Achievements & Initiatives taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare during last 30 months

Shri Radha Mohan Singh briefs Achievements & Initiatives taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare during last 30 months

During Kharif 2016, 366.64 lakh farmers have been covered under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

Against a target of 2.53 crore soil samples collection upto March 2017, 2.33 crore soil samples have been collected

Against a target of 10,000 clusters, 9186 clusters made for promoting organic farming till Dec 2016

35,04,371.13 tonnes of agriculture produce worth Rs. 7,131.21 crore has been transacted on e-NAM platform

Annual Milk production increase by 6.3 % during 2015-16

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh held a press conference to brief achievements and initiatives taken by his ministry during the last 30 months here today. On this occasion Shri Radha Mohan Singh has released a book of achievements with the title ¡°30 Months, New Steps-Progressive Steps¡±.

Following are the main highlights of the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in 30 months:-

1. PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA: 

About 309 lakh farmers of 23 states had been covered under Fasal Beema during previous Kharif Season 2015 in which 294 lakh farmers were lonee and 15 lakh farmers were non-lonee.  During Kharif 2016, however, 366.64 lakh farmers have been covered out of which 264.04 lakh farmers are lonee and 102.60 lakh farmers are non-lonee. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana has been implemented by 21 states during Kharif 2016.

2. SOIL HEALTH CARD SCHEME:

Against a target of 2.53 crore soil samples collection upto March 2017, 2.33 crore soil samples have been collected till 27.12.2016, from which 12.82 crore soil health cards are being made. Out of these, 4.31 crore soil health cards have printed and 4.25 crore soil health cards have been distributed to the farmers and remainings are under process. During 2016-17, 0.20 crore samples are to be collected from which 1.10 crore soil heath cards will be prepared. During 2014-17, 460 Soil Testing Laboratories have been sanctioned while during 2013-14 only 15 Soil Testing Laboratories were sanctioned. In addition to 460 Soil Testing Labs, 4000 mini labs have also been sanctioned to the States.

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3. PARAMPARAGAT KRISHI VIKAS YOJANA:

The scheme was started in 2014 to promote organic farming with an allocation of Rs. 597 crore for three years and a target to set up 10,000 clusters. Till December, 2016, State Governments have made 9186 clusters.

4. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE MARKET (NAM):

       Under this scheme, 250 mandis of 10 states have been integerated with e-NAM Portal. In principal approval has been to integrate 399 mandis with e NAM for which an amount of Rs. 93 crore has been released. As on 27.12.2016, 35,04,371.13  tonnes of agriculture produce worth Rs. 7,131.21 crore has been transacted on e-NAM platform. As on 27.12.2016, 9,49,112 Farmers, 59,742 Traders and 31,317 Commission Agents have been registered on the e-NAM platform.

5. PRADHAN MANTRI KRISHI SINCHAYEE YOJANA(PMKSY):

During 2013-14, an area of 4.3 lakh hectare was covered under micro irrigation. Whereas, during 2014-16, an area of 12.74 lakh hectare has been brought under micro irrigation under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana which is an increase of 200 %. PMKSY scheme is being implemented in mission mode with aim of completing 99 major and medium irrigation projects with the capacity of 76.03 lakh hectare in a phased manner by December, 2019 with command area development with an amount of Rs. 77,595 crore. During the year 2016-17, a sum of Rs. 12,517 crore will be incurred to implement 23 irrigation schemes under PMKSY Mission.

6. DEVELOPMENT OF BEEKEEPING :  

Honey production has increased from 1,48,450 MT during 2012-14 to 2,63,930 MT during 2014-16 which is an increase of 78 %. An amount of Rs. 7.15 crores released to National Bee Board (NBB) during last two years (2014-15 & 2015-16) in comparison to an amount of Rs. 5.94 crores released during last three years (2011-12 to 2013-14). An amount of Rs. 12.00 crores has been approved for National Bee Board (NBB) for the year 2016-17.

7. FARMER PRODUCER ORGANIZATION (FPO):

568 FPOs have been registered during 2014-16 ( 2 Years) against 223 FPOs were registered during 2011-14 (3 years) which is an increase of 155 %.

8. FINANCING OF JOINT LIABILITY GROUPS (JLGS):

Financing of 18.21 lakh Joint Liability Groups from 2014 to 2016 during just 2 ½ years as compared to 6.7 lakh JLGs during the 7 years from 2007 to 2014. In comparison to cumulative achievement of Rs. 6630 cr. During 7 years from 2007 to 2014, Rs. 18,005.79 cr. were made available to JLGs during just 2 ½ years from 2014 and September, 2016.

9.        HORTICULTURE:

During last decade area under horticulture has increased about 2.7% per year and annual production has increased by 5.5%.  In spite of two successive droughts during 2014-15 and 2015-16, the production of horticulture crops has increased.

