Consider the following activities:
- Spraying pesticides on a crop field
- Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
- Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis
At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d)
Explanation:
- Although the Ministry of Agriculture in India has clarified that the Central Insecticides Board has not given approval for using drones to spray pesticides on crop fields, many farmers in the Southern region of the country are still using this technology. Therefore, it is correct to say that drones can be utilized for spraying pesticides. Hence statement 1 is correct.
- The researchers from the Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Germany used drones equipped with visual and thermal cameras to study the active Santa Maria volcano, located in Guatemala in May 2020. Hence statement 2 is correct.
- In 2015, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute employed an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, to gather breath samples from humpback whales located in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
