General Studies-III
Topic- Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security;
National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)
Context
Punjab Mandi Board (PMB) had recently organised awareness camps, training programmes and seminars on the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) across mandis in the state.
About
- State Governments have been advised to explore the possibilities of upgrading the internet connectivity with internet service providers.
- Close monitoring of the progress through meetings at various levels and visits of the officers to e-NAM mandis is carried out.
What is e-NAM?
- e-NAM is one of major and important flagship schemes implemented by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.
- National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
- Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing e-NAM.
- It seeks to leverage the physical infrastructure of mandis through an online trading portal, enabling buyers situated even outside the state to participate in trading at the local level.
Vision
- To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets.
- To remove information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
Key features of e-NAM
- e-NAM is pan-India e-trading platform.
- It is designed to create unified national market for agricultural commodities.
- Its objective is to provide competitive and remunerative price to farmers for their produce through online competitive and transparent bidding process.
- It integrates Central Farmer Database to increase the efficiency and reduce queue time.
- It has now expanded to 479 Mandis across 14 states and 1 Union Territory.
- It is now available in 8 different languages and its live trading facility is available in six different languages.
- Using it, farmers can showcase their produce online from their nearest market and traders can quote price from anywhere.
Advantages of e-NAM
The NAM portal is a single window service for any information and services related to APMC.
It includes-
- Commodity arrivals and prices
- Buy and sell trade offers
- Provision to respond to trade offers, among other services
- The e-NAM reduces the transaction costs and information irregularity even when the agriculture produce continues to flow through the mandis.
- For the farmers, e-NAM promises more options for sale.
- For the local trader in the mandi, e-NAM offers the opportunity to access a larger national market for secondary trading.
- The gradual integration of all the major mandis in the States into e-NAM will ensure common procedures for issue of licences, levy of fee and movement of produce.
- The NAM will also facilitate the emergence of value chains in major agricultural commodities across the country and help to promote scientific storage and movement of agri goods.
General Studies- II
Topic- Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Zonal Councils
Context
The 25th meeting of the western zonal council held in January 2020.
About
- As per States Re-organisation Act, each Zonal Council shall meet at such time as the Chairman of the Council may appoint in this behalf.
- Since their inception in 1957, the Zonal Councils have met 106 times.
- Maharashtra will be the lead coordinator this time.
About ZONAL COUNCIL
- The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956.
- These are Statutory bodies established under the States Reorganisation Act 1956 and not constitutional bodies.
- They are only deliberative and advisory bodies.
Objective
The main objectives of setting up of Zonal Councils are as under :
- Bringing out national integration;
- Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies;
- Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences;
- Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.
Five Zonal councils are:
In the light of the vision of Pandit Nehru, five Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Re-organisation Act, 1956.
The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:
- The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh;
- The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;
- The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;
- The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli;
- The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Zonal Councils in North Eastern States
- The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils.
- Their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.
- The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002 notified on 23rd December 2002.
- Consequently, action for exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern Zonal Council has been initiated by Ministry of Home Affairs.
Organisational Structure of Zonal Councils
- Chairman – The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.
- Vice Chairman – The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
- Members- Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
- Advisers– One person nominated by the Planning Commission for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone.
- Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.
Functions
A Zonal Council may discuss, and make recommendations with regard to:
- any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning;
- any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport;
- any matter connected with or arising out of, the re-organization of the States under the States Reorganisation Act.
For Prelims
Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2020
Highlights
- The Bal Shakti Puraskar 2020 was conferred under different categories including bravery, social service, sports, art and culture, innovation, scholastic and sports.
- The prestigious award was given to 49 children between the age group of 5-18 years at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Objective
The Bal Shakti Puraskar is conferred to recognize the special contribution of the children in the fields of social service, innovation, bravery, sports, art and culture and scholastic.
Background
- The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is given under two categories:
- Bal Shakti Puraskar and Bal Kalyan Puraskar.
- Any child who is a citizen of India can be nominated for the award and filling the necessary information and attaching the relevant documents.
10th National Voters’ Day
- “National Voters’ Day” is celebrated on January 25 every year.
- It is in order to encourage more young voters to take part in the political process.
- It has been started from January 26, 2011 to mark Commission’s foundation day.
Theme
Theme for NVD 2020 is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’.
National Voters Day: History
- 25th January is the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (ECI) which came into existence in 1950.
- This day was first celebrated in 2011 to encourage young voters to take part in the electoral process.
- Election Commission’s main objective is to increase the enrolment of voters, especially the eligible ones.