10. COCONUT DEVELOPMENT:

From the beginning of this financial year 2016-17, India has started exporting Coconut Oil to Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka from where coconut oil was being imported from these countries in previous years. India became first in coconut production and productivity in the world. Coconut area, production and productivity reached 1.97 million ha, 20.439 billion nuts and 10345 nuts per ha respectively. 33% increase found in replanting and area rejuvenation of Coconut Development Board (CDB) during the year 2014-16 as compared to 2011-14.

11. STATE DISASTER RELIEF FUND:

For the years 2010-2015, a provision of Rs. 33580.93 crore was made for State Disaster Response Fund. The same has been increased to Rs. 61,220 crore for the period 2015-2020.

12. NATIONAL DISASTER RELIEF FUND:

During 2010-14, States sought an assistance of Rs. 92044 cr. And were granted Rs. 12516 cr. whereas during, 2014-16, States sought an assistance of Rs. 94787 cr. and were granted Rs. 24556 cr.

13. NEEM COATED UREA:

In one year, Modi Government has made available 100% neem coated area in the country. Due to this diversion of unauthorized use of urea by Chemical Factories has been stopped. Now farmers are getting urea in adequate quantity. Besides this, the cost of production is being reduced by 10-15% with the use of neem coated urea. Productivity will also increase with the use of Neem Coated Urea.

14. AGROFORESTRY:

For the first time, Sub-Mission on Agroforestry has been initiated which will accelerate the programme ¡°Medh Par Ped¡±. In addition, trees would also be grown as strip and intermittent plantation on farm land along with crops/ cropping system and as block plantation in cultivable waste land. Implementation of the scheme only in the states having liberalized transit regulations for transport of timber and will be extended to other states as and when such relaxations are notified by them. So far, the scheme is being implemented in 8 states.

15.   Coordinated programme on Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-Informatics (CHAMAN): The programme has the objective to develop and firm up methodology for estimation of area and production under horticulture crops using ¡°Remote Sensing Technology¡± and ¡°Sample Survey Methodology¡±. Launched during September, 2014; to be completed in 3 years.

16.   INITIATION OF MOBILE APP FOR FARMERS:

Following mobile apps have been launched for the welfare of farmers: Kisan Suvidha, PUSA Agriculture, Agri Market, Crop Insurance and Crop Cutting Experiment (CCE) which can be downloaded from google play store as well as from www.mkisan.gov.in

17.   NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY MISSION (NFSM) / STEPS TAKEN FOR PULSE PRODUCTION :

Ø  Till 2013-14 only three crops were covered under National Food Security Mission namely – Rice, Wheat & Pulses.  The coverage during Modi Government has been increased to seven crops namely – Rice, Wheat, Pulses, Jute, Sugarcane, Cotton & Coarse Cereals.

Ø  Till the year 2013-14, 482 districts of 16 States were included in National Food Security Mission (NFSM).  Now with the addition 8 North Eastern States, 3 Hilly States (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand),  Goa and Kerala, the Mission covers all 638 districts of 29 States in the country.

Ø  Out of the total allocation of Rs.1700 crores under NFSM for 2016-17, Rs.1,100 crore (central share) was allocated for pulses which amounts to more than 60% of total allocation.

Ø  For expansion of cultivation of new kinds of seeds, Rs.7.85 lakhs mini-kits are being distributed to farmers free of cost in the year 2016-17, through State Governments.

Ø  In the year 2016-17, demonstrations of new techniques for pulse production are being carried out in 31,000 hectares by 534 Agriculture Science Centers through ICAR & State Agriculture Universities and Rs.25.29 crores were allocated for this purpose. 

Ø  Seed Hubs are being created through ICAR, State Agriculture Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) for ensuring the availability of new kinds of seeds. For this purpose, Rs. 225.31 crore have been approved for establishment of 150 seed centers during 2016-17 to 2017-18, out of which Rs.131.74 crore is proposed for 2016-17. From these seed centers 1.50 lakh quintals of improved seeds will be ensured.

Ø  The production target for pulses for the year 2016-17 is 20.75 million metric tonnes. The production of kharif pulses in 2016-17 is expected about 8.70 million tonnes (as per 1^st Advance Estimates) against target of 7.25 million tonnes.

18.    RASHTRIYA GOKUL MISSION:

With a view to conserve and develop indigenous bovine breeds, Rashtriya Gokul Mission, a new initiative under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development has been launched for the first time in the country, with an allocation of Rs 500 crore. Under the Mission, 14 Gokul Grams are being established, 35 Bull Mother Farms modernized with investment of more funds and 3629 Bulls have been inducted for genetic upgradation. Since 2007-08 to 2013-14, a meagre amount of only Rs 45 crore was spent for the development of indigenous breeds. Whereas, the current Government has in only one and a half years, upto December 2015, has approved 35 projects from 27 States and has sanctioned Rs 582.09 crore. This amount has been increased by more than 13 times in the last two years. Two National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre, one in northern region-Madhya Pradesh and other in Southern region- Andhra Pradesh, are being established in the country with an allocation of Rs 50 crores.

