The event was graced by Dr. Arun Kumar Saxena, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), and Shri K. P. Malik, Hon’ble Minister of State, Forest, Environment and Zoological Parks Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, V. Hekali Zhimomi, IAS Principal Secretary, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Anuradha Vemuri, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Government of Uttar Pradesh, senior policymakers, forest officials, members of the Tharu tribal community and conservation experts were also present to address challenges faced by communities residing in forest fringe areas where a host of reasons increase the vulnerability to human–wildlife encounters.

Signify Har Gaon Roshan CSR initiative updates shared during the event:

• Terai region impact: Successfully impacted over 400 forest fringe villages, since 2019
• Wider Footprint: Installed over 9000 LED streetlights across 400 villages in Uttar Pradesh (in and around Pilibhit, Dudhwa, Amangarh Tiger Reserves, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagina, Chitrakoot, and Bahraich)
• Future Expansion: Signify presented a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the installation of 1500 additional LED streetlights across 67 villages with high rate of human-wildlife conflict in the Katarniaghat landscape.
• Coffee Table book launch: focused on the impact of the recent project in Dudhwa National Park through real stories, illustrating how access to light has helped create safer public spaces and enhance community resilience.  

Addressing the gathering, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Dr. Arun Kumar Saxena, highlighted the growing challenge of human–wildlife conflict in forest landscapes and emphasized the need for collaborative efforts involving government departments, experts, civil society organizations, CSR initiatives and local communities to develop practical and sustainable solutions. He commended Signify for its contribution to community safety and rural development through Signify Har Gaon Roshan CSR initiative and congratulated the organization for expanding its support to forest fringe communities across Uttar Pradesh.

Through Har Gaon Roshan, Signify continues to support rural communities through innovative lighting solutions that improve safety, strengthen community resilience, and contribute to sustainable development outcomes, working in partnership with BharatCares.

Hyderabad, India – BASF India has launched two of its latest global crop protection solutions, Valexio^® Insecticide and Mibelya^® Fungicide, that will serve India’s most important food crop – rice. The introduction of these two innovations will support India’s national food security agenda. These solutions will help rice growers boost their rice yields as they help manage rice hoppers, a key rice pest, and control diseases such as sheath blight control.

With annual production of more than 100 million metric tons, India is the second-largest producer of rice in the world, contributing significantly to around 40 percent of global rice trade. The impact of climate change has affected rice growers in India badly, with erratic weather condition resulting in droughts, diseases, and the proliferation of hoppers that results in lower and poorer quality yields.

“Valexio^® is BASF’s latest insecticide and marks a pivotal moment, not only for rice growers in Asia Pacific, but for our long-term commitment to the Rice Crop System in the region. We are very excited to be able to launch it first in India because we know how rice growers are in need for new chemistry to support their pest management,” says Marko Grozdanovic, Senior Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing & Sustainability at BASF Agricultural Solutions. “The active ingredient has no known cross-resistance to market standards, and provides outstanding efficacy and long residual control against all damaging life stages of the rice hopper species.”

Studies conducted have demonstrated thatValexio^® also fortifies rice plants with superior plant health benefits. Valexio^® -treated rice plots show a stronger stem, a denser canopy, enhanced root mass and broader flag leaves resulting in a more protected plant with potential to deliver higher yield for rice growers.

With the coming monsoon season, rice growers also need the latest chemistry to ensure greater selectivity and high efficacy in disease management. Mibelya^® is powered by BASF’s latest fungicide active ingredient Revysol^® and its other patented active ingredient Xemium^®. Rice growers will now have the latest chemistry – a dual mode of action, that acts faster, protects deeper and provides long duration control on sheath blight and dirty panicle of rice.

Simone Barg, Senior Vice President, BASF Agricultural Solutions, Asia-Pacific says: “Rice is not only a key crop for India, it is for the millions of farmers throughout Asia. Today’s launch of Valexio^® and Mibelya^® represents an unprecedented victory for farmers and sustainable agriculture. With our innovations, we can effectively address pests and diseases impacting growers and ensure farming communities stay ahead with superior benefits of resistance management and favorable profile, designed to meet the highest level of regulatory standards.”

“I am excited and very proud to be able to witness this day. Two of the latest BASF innovations are available for rice growers in India, and this is important to me because in my interactions across India, farmers would ask me ‘how can you help me secure or increase my yield?’ With Valexio^® Insecticide and Mibelya^® Fungicide, my team and I will work extensively to ensure that rice growers are able to get access to the innovations, as I know that these will help them improve the quality and yields this year,” says Giridhar Ranuva, Business Director, Agricultural Solutions, BASF India. “Additionally, we would like to appreciate the relevant authorities, scientific community and those in agriculture who are working alongside us to support farmers do the biggest job on Earth.”

Valexio^® and Mibelya^® will be available effective June onwards and in time to support rice growers as they commence the rice transplanting for this season. 

For more information on Vaelxio^®, visit:   https://crop-protection.basf.in/en/insecticide/valexio

For more information on Mibelya^®, visit:  https://crop-protection.basf.in/en/fungicide/mibelyar

Ecozen partners with Mahindra Solarize for pumps installations under PM Kusum Yojana, bringing advanced technology to Haryana’s farmers.

Ecozen pioneers solar pump controller tech, offering farmers control through 4G-enabled features. With the Ecotron mobile app, they can schedule, operate, and monitor pump functions remotely, enhancing efficiency.

Additionally, the controller also sends over 150 data points through IoT-enabled devices to Ecozen’s AI platform (ecozen.ai) which enables Ecozen’s engineers to monitor and run predictive and preventive maintenance on units deployed. This drastically reduces the time taken for service as the Ecozen service engineer comes prepared with the spares and tools required to fix the solar pump system. Additionally, Ecotron controllers have the fastest and most stable AMR data integration. This ensures accurate data is available with government entities at all times.

Commenting on the same, Devendra Gupta, CEO, Ecozen, “Creating sustainable products that are user friendly has always been our goal, thus, creating the 4G solar pump controller has aligned with our ideologies. Connecting farmers and making their jobs easier through our products is key. Thanks to the PM Kusum Yojana, farmers can leverage this opportunity to install solar-powered controllers at a subsidized cost and choose a sustainable option for the long run.”