A two-year project on ‘Promotion of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) for sustainable rice production in Telangana’ with a whopping Rs. 4.5 Crore of budget outlay was approved by State Bank of India Foundation, Mumbai to the premier rice research institute, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Hyderabad. The signing and exchange of MOU was held in glittering ceremony at SBI Local Head Office, Hyderabad on 27th March 2024 which was graced by Mr. C. Srinivasulu Setty, MD (International Banking, Global Markets and Technology), Mumbai; Mr. Rajesh Kumar, CGM, SBI, Hyderabad Circle; Mr. Sanjay Prakash, MD, SBI Foundation, Mumbai and other dignitaries from SBI side while Dr. R.M. Sundaram, Director; Dr. RM Kumar, Head, Crop Production; Dr. MBB Prasad Babu, Head, PMEC; Dr. V. Raghuveer Rao, Head, Plant Physiology, Dr. P. Muthuraman, Head, TTT, Mr. Shitanshukumar, CAO and other scientists from ICAR-IIRR as well as all the service providers took part in the landmark event. The project assumes importance in view of the rapidly gaining popularity of the DSR technology among farming community, particularly in states like AP, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana etc. It is estimated that the shift from Transplanted Rice (TPR) to (DSR) will result in considerable savings in irrigation water (about 40%), cost of cultivation (20– 30%) and duration (by 10-15 days) with a concomitant reduction in GHG emissions, without significant yield penalty. In this project period, ICAR-IIRR aims to promote the practice of customized, mechanised DSR among the farming community of Telangana with a view to increase the productivity and sustainability of rice with limited use of precious resources like water and labour which will also result in reduced emissions of Green House gases. The institute will be assisted by service providers like Praanadhara, Cheruvu Jammulapalem, A.P.; AGRI BRIDGE, Hyderabad; CultYvate and Intech Harness Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka as well as Prof. Jayashankar Telanagana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad and KVKs based in Telangana.