19.    MILK PRODUCTION: In comparison with (2014-16) growth rate between (2012-14) is 11.7%. Annual Milk production has increased by 6.3 % during 2015-16.

  

20.   FOUR NEW SCHEMES FOR DAIRY SECTOR:

a)        PASHUDHAN SANJIVANI :

Ø  An animal Wellness Programme; encompassing provision of Animal Health cards (¡®Nakul Swasthya Patra¡¯) along with UID identification of animals in milk and a National Data Base.

Ø  Under the scheme 8.5 crore animals in milk will be identified using UID and their data will uploaded in the INAPH data base.

Ø  This will play crucial role in control of spread of animal diseases. This will also lead to increase in trade of livestock and livestock products.

b)       ADVANCED BREEDING TECHNOLOGY: 

Ø  Assisted Reproductive Technique to improve availability of disease free female bovines through of sex sorted semen technology.

Ø  Under the scheme 50 embryo transfer technology labs and In Vitro Fertilization labs care will be established.

Ø  This will lead to exponential increase in milk production and productivity of animals in an exponential manner.

c)        NATIONAL BOVINE GENOMIC CENTER FOR INDIGENOUS BREEDS(NBGC-IB):

Ø  In developed dairy countries genomic selection is used to increase milk production and productivity for attaining faster genetic gain.

Ø  In order to increase milk production and productivity of indigenous cattle, a National Bovine Genomic Centre will be established in the country.

Ø  By using genomic selection indigenous breeds can be made viable within few generations.

Ø  This center will play crucial role in identification of disease free High genetic merit bulls.

d)       E-PASHUDHAN HAAT PORTAL:

Ø  At present there is no authentic market for bovine germplasm in the form of semen, embryos, male & female calves; heifers and adult bovines. Farmers depend on middlemen for sale and purchase of quality germplasm.

Ø  Breed wise information on availability of bovine germplasm is not available which is essential for promotion of indigenous bovine breeds.

Ø  For the first time in the country under National Mission on Bovine Productivity E Pashudhan Haat portal has been developed. This portal will play important role in connecting breeders and farmers of indigenous breeds.

Ø  Through this portal farmers will be aware about breed wise information on indigenous breeds. Farmers/breeders can sale animals of indigenous breeds through this portal. Information on all forms of germplasm has been uploaded on the portal. Immediately farmers can obtain benefits of the portal.

Ø  This portal will give new dimensions to development and conservation of indigenous breeds as at present information on availability of germplasm of indigenous breeds is not available with the farmers.

Ø  Through the portal there will be no involvement of middlemen in sale and purchase of animals. Portal for sale and purchase of germplasm in all the forms is not available even in developed dairy countries.

21.    FISH PRODUCTION: Fish production has increased from 186.12 lakh tonnes during 2012-14 to 209.59 tonnes during 2014-16 (an increase of Rs.12.61 %). The Annual growth rate of fish production during 2015-16 is 6.21%.

22.    EGG PRODUCTION: During the year 2015-16, 82,930 million eggs produced while during 2014-15, 78,484 million eggs were produced. Egg production is now increasing by 5.66% annually. In comparison to 2012-14 during 2014-16 egg production growth rate is 10.99 %. Annual egg production rate is 5 %. Per person availability of egg has reached 66.

23.    VETERINARY EDUCATION:

To ensure that the existing syllabus and standards for graduate veterinary education is aligned with globally accepted standards, wide-ranging amendments have been made in Minimum Standards for Veterinary Education Regulations, 2008. In addition to this, to meet the shortage of trained veterinary manpower, the number of veterinary colleges has increased from 36 to 46. Intake of students in various Veterinary Colleges was enhanced from 60 to upto 100 seats. Total number of seats has been increased to 1,334 from 914 in 17 Veterinary Colleges.  The number of veterinary graduates has increased by one and half times. Similarly the seats in veterinary colleges have increased by one and half times. One and a half time increase in post graduate studies in veterinary education has been attained. Seats in veterinary colleges have been increased by one and a half time.

24.   INCREASE IN RECRUITMENT OF SCIENTISTS:

81 % recruitment in 2014-15 and 2015-16 in comparison to only 66% in 2013-14, accelerated recruitment process through open competition and increase in representation of women scientists.

25.   EMPIRICAL LEARNING UNITS:  

Compared to 2007-13, the number of empirical learning units in agricultural colleges was 264 which have now been increased to 416 in just two years during 2014-16 which is almost 58 percent increase. Education budget has also been increased by 50% in the last two years (2014-15 & 2015-16).

