
ऑगस्ट २०२५
निवड प्रक्रिया
- तज्ज्ञ समितीकडून प्राथमिक अर्जांची छाननी पूर्ण करण्यात येईल.
- प्रथम छाननी मधून २०० अर्ज निवडून त्यांची मुलाखतीद्वारे अंतिम निवड करण्यात येईल.
फेलोशिप बाबतीत :
- फेलोशिप दरम्यानच्या कालावधीत फेलोजनी निश्चित स्मार्ट गोल (प्रकल्प) वर त्यांचे मासिक अहवाल प्रत्येक महिन्याच्या ५ तारखेला देणे अनिवार्य राहील.
- सदर दिलेल्या माहितीप्रमाणे फेलोशिपमधील दोन्ही बूटकॅम्प फेलोसला पूर्ण करणे अनिवार्य असेल.
|
फेलोशिप शिक्षण मर्यादा |
कृषी पदवी पूर्ण अनिवार्य |
|
फेलोशिपचा कालावधी |
२०२४ ते २०२५ |
|
फेलोशिपची संख्या |
८० |
|
अर्जदारांचे कार्यक्षेत्र |
महाराष्ट्र |
|
फेलोशिपची रक्कम |
निवड झालेल्या प्रत्येक फेलोसना वार्षिक ३०,००० /- (रुपये तीस हजार) त्यांच्या प्रकल्प तसेच मासिक अहवालाची नोंद घेवून तीन टप्प्यात देण्यात येईल. |
संतोष मेकाले
युवा विभाग प्रमुख,
फोन नं : 9860740569
यशवंतराव चव्हाण सेंटर,
जन.जगन्नाथराव भोसले मार्ग,
नरिमन पॉईंट, मुंबई – ४०००२१
ई-मेल आयडी – youth@chavancentre.org
अतुल तांडेल
सहाय्यक, युवा विभाग
संपर्क – ७२०८३९४१४४
सुकेशनी मर्चंडे
सहाय्यक, युवा विभाग
संपर्क – ८६५२११८९४९
Board Members
-
Shri. Sudhirkumar Goel
Ex. Principal Secretary (Agriculture), Govt. of Maharashtra
- Shri. Vilas Shinde
Managing Director, Sahyadri Farms, Nashik
-
Shri. Girish Chitale
Director, Chitale Milk and Milk Products
- Mr. M.A Tejani
Managing Director, Gits Foods Product Pvt. Ltd
-
Dr. Usha Barwale
Director and CTO, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Private Limited (MAHYCO)
-
Dr SS Magar
Ex VC, Dr BSKKV Dapoli
Execution Team
-
Mrs. Jaya Tiwari
-
Mr.Sarang Nerkar
-
Mr.Amit Kale
-
Miss Sonali Saste
-
Prof.Ashish Raskar
-
Dr Dhananjay Bhoite
-
Mr.Yashwant Jagdale
Team of Experts
Key Resource Persons
- Mr. Sunil Limaye
- Mr. Harshvardhan Deshmukh
- Dr. Prathamesh Nadkarni
- Mr. Madhukar Paranjape
- Dr. Milind Watve
- Ms. Aishwarya Patekar
- Mr. Prakash Holkar
- Mr. Sajal Kulkarni
Proposed Guest Speakers
-
Prof. Steve Mann - Professor
University of Toronto, also known as the “Father of Wearable Computing”
-
Mr. Pete Scourboutakos
Senior Scientist, Humanistic Intelligence Lab, University of Toronto, Canada
-
Mr. Max Hao Lu
Special Projects and Product Development Lead, Bloomberg New Economy Forum, New York, USA
-
Prof. Steve Mann - Professor
University of Toronto, also known as the “Father of Wearable Computing”
- Mr. Ambarish Gurjar
Research Scientist, Indiana University, USA
-
Mr. Amrit Prasad
Director, CaminoSoft Technologies, Vancouver, Canada
-
Mr. Deep Prasad
CEO, ReactiveQ, Toronto, Canada
-
Mr. Akshay Kharade
CEO, Widespread Solutions, Mumbai
-
Mr. Vaibhav Goradia
CEO, VISER8 3D Printing, Mumbai