Economic survey2015-16:Climate Change and Sustainable Development:Most important questions for IAS prelims-2016

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GARUDA SHAKTI IV opening ceremony conducted at magelang, Indonesia

Indo - Indonesia Joint Training Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI IV opening ceremony conducted at magelang, Indonesia

The opening ceremony of the fourth edition of the Indo- Indonesia Joint Training Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI IV/2016 was conducted at Military Training Area, Magelang, Indonesia. The Indian contingent comprised of platoon sized troops of an Infantry Battalion under Southern Command theatre and the Indonesian Army comprised of 503 Airborne Battalion of the TNI -AD. In an impressive military function the contingents of both the Armies conducted a ceremonial parade where National flags of both nations were marched in. The event was witnessed by senior ranked officers of both the countries.

Intervention Made in Drought Affected Areas

Intervention Made in Drought Affected Areas

Intervention made in drought affected areas:

(i) Implementation of Diesel Subsidy Scheme for protective irrigation of crops;

(ii) Enhancement of ceiling on seed subsidy to partially recompense the farmer for the additional expenditure incurred in resoling and/or purchasing appropriate varieties of seeds;

(iii) Implementation of interventions on perennial horticulture crops under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH);

(iv) Implementation of Additional Fodder Development Programme (AFDP) as a sub-scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), in collaboration with State Agricultural Universities has prepared contingency plans for 600 districts for implementing location specific interventions to sustain agriculture production in the eventuality of any extreme climatic events.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been launched with the objective of extending the coverage of irrigation in a focused manner. Under PMKSY focus has been given for: Creation of new water sources; Repair, restoration and renovation of defunct water sources; Construction of water harvesting structures, secondary & micro storage, ground water development and Enhancing potentials of traditional water bodies at village level.

Central Government has relaxed the norms under MGNREGA to provide additional employment of 50 days over and above the 100 days per household in the areas affected by natural calamities including drought for the current year.

Further, in order to protect farmers against crop failure due to natural calamities, pests & diseases, weather conditions, Government of India had introduced the National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) from Rabi 2013-14 season with component schemes of Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS). In addition, National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) which was to be withdrawn after implementation of NCIP from Rabi 2013-14, has been extended further. These schemes have been recently reviewed and a new scheme namely, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been approved for implementation from Kharif 2016 season.

Promotion of Micro Irrigation

The Micro Irrigation technologies (both Drip and Sprinkler) are quite popular amongst the farmers and adoption rate is also high. The State-wise details of area covered under micro irrigation are given below in table 1.

            The National Mission on Micro Irrigation programme in the country, State-wise including West Bengal was subsumed under National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) and implemented as “On farm Water Management” (OFWM) during 2014-15. The same is now being implemented as “Per Drop More Crop” component under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchyee Yojana (PMKSY) from 2015-16 onwards.

            Various steps taken by Government for promotion of micro irrigation include (i) Training and awareness programmes, (ii) Awareness through print media and radio & TV talks, (iii) Organization of workshops, seminars and interactive meetings, (iv) Publicity creation through Exhibitions, Fairs and Kisan Melas, (v) Publication of literature and (vi) Short duration films.

Steps Taken to Increase the Production of Pulses and Oilseeds Intervention Made in Drought Affected Areas

Steps Taken to Increase the Production of Pulses and Oilseeds Intervention Made in Drought Affected Areas

             National Food Security Mission (NFSM) is under implementation for enhancing total food grain production including pulses.  The pulse component has been extended to 622 districts of 27 states including North-Eastern States and 50% of total NFSM allocation is made for pulses.

            National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) is under implementation since 2014-15 in 27 states including North-Eastern States for increasing production and productivity of oilseeds including area expansion of oil palm.

            Under both NFSM-pulses and NMOOP financial assistance is available for organizing cluster demonstration and Front Line Demonstration (FLD) of improved technologies, supply of quality seeds including seeds minikits of new varieties, production inputs like soil  ameliorants, micro nutrients, bio-fertilizers, plant protection chemicals including bio-agents, farm machineries, water saving devices and capacity building of farmers/extension workers to increase the production and productivity of the pulses and oilseeds.

Promoting Bio-Fertilizers

Promoting Bio-Fertilizers

Government is promoting bio-fertilizers through various schemes of National Mission of Sustainable Development (NMSA)/Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) and Indian Council of Agricultural Sciences (ICAR).  The pattern of assistance is given below.                                                                                                                  