26.   STRENGTHENING OF KVKS:

Efforts were made to strengthen the KVKs by enhancing the number of staff positions of KVKs from the existing strength of 16 to 22.

27.   ATTRACTING STUDENTS, YOUTH TOWARDS AGRICULTURE AND IMPROVING THE SCIENTISTS – FARMERS INTERFACE:

Ø  Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA):

The ARYA project will attract and empower the Youth in Rural Areas to take up various Agri-enterprises in Agriculture, allied and service sector for sustainable income and gainful employment. The project is running in 25 districts of 25 States through KVKs.

Ø  FARMER FIRST:

The Farmer FIRST aims at enriching Farmers –Scientist interface, technology assemblage, application and feedback, partnership and institutional building and content mobilization.It will provide a platform to farmers and scientists for creating linkages, capacity building, technology adaptation and application, on-site input management, feedback and institution building. The scientists from 100 ICAR Institutes/ Universities are proposed to work with one lakh farmers directly.

Ø  STUDENT READY:

Introduction of Fellowship from 2016-17 @ Rs. 3,000 per month for all the students for a period of 6 months during Student Ready which was Rs. 1000 per month earlier. Components of this scheme are:

i.            Experiential Learning (EL)

ii.          Rural Agriculture Work Experience (RAWE)

iii.        In Plant Training /Industrial Attachment/Internship

iv.        Skill Development Training

v.          Student Project

Ø  Mera Gaon- Mera Gaurav programme has been initiated to effectively promote direct interface of scientists of ICAR Institutes and State Agricultural Universities with the farmers to hasten the lab to land process. For this, a group of four scientists each will adopt 5 villages. Thus, there will be nearly 5000 groups of scientists adopting 25000 villages. At present, agricultural scientists have started providing information on newer technologies to the farmers in 15000 villages.

28.   CLIMATE RESILIENT VARITIES (DROUGHT RESISTANT AND FLOOR TOLERANT)

During 2014 to 2016, 127 varieties of food grains, 70 of pulses, 58 of oilseeds and 37 of others (total 292 new varieties) have been developed.

29.   AGRICULTURE EDUCATION:

Ø  Recognizing the enormous potential of North-East India, six new colleges were opened by Modi government under Central Agricultural University, Imphal. Due to this, the number of agricultural colleges in the Northeast region has increased by almost 85 percent in the last two years.

Ø  Similarly, in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, 4 new colleges under Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi and conversion of Central Agriculture University have been completed. 

Ø  To make agriculture graduation courses income oriented, Government has approved the 5th Dean¡¯s Committee report recommendations of the committee. Dean¡¯s Committee report will be implemented in this educational session i.e. 2016-17. Through this new curriculum all agriculture based graduation courses will be altered into the professional ones which will be conducive to earn their livelihood in future.

30.   SPECIAL INITIATIVES:

Ø  Four new ICAR Awards in two years:  ICAR Administrative award, Haldhar Organic Farmer Award, Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Krishi Puruskar and Pandit Deendayal Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puruskar.

Ø  Pandit Deendayal Unnat Krishi Shiksha Yojana has been started in the year 2016 by way of 130 training programmes on organic farming/natural farming and cow based economy in 32 SAUs of the country.

Ø  Rashtriya Krishi Shiksha Divas is being celebrated on 3^rd December in remembrance of country¡¯s first Agriculture Minister Dr. Rajendra Prasad.  

Ø  Jai Kisan-Jai Vigyan Week is being celebrated since the year 2015 across the entire country during 23^rd to 29^th December, on the occasion of birth anniversaries of Ch. Charan Singh and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Year End review: Department of Space

Year End review: Department of Space

An unprecedented seven missions launched, all successful

Successful maiden test flights of Reusable Launch Vehicle and SCRAMJET

The year 2016 was very eventful for the Indian space programme which scored very prominent and significant successes in launch vehicle, satellite, applications and space exploration domains.  The year saw an unprecedented seven launch vehicle missions all of which were successful.  Eight ISRO satellites, four student satellites and 22 foreign satellites were launched by these missions. The year 2016 also saw two successful advanced launch vehicle technology initiatives of ISRO – the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) and SCRAMJET technology demonstrator – which had their maiden test flights.  Additionally, the highly successful Mars Orbiter Spacecraft of India completed two years in its orbit around Mars and India's ASTROSAT multi-wavelength observatory successfully completed one year in orbit.

Launch Vehicle and Satellite Missions of ISRO:

1.1.       PSLV-C31/IRNSS-1E Mission: In this flight, the workhorse launch vehicle PSLV launched IRNSS-1E, the fifth satellite of the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, on January 20, 2016. 

1.2.       PSLV-C32/IRNSS-1F Mission: In this flight, which was its 34th, PSLV launched IRNSS-1F, the sixth satellite of the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, on March 10, 2016. 

