April 19, 2026 11:23 pm (IST)
Follow us:
Soil Moisture Indicator: Make in India venture ready for commercialisation
New Delhi, Apr 8 (IBNS) Dr. H. Purushotham, Chairman and Managing Director, National Research. Development Corporation (NRDC), informed on Friday that NRDC has been appointed as the nodal agency for commercialising/ licensing the technical know-how for manufacture of Soil Moisture Indicator in India.
Soil Moisture Indicator is a simple and user-friendly electronic device developed by the Coimbatore-based Sugarcane Breeding Institute, under the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). The Intellectual Property Rights of the technology are being protected under Indian Patent and Design Acts.
The Soil Moisture Indicator (SMI) can assess the soil moisture level in fields as well as potted plants. Efficient irrigation management practices save considerable amount of water. For this, devices like soil moisture indicator / meter are essential to assess the status of soil moisture before scheduling irrigation.
The technical know-how has now been licensed to Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.
The company plans to take this technology pan-India through a network of dealers and also promote it through different support schemes of the Department of Agricultural and other Allied Departments in various states.
According to the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, this initiative of NRDC aids the “Make in India” Mission of the Government of India. NRDC has licensed more than 200 technologies to start-ups, MSMEs and corporates in the agriculture sector.
The formal Licence Agreement was signed by Dr. H. Purushotham, CMD on behalf of NRDC and Neeta Zanvar, Director of Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Security alert at Srinagar Airport: Two US nationals detained after satellite phone found in luggage
Sun, Apr 19 2026
Modi’s Women’s Bill: Slow burner or strategic blunder?
Sun, Apr 19 2026
PM Modi apologises for women’s bill failure, accuses opposition of ‘foeticide’ of rights
Sat, Apr 18 2026
New Delhi summons Iranian envoy after firing on 2 Indian vessels in Strait of Hormuz
Sat, Apr 18 2026
‘Similar incidents in Axis Bank’: Maharashtra CM's wife Amruta Fadnavis on TCS Nashik case
Sat, Apr 18 2026