A team of scientists from ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Dr K. HARI, Dr D. PUTHIRA PRATHAP, Dr P. MURALI, Dr A. RAMESHSUNDAR and Dr B. SINGARAVELU has been awarded the FIRST Prize in the National Water Awards-2019 for their work on “Soil Moisture Indicator (SMI) and its application in irrigation water management” in the Best Research/ Innovation/ adaptation of New Technology for Water Conservation category by Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, river development & Ganga rejuvenation, Government of India. Hon’ble Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the Award Distribution Ceremony of National Water Awards, 2019 on 11-12 November 2020 in the august presence of Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria, which was streamed online. The award carries a Cash prize of Rs.2 lakhs and a citation.

The scientists had developed a user-friendly, simple device named as ‘Soil Moisture Indicator’ (SMI), which helps the farmers to assess soil moisture levels while scheduling irrigations, thus ensuring considerable saving of irrigation water.

This is stated in a press release issued by the Director, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore.

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