1.3.       PSLV-C33/IRNSS-1G Mission: In this flight, PSLV launched the seventh and the last satellite IRNSS-1G of the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation on April 28, 2016.  With this, the space segment of the IRNSS is fully deployed. IRNSS signals are now available and trials with the receiver system are in progress. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated IRNSS to the nation as ‘NavIC’ (Navigation Indian Constellation). This is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS provides two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users and Restricted Services (RS) - provided to authorised users only.

1.4.       Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD): India’s first winged body aerospace vehicle, RLV-TD i.e. Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was successfully flight tested on May 23, 2016.         From the peak altitude of 65 km, RLV-TD began its descent followed by atmospheric re-entry at around Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). After successfully surviving a high temperature of re-entry, RLV-TD successfully glided down to the defined landing spot over Bay of Bengal. In this flight, critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management were successfully validated.

1.5.       PSLV-C34/Cartosat-2 Series Mission: On June 22, 2016, PSLV-C34 successfully launched 20 satellites in a single mission. It included India’s CARTOSAT-2 series of satellite (weighing 727 kg) as primary payload and two academic institutes’ satellites, namely, SWAYAM and SATHYABAMASAT and 17 satellites (total weighing 555 kg) of foreign customers from Canada, Germany, Indonesia and USA as co-passengers.

1.6.       GSLV-F05/ INSAT-3DR Mission: On September 08, 2016, GSLV-F05, India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, equipped with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), successfully launched the country's weather satellite INSAT-3DR. INSAT-3DR is a follow-on meteorological satellite to INSAT-3D. This launch is significant, considering that fact that this is the third consecutive success of the indigenous CUS, which signified the country’s successful assimilation of the complex cryogenic rocket propulsion.

The satellite carries two meteorological payloads, viz., 6 channel imager & 19 channel sounder. It also carries a Data Relay Transponder (DRT) and Satellite Aided Search and Rescue (SA&R) payload to provide continuity to INSAT SA&R services. The satellite has started providing services to the weather and meteorological community in tandem with INSAT 3D that is already in the orbit. By virtue of these 2 satellites in orbit, the country gets weather updates every 15 minutes which is yet another unique service from space.      

1.7.       Successful Flight Testing of ISRO's Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator: The first experimental mission of ISRO’s Scramjet Engine towards the realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System was successfully conducted on August 28, 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. The Scramjet engine designed by ISRO uses Hydrogen as fuel and the Oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidiser. This marked the maiden short duration experimental test of ISRO’s Scramjet engine with a hypersonic flight at Mach 6. ISRO’s Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket, was the solid rocket booster used for the test of Scramjet engines at supersonic conditions.  ATV carrying Scramjet engines weighed 3277 kg at lift-off.

India is the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of Scramjet Engine. The successful technology demonstration of air-breathing Scramjet engines in flight by ISRO during the year was a modest yet important milestone in its endeavour to design and develop advanced air breathing engines including engines for ISRO’s future space transportation system

2.            PSLV-C35/SCATSAT-1: By successfully launching SCATSAT-1 satellite carrying a scatterometer for wind vector measurement into the required polar Sun Synchronous Orbit in its PSLV-C35 mission on September 26, 2016, the PSLV facilitated continuity to Oceansat-2 Scatterometer, which completed its service in March 2014.  The wind vector at sea surface information facilitated by SCATSAT-1 is used in weather prediction models and helps in accurate prediction of cyclone track.  This launch of PSLV had yet another unique achievement of placing satellites in 2 different orbits and also the longest of the missions that lasted for more than 2 hrs 15 mins after lift-off. In this mission, engine multiple restart experiment of upper stage of PSLV was also demonstrated.

2.1.       PSLV-C36/Resourcesat-2A: In its 38^th flight, PSLV successfully launched RESOURCESAT-2A satellite on December 07, 2016 into an 822 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.  This was PSLV’s 37^th consecutive success.  The 1235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A is a follow on mission to Resourcesat-2 and intended to ensure data continuity to the users for land and water resources applications. The satellite is configured with three-tier imaging capability consisting of three solid-state cameras, viz., LISS-IV, LISS-III and an Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS). 

2.2.       GSAT-18: The 3405 kg  communication satellite GSAT-18, launched on October 06, 2016 by European Ariane V, carries a total of 48 transponders in Ku-band, C-band and Ext C-band for providing continuity of services and has further augmented the transponder capacity.

3.                       Disaster Management Support (DMS):

3.1.       Uttarakhand Forest Fire: The Uttarakhand state witnessed episodic fire incidents during the last two weeks of April 2016.  Recurrence of fire incidences is common in the hilly state in summer season. Satellite data based temperature anomalies were used for the detection of active fire locations. About 1600 active forest fire locations were recorded during 24^th April to 4^th May 2016. The burnt area was also assessed using Satellite data. The information on a near-real time basis was disseminated to Forest Survey of India, State Forest Departments, NDMA and SMS on fire alerts were sent to the identified forest officials of Uttarakhand. All Fire alerts were also published on BHUVAN geoportal. The most affected districts were Nainital, Pithoragarh, Champawat, Almora, Pauri and Tehri Garhwal.