                          Pattern of assistance for promotion of biofertiliser/organic Inputs

Component	Pattern of assistance
NMSA-Organic & INM Component of SHM
1. Setting up of State of art liquid/ carrier based Biofertilizer/ Biopesticide units	100% Assistance to State Govt/Govt. Agencies upto a maximum limit of Rs.160.00 lakh /unit and 25% of cost limited to Rs.40 lakh/unit for individuals/ private agencies through NABARD as capital investment of 200 TPA production capacity
2. Setting up of Bio-fertilizer and Organic fertilizer testing Quality Control Laboratory (BOQCL) or Strengthening of existing Laboratory under FCO.	Assistance up to maximum limit of Rs. 85 lakh for new laboratory and up to a maximum limit of Rs. 45 lakh for strengthening of existing infrastructure to State Government Laboratory under Agriculture or Horticulture Department.
3. Promotion of Organic Inputs on farmer’s field (Manure, Vermi-compost, Bio-Fertilizers Liquid / solid, Waste compost, Herbal extracts etc.)	50 % of cost subject to a limit of Rs. 5000/- per ha and Rs. 10,000 per beneficiary. Propose to cover 1 million ha area.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana- (PKVY) one of the sub scheme of NMSA- Adoption of organic farming through cluster approach under Participatory Guarantee system (PGS) certification.				Under PKVY scheme- Fifty or more farmers will form a cluster and their 50 acres of land will be brought under Organic Farming.
(Component of Guidelines) 2.2	Integrated Manure Management
	Component	Ist year        IInd year    IIIrd year ( amount in Rs)
2.21	Liquid Bio-fertilizer consortia (Nitrogen fixing/ Phosphate Solubilizing/ potassium mobilizing bio-fertilizer) @ Rs.500/acre x 50	25000	0		0	Each farmer member will be assisted for procuring liquid bio-fertilizer and its application to soil/seed to increase crop production.
2.2.2	Liquid Biopesticides (Trichoderma viridae, Pseudomonas, fluorescens, Matarhizium,  Beaviourie bassiana, Pacelomyces, verticillium) 2 Rs.500/ acre x 50	0	25000		0	Each farmer member will be assisted for procuring and application of liquid bio pesticides for suppression of disease in crop plants

National Board for Yoga and Naturopathy

National Board for Yoga and Naturopathy

The Ministry of AYUSH constituted a Task Force to promote AYUSH system in the country. In its recommendations, it suggested to constitute a National Board for Promotion & Development of Yoga and Naturopathy under the Chairmanship of Secretary (AYUSH) with the following aims & objectives :-

i. To enhance the quality of Yoga & Naturopathy education, training, therapy and research;

ii. To develop human resource in Yoga & Naturopathy ;

iii. To develop standards for Yoga & Naturopathy training and practices for voluntary adoption;

iv. To promote accreditation frame work relating to Yoga and Naturopathy for voluntary implementation by institution including drafting of curriculum and syllabus for various degrees, diploma and programmes;

v. To promote & propagate Yoga & Naturopathy at International level;

vi. To institute national awards for outstanding for outstanding contribution to Yoga & Naturopathy;

vii. To develop methods of competence, and evaluation of Yoga & Naturopathy practitioners;

viii. Any other item relating to development & promotion of Yoga & Naturopathy.

The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 17.02.2016 has approved the proposal of the Ministry of AYUSH to sign as agreement with WHO for collaborative activities in the area of traditional Medicine. The Ministry has also agreed in principle to the proposal of Ambassador and Permanent representative of India to the United Nations in Geneva to organize on Official Side. Event Traditional systems of Medicine during the 69th world Health Assembly during May, 2016. As a first step in the long term collaboration. India would assign to WHO activities for development of the following WHO technical documents/publications which will help in better international acceptability of Indian Systems of Medicine:-

i. Benchmarks for training in Yoga;

ii. Benchmarks for practice in Ayurveda;

iii. Benchmarks for practice in Unani Medicine;

IMF and India to Set-Up a South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in Delhi

IMF and India to Set-Up a South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in Delhi

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley and Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding here today to establish a capacity development center in the national capital.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Lagarde said “I would like to thank Prime Minister Modi, Finance Minister Jaitley and the Indian Government for offering to host the center and for their substantial financial commitment. This will be the First center that fully integrates training and technical assistance and is a model for our future capacity development work. I would also like to express my appreciation to the other member countries for joining with India, the IMF, and partners like Australia and the Republic of Korea, in making this exciting initiative happen.”

The South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) is expected to become the focal point for planning, coordinating, and implementing the IMF’s capacity development activities in the region on a wide range of areas, including macroeconomic and fiscal management, monetary operations, financial sector regulation and supervision, and macroeconomic statistics. The Center will help address existing training needs and respond to the demand for IMF training in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, while bringing the region’s training volume on par with those of other regions.

The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) represents a key step toward a fully integrated capacity development center in New Delhi, and demonstrates the shared commitment between the IMF and its membership in using technical assistance and training as vehicles for economic stability and inclusive growth.

SARTTAC will offer courses and seminars for policymakers and other government agencies from the six aforementioned countries. It will build upon the IMF’s in-depth experience with capacity development by drawing on the experiences of the IMF’s Regional Technical Assistance Centers and Regional Training Centers, which have a proven track record of delivering technical assistance on economic institution building.

Funding will come from contributions by Regional Member countries and Development Partners. The Australian Agency for International Development, the Republic of Korea and India have pledged financial support for the said Center.