Newsletter from the Centre for Digital Advancement

The go-to place for everything about 'technology for good.'

February 20, 2025

Welcome to the First Issue of the FLAME Centre for Digital Advancement Newsletter

At FLAME Centre for Digital Advancement (CDA), we believe digital advancements drive transformative societal and economic change. Our mission is to study and leverage digital technology for the benefit of all. Through research and initiatives, we strive to enhance digital access and inclusion. Our work focuses on understanding how different segments of society adopt—or struggle to adopt—digital tools, helping identify ways to bridge these gaps. CDA aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, practitioners, students, and policymakers to ensure that digital progress benefits all. This newsletter serves as a medium to bring these stakeholders together, offering a curated repository of insights on ‘technology for good’. Help us expand this community by sharing this newsletter with those in your network whose interests align with our mission. If you have an idea or project aligned with our goal, reach out to us at [email protected].

-Sajith Narayanan

The CDA Newsletter is your go-to source for the latest news, events, and developments in the digital space. We highlight emerging trends and challenges in technology’s evolving role in society, offering perspectives that provoke thought and spark conversations. Whether you are exploring technological innovations or assessing their broader impact, this newsletter is for you.

Theme of this Newsletter:
Use of Digital Technology in Agriculture

In the first issue of our newsletter, we explore how digital technology is transforming the agricultural landscape in India. With the rapid integration of emerging technologies, automation is playing a crucial role in optimising farming practices, improving crop yields, and enhancing decision-making. From automated crop monitoring and predictive analytics to precision farming and AI-driven support systems, these innovations are not only addressing long-standing challenges but also paving the way for a more sustainable and profitable future for farmers. As India’s agricultural sector embraces digital transformation, technology is helping farmers make smarter data-driven decisions for better outcomes.

How AI is helping Chilli farmers in Telangana  

Telangana state, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, empowers 7,000 chilli farmers through AI-driven “Saagu Baagu”, a Telugu chatbot delivering real-time, stage-specific guidance, revolutionising traditional farming practices for improved productivity and modernised agricultural solutions. Read More

Digital Agriculture Mission to Transform Farming in India

India is spending ₹2,817 crore for the Digital Agriculture Mission to accelerate the farming revolution. With digital infrastructure, crop surveys, and IT innovations, it fosters farmer-centric ecosystems, leveraging public-private partnerships to drive transparency, innovation, and productivity across the agricultural landscape. Read more

Are Autonomous Machines the Future of Farming?

At CES 2025, Heavy-equipment manufacturer Deere unveiled the autonomous 8R tractor, transforming farming with GPS guidance and 360-degree obstacle detection. Controlled via a mobile app, it tackles labor shortages, boosts efficiency, and minimises manual effort during crucial operations. Read More

ONDC Attempts at Bringing farmers on E-Commerce

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is becoming a key e-commerce hub in India with over 700,000 sellers and services in 600 cities. Notably, over 4,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have utilised the platform to market 3,100 varieties of value-added agricultural products. Read More

Source: Plantaform

How About A Garden Right Inside Your Living Room?

A Canadian company, Plantaform, has unveiled a sleek 26-inch-tall, egg-shaped smart planter designed with removable windows, full-spectrum LED lights, and a central column accommodating up to 15 soil-free seed pods. Powered by cutting-edge fogponics technology, originally developed by NASA, Plantaform nurtures plants throughout their entire growth cycle. By leveraging an algorithm-driven blend of water, light, and nutrients, this innovative system ensures optimal plant care and development. Read more 

Digital Technology Showcase of the Month: e-National Agriculture Marketi (e-NAM)

eNAM is an electronic trading platform that operates across India, connecting various APMC (Agricultural produce market committee) Mandis to establish a unified national marketplace for agricultural products.

Source: Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (2024). eNAM (Version 2.4) [Mobile application].

Established by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, eNAM portal serves as a one-stop solution for accessing information and services related to APMCs. eNAM offers updates on commodity arrivals and prices, trade offers for buying and selling, the ability to respond to trade proposals, payment realisation and ensures delivery guarantees, enabling real-time price discovery and improved market accessibility. It also supports quality certification, warehousing, logistics, and the development of a more efficient supply chain. Currently it has 1400 physical markets across India listed on its platform. The platform can be used via its website as well as mobile application. Check it out and share it with those who might benefit from it.

News Bits

AI Agents Will Join Workforce In 2025

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that AI agents will soon get deployed by companies, potentially displacing many jobs. “We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents ‘join the workforce' and materially change the output of companies,” Altman wrote in his blog.  Read More

Ambulance in 10 Minutes?

Blinkit now allows users to book an ambulance that arrives within 10 minutes. Currently in its pilot stage, the initiative is available in Gurugram, with an initial fleet of five ambulances. These ambulances are equipped with vital life-saving equipment, staffed by a paramedic, an assistant, and a trained driver. Albinder Dhindsa, the CEO of Blinkit, announced on X, “This is our initial move to tackle the issue of providing dependable ambulance services.” Read More

Recognising the significance of Blinkit’s ambulance service in public healthcare, a neurosurgery professor from the trauma center at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) commended its swift response after personally observing its efficiency. Read More

Source: Albinder Dhindsa on X

Social Media Buzz

Upcoming Event at CDA:
Short Film Competition

We are on the lookout for films that creatively explore digital literacy in fresh and impactful ways. Click here to learn more. Watch this space in our next newsletter to discover how student filmmakers can play a pivotal role in furthering the mission of digital inclusivity.

Upcoming Opportunities in this Area

Events
Call for Papers
Conferences

If you know of an event or conference or journal call for paper that should get shared with our audience, do write to us at [email protected] to get featured in our next newsletter.

This Newsletter was curated by Neha Bharti and Sajith Narayanan from the Centre for Digital Advancement