3.2.       Floods occurred in Assam and Manipur states during 2016. Three waves of floods were reported in Assam; first during fourth week of April, 2016, second on 21st June, 2016 and third on 4th July, 2016. Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Charaideo, Dhemaji and Karbi Anglong districts were affected.  Heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed Manipur during the last week of April 2016 and Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur districts were reported to be affected. The information on flood inundation was disseminated to the Central and respective State Government departments, State Relief Commissioners and nodal Ministries.

4.            Mars Orbiter Mission: India’s first inter-planetary mission completed two years in its orbit around Mars. The health parameters of Mars Orbiter spacecraft are normal and all the five payloads are sending useful data. The Mars Colour Camera has produced more than 530 images so far, one of which has appeared on the cover page of the November 2016 issue of the National Geographic Magazine. The spacecraft successfully negotiated ‘whiteout’ geometry during May 18 - 30, 2016 using onboard autonomy. The archived data is now made public for free download and scientific research through ISRO’s website. More than 1.75 Lakh hits and about 40 GB data was downloaded in just 2 weeks. ISRO has also launched MOM Announcement of Opportunity (AO) programmes for researchers in the country to use the MOM data for R&D. The success of Mars Orbiter Mission has showcased India’s technical capability in exploring planetary bodies and has motivated India’s student and research community in a big way.

5.            ASTROSAT Mission: ASTROSAT, India’s first multi-wavelength observatory has completed one year in orbit as of September 2016.  An Announcement of Opportunity (AO) was made in June 2016 for Indian researchers to explore the universe using data from ASTROSAT.  As a part of one year completion of ASTROSAT in orbit, a one-day workshop was organised at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune on Sept 29, 2016, to highlight the technical and scientific achievements of this satellite. The first scientific set of results and the future scope of the satellite were presented during the meeting.

6.            Space technology based tools in Governance & Development: Space technology applications, derived through synergistic use of earth observation, communication & navigation satellites and complemented with ground-based observations, play a key role in harnessing the benefits of space technology for socio-economic development in the country and improving the quality of life of citizens.

Satellite-based Earth Observation is a cost effective means of obtaining essential and reliable data on our Earth. Such data on natural resources have become an integral part of planning and implementation of action plans for managing land & water resources, developing urban & rural infrastructure, monitoring weather & climate, protecting environment including disaster risk reduction. The capabilities of satellite communication are also exploited for delivering societal applications towards education & health, connectivity, skill development and livelihood sustenance. Space technology-based applications & tools are being increasingly used in governance and development for enabling planning, periodic monitoring, mid-course correction, evaluation of developmental activities and scientific decision making in various sectors right from agriculture, urban & rural planning to disaster risk reduction.

Department of Space is working closely with various Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments towards maximizing the use of space technology in the various areas viz. Natural Resources Management, Energy & Infrastructure, Disaster & Early Warning, Communication & Navigation, e-Governance & Geo-spatial Governance and Societal Services. Many flagship programmes namely, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana; National Mission for Clean Ganga, Digital India & MGNREGA are also utilizing space-based tools.

ISRO is focusing on providing assured services through data continuity, improved connectivity & location-based services and enabling proactive user engagement through institutionalisation of space applications and capacity building. In a nutshell, ISRO is enabling the space applications in tune with the requirements of Ministries/Departments to enhance functional effectiveness, facilitate planning and decision making to improve governance and development.

7.            Follow-up Actions on National Meet for Application of Space Technology & Tools: Out of the 160 projects emerged as an outcome of the national meet, work was initiated in 144 projects. In about 60 projects, significant progress has been made in terms of development of methodology, web and mobile applications, training and execution of work. About 75 customised web applications and 50 mobile applications were deployed. MoUs were signed with Central Ministries/Departments as well as the State Governments. Based on the request of the Ministries/ Departments for capacity building, more than 9,000 officials were trained. Additionally, Outreach programmes were also conducted in Colleges and Schools. State Meets on ‘Promoting space technology -based tools’ were completed for many States.

8.            International Cooperation: As part of the ongoing civil space cooperation, cooperative Agreements/MoUs were signed with UAE space agency (February 2016); US Geological Survey (July 2016); Afghanistan (September 2016); Vietnam (September 2016); Russia (October 2016) Japan (November 2016) and NASA of USA (November 2016). India hosted the two international events, viz., i) UN/India workshop on “Use of earth observation data in disaster management and risk reduction: sharing the Asian experience” in Hyderabad in March 2016 and ii) 10^th SPIE-Asia Pacific Remote Sensing Symposium (APRS) in New Delhi in April 2016. ISRO along with French space agency hosted a meeting of heads of space agencies on April, 03, 2016 in New Delhi to highlight the importance of space inputs for climate change studies. Space Agencies of India and Mexico organised a joint workshop in Mexico on use of space technology for disaster management in July 2016. Bilateral space cooperation meetings were organised with delegations of Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, UK and USA.

Major Developments/Achievements of CSIR, Ministry of Science & Technology during 2016

Major Developments/Achievements of CSIR, Ministry of Science & Technology during 2016

 Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) entered 75^th year of existence ushering in year–long Platinum Jubilee celebrations which were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the President of CSIR.

Recalling CSIR’s pioneering inventions, the Prime Minister also held an interactive session with farmers from various parts of the country and launched improved varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants, developed by various labs of CSIR which would help in transforming the rural economy by enhancing the income of farmers.

Hailing CSIR’s role in building and nurturing the nation’s scientific & technological prowess, he said that starting with the indelible ink which is the hallmark of India’s democratic fabric, CSIR has left an indelible mark on every sphere of life. He urged CSIR to create an 'Ease of doing Technology Business' platform to bring in right stakeholders so technologies reach beneficiaries. 

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a catalyst and driver of sustainable socio-economic change through application of science and technology. CSIR has commercialized several technologies for the society and industry in the areas of food and agriculture, generic drugs, leather, chemicals and petrochemicals, biopharmaceuticals, and materials.

CSIR is recognized to be among the International leaders knowledge creation. CSIR has been ranked 12^th in the world amongst the government institutions in world according to the prestigious Scimago Institutions Rankings 2016 Report.

CSIR is granted 90% of the US patents granted to any Indian publicly funded R&D organization. The scientific staff of CSIR though constitutes only about 3-4% of India’s scientific manpower but it has an overwhelming contribution amounting to 9.6% of India’s scientific outputs.

CSIR is presently supporting around 8500 Research fellows, awarded 2251 Junior Research Fellowships and 65 Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Fellowship. CSIR is supporting more than 1000 research schemes to various universities.

CSIR is addressing national goals and Missions such as Swachh Bharat, Swastha Bharat, Samarth Bharat, Make in India, Innovate for India, Start-up India, Skill India etc.

Today, CSIR is attempting a Parivartan from Knowledge creation to Value creation. These includes emphasis on technology development and commercialization for the society, industry and the strategic sector, creation of S&T based entrepreneurship and participation in the national Skill Development initiative in addition to human resource development. Towards this, several new initiatives and policy changes are being brought in.

Some key achievements of the CSIR maturing during 2016 include:

CSIR Achievements

·         CSIR’s Global Positioning as a Front Rank R&D System

CSIR has been ranked 12^th in the world amongst the government institutions in world during the said year, thus improving its previous position of being at 14^th spot for three consecutive years, according to 2016 report of the prestigious Scimago Institutions Rankings. The overall global ranking of CSIR also improved from 110 to 99^th position.

·                  Strategic Sector:

Ø  Drishti Systems at Main Runway 28-10 of IGI Airport: Drishti transmissometer, a visibility measuring system provides information to pilots on visibility for safe landing and take-off operations and is suitable for all airport categories. 27 Systems installed in 10 major Indian airports across the country, in collaboration with IMD. Tata Power SED has signed Memorandum of Agreement with Tata Power SED for the supply of 54 Drishti Systems for installation in Indian Air Force Airfields; 22 units have been delivered out of which three have been installed.

Ø  Head-Up-Display (HUD) In high-tech areas, CSIR-NAL made significant contribution by developing indigenous Head-Up- display(HUD) for Indian Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. HUD aids the pilot in flying the aircraft and in critical flight maneuvers including weapon aiming.   

Ø  Design and Development of Indigenous Gyrotron: Addressing the challenges of technology denial: Design and development of indigenous gyrotron for nuclear fusion reactor has been accomplished.

·               Energy & Environment:

Ø  Solar Tree: On July 22^nd a solar tree designed by CSIR- CMERI lab in Durgapur was  launched which occupies minimum space to produce clean power.  

Ø  Wax Deoiling Technology: Technology developed for recovery of wax developed in collaboration with Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., (NRL). Country's largest wax producing (50,000 metric ton) plant has been commissioned at NRL with investment of over Rs 600 crore.

Ø  Simultaneous Production of US Grade Gasoline and Pure Benzene: Technology for producing US grade gasoline and pure benzene has been developed. Plant of 700,000 tonnes per annum capacity costing Rs.160 crore was commissioned at Reliance Jamnagar Refinery.

Ø  Lithium Ion Battery: India’s first lithium ion battery fabrication facility based on indigenous novel materials for making 4.0 V/14 h standard cells has been established. The so developed technology on the Li-ion batteries to be commercialized soon.

·               Value added Agriculture:

Ø  Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Enhanced cultivation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in the country brought about through development of new varieties and agro-technologies. The estimated area under cultivation is more than 3.3 lakh hectares with an estimated value of Rs 3568 crores and generated employment of 7.31 crore mandays. India leads globally in Menthol Mint production due to CSIR efforts.

Ø  Samba Mahsuri Rice Variety – Bacterial Blight Resistant: CSIR has in collaboration with DRR (ICAR) and DBT part funding developed an improved bacterial blight resistant Samba Mahsuri variety. It is being cultivated in ~ 90,000 hectares in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Ø  Rice Cultivar (Muktashree) for Arsenic Contaminated Areas: A rice variety has been developed which restricts assimilation of Arsenic within permissible limit. The variety has been released to farmers of West Bengal.

Ø  White-fly resistant Cotton variety: Developed a transgenic cotton line which is resistant to whiteflies. It is expected to render it commercially cultivable in 10 years, after due regulatory clearances.

• Healthcare:

Ø  JD Vaccine for Farm Animals: Vaccine developed and commercialized for Johne’s disease affecting Sheep, Goat, Cow and Buffalo so as to immunize them and increase milk and meat production.

Ø  Plasma Gelsolin Diagnostic Kit for Premature Births, and Sepsis related Deaths: A new kit is being developed to diagnose pre-mature birth and sepsis.

Ø  Genomics and other omics technologies for Enabling Medical Decision – GOMED: Genetic diseases, though are individually rare, cumulatively affect a large number of individuals. A programme called GOMED (Genomics and other omics technologies for Enabling Medical Decision) has been developed by the CSIR which provides a platform of disease genomics to solve clinical problems. The present portfolio includes over 80 genes and sequencing of mitochondrial loci for mitochondrial disorders. In a short span of 9 months which encompassed the proof-of-concept stage, GOMED has catered to over 600 patients from across the country.

• Food & Nutrition:

Ø  Ksheer-scanner: The Ksheer Scanner, a new technological invention by CSIR-CEERI detects the level of milk adulteration and adulterants in 45 seconds at the cost of 10 paise, thereby putting adulterators in the milk trade in notice was launched on 20^TH February. 50 systems have been deployed at diaries across Goa, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. A hand-held device “Ksheer Tester”, a mini version of Ksheer-scanner has also been developed.

Ø  Double-Fortified Salt: Salt fortified with iodine and iron having improved properties developed and tested for addressing anaemia in people. To be launched in the market soon.

Ø  Anti-obesity DAG Oil: Oil enriched with Diacylglycerol (DAG) instead of conventional triacylglycerol (TAG) developed. To be launched in the market soon.

• Water:

Ø  Aquifer Mapping of Water Scarce Areas: Heliborne transient electromagnetic and surface magnetic technique based aquifer mapping carried out in six different geological locations in Rajasthan (2), Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Ø  Understanding the Special Properties of the Ganga Water: Assessment of Water Quality & Sediment Analysis of Ganga from different parts being done.

• IWaste to Wealth:

Ø  Non-toxic Radiation Shielding Material for X-ray Protection: Non-toxic radiation shielding materials utilizing industrial waste like red mud (from aluminum industries) and fly ash (Thermal Power Plants) developed which has been accredited by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for application in diagnostic X-Ray rooms.

Ø  Waste Plastic to Fuel: Process for conversion of waste plastics to gasoline/diesel or aromatics developed.

• Skill development: CSIR is building a structured large scale Skill development Initiative using the state of the art infrastructure and human resources of CSIR. About 30 High Tech Skill/Training programmes are being launched for imparting skills to over 5000 candidates annually. The skill development programmes cover the following areas: Leather process Technology; Leather Footwear & Garments; Paints & coatings for corrosion protection; Electroplating & Metal Finishing; Lead Acid Battery maintenance; Glass Beaded Jewellery / Blue Pottery; Industrial Maintenance Engineering; Internet of Things (IoT); and Regulatory – Preclinical Toxicology.

Recently an Agreement has been signed between CSIR and Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Caste Co-operative Finance Corporation Ltd. (APSCCFC) for Skill training and Entrepreneurship in Leather Sector. The initiative is set to benefit 10,000 Scheduled Caste Candidates from Andhra Pradesh, creating income generation assets to the households and thus enabling social and economic development. An investment of Rs. 30.00 Crore is being made by APSCCFC in next 2-3 years.

CSIR’s participation in the India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan marked showcasing of various technologies in healthcare, leather, petrochemicals, aeronautical engineering, drinking water, solar power, and energy and agricultural sector. The CSIR pavilion bagged the Gold medal among all government ministries and departments.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), a constituent lab of CSIR, organized the India International Science Festival, (IISF) which brought together more than 500 Einstein enthusiasts in the iconic scientist’s trademark garb, complete with his wig and moustache. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Science and Technology Dr. Harshvardhan were prominent visitors to the festival with its focus on “Science for the Masses”.