General Studies- II
Topic- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and theperformance of these schemes;
Krishi Karman Awards
Context
PM distributed Agriculture Minister’s Krishi Karman Awards for Progressive Farmers.
About
- PM distributed Agriculture Minister’s Krishi Karman Awards for Progressive Farmers and Commendation Awards to the states in Tumkur, Karnataka.
- He also released the 3rd installment of PM Kisan (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) of Rs 2000 for the period December 2019 – March 2020.
- This will benefit approximately 6 crore beneficiaries and distributed Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to select farmers of Karnataka.
‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-KISAN) Yojana
- The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan)is a cash transfer programme for farmers.
- PM KISAN is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from Government of India.
- It has become operational from 1December, 2018.
- Under the scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year in three equal instalmentswill be provided to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding/ownership of upto 2 hectares.
- Definition of family for the scheme is husband, wife and minor children.
- State Goverment and UT Administration will identify the farmer families which are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines.
- The fund will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
- There are various Exclusion Categories for the scheme.
Extended PM-Kisan scheme
- PM-KISAN Scheme extension to include all eligible farmer families irrespective of the size of land holdings.
- It extends the benefit of Rs 6,000 per year under the PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers in the country.
- The revised Scheme is expected to cover around 2 crore more farmers.
- It increases the coverage of PM-KISAN to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries, with an estimated expenditure by Central Government of Rs. 87,217.50 crores for year 2019-20.
Significance
- Around 12 crore small and marginal farmer families are expected to benefit from this.
- It would not only provide assured supplemental income to the most vulnerable farmer families, but would also meet their emergent needs especially before the harvest season.
- It would pave the way for the farmers to earn and live a respectable living.
Concerns about the Scheme
- PM-Kisan yojana completely disregards landless tenants and poor rural households that do not own land.
- The amount transferred under the scheme accounts only a tenth of the production cost per hectare or consumption expenditure for a poor household.
- The support is largely symbolic and not sustentative.
- The cash transfer is not linked to the size of the farmer’s landholding.
- There has been a huge delay in disbursements.
- PM-Kisan provides for a timely intervention to support the farmer’s needs.
- But this must not become the excuse for withholding the large structural reforms in agriculture the country is in dire need of, both in interests of farmers and consumers.
General Studies-III
Topic– Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Gaganyaan mission
Context
The process of Astronaut selection for the Gaganyaan mission is completed.
About
- The process of Astronaut selection for the Gaganyaan mission is completed.
- ISRO aims to launch its maiden Human Space Mission, Gaganyaan.
- Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon, comprising a lander and a rover is approved by the Government.
First Human Space Mission
- ISRO aims to launch its maiden Human Space Mission, Gaganyaan before the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022.
- The design and configuration of major subsystem for Gaganyaan are finalized.
- The crew selection and training process for Gaganyaan mission is progressing well including the training in Russia under Gaganyaan Mission.
- The Gaganyaan programme is an indigenous mission that would take Indian astronauts to space.
- It is intended to send astronauts to space for a minimum of seven days by 2022, as part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.
- ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV Mk III, the three-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.
Mission’s objectives
- Rekindle public imagination and get the young generation interested in space in particular and science in general.
- A national project involving several institutes, academia and industry and Improvement of industrial growth.
- Inspiring youth and Development of technology for social benefits
Significance of a Manned Space Mission
- The programme is expected to spur research and development within the country in niche science and technology domains.
- Huge potential for technology spinoffs in areas such as medicine, agriculture, industrial safety, pollution, waste management, water and food resource management etc.
- Human spaceflight programme will provide a unique micro-gravity platform in space for conducting experiments and test bed for future technologies.
- The programme is expected to give impetus to economic activities within the country in terms of employment generation, human resource development and enhanced industrial capabilities.
- Human Spaceflight capability will enable India to participate as collaborating partner in future global space exploration initiatives with long term national benefits.
- Gaganyaan Mission will ensure a seat at the high table of global governance of outer space.
- After the launch of Gaganyaan mission, it will be the fourth nation to do so after the United States, Russia and China.
- The Gaganyaan will not only bring about prestige to the nation but also establish India’s role as a key player in the space industry.
GSLV Mk III
- GSLV Mk III, the three-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle, is the ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
- GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- The powerful cryogenic stage of GSLV Mk III enables it to place heavy payloads into LEO’s of 600 km altitude.
- The launcher uses two S200 solid rocket boosters to provide the huge amount of thrust required for lift off.
General Studies-III
Topic- Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country.
Zero Budget Natural Farming
Context
Pilot study on Zero Budget Natural Farming initiated at 4 locations
About
- Government has been promoting organic farming under the dedicated scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
- It encourages all kinds of chemical free farming systems including Zero budget Natural Farming.
- ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research has initiated a study on Evaluation of Zero Budget Natural Farming practices in Basmati/ coarse rice-wheat system from Rabi Season 2017 at 4 locations namely Modipuram, Pantnagar, Ludhiyana, Kurukshetra .
Zero Budget Natural Farming in India
- Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a set of farming methods.
- It is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices.
- It is a unique model that relies on Agro-ecology.
- It is also a grassroots peasant movement, which has spread to various states in India.
- It has attained wide success in southern India, especially the southern Indian state of Karnataka where it first evolved.
- It was originally promoted by agriculturist Subhash Palekar, who developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution’s methods that are driven by chemical fertilizers and pesticides and intensive irrigation.
- It aims – to bring down the cost of production to nearly zero and return to a pre-green revolution style of farming.
Four key Pillars of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)
The “four Pillars” of ZBNF are ‘Jiwamrita’, ‘Bijamrita’, ‘Mulching’ and ‘Waaphasa’.
Jiwamrita
- It is a fermented mixture of cow dung and urine (of desi breeds), jaggery, pulses flour, water and soil from the farm bund.
- This isn’t a fertiliser, but just a source of some 500 crore micro-organisms that can convert all the necessary “non-available” nutrients into “available” form.
Bijamrita
- It is a mix of desi cow dung and urine, water, bund soil and lime that is used as a seed treatment solution prior to sowing.
Mulching
- Covering the plants with a layer of dried straw or fallen leaves, is meant to conserve soil moisture and keep the temperature around the roots at 25-32 degrees Celsius, which allows the microorganisms to do their job.
Waaphasa
- Providing water to maintain the required moisture-air balance, also achieves the same objective.
Benefits of ZBNF
- The ZBNF method promotes soil aeration, minimal watering, intercropping, bunds and topsoil mulching and discourages intensive irrigation and deep ploughing.
- In ZBNF there is the need to spend money or take loans for external inputs, the cost of production could be reduced and farming made into a “zero budget” exercise.
- This would break the debt cycle for many small farmers and help to envisage the doubling of farmer’s income by 2022.
- At a time when chemical-intensive farming is resulting in soil and environmental degradation, a zero-cost environmentally-friendly farming method is definitely a timely initiative.
- Profits in most areas under ZBNF were from higher yield and lower inputs.
- Model ZBNF farms were able to withstand drought and flooding.
- Planting multiple crops and border crops on same field provides varied income and nutrient sources.
- It suits all crops in all agro-climatic zones.
For Prelims
Indian Science Congress
Highlights
- ‘107th Indian Science Congress’ is being held at University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru.
- The Theme -of the India Science Congress (ISC) this year is:
“Science and Technology: Rural Development”.
- More than 15,000 participants, including Nobel Laureates, Scientists, intellectuals, academicians, police makers, researchers, students and delegates from different institutions are expected to participate in the event.
Sangita Kalanidhi award
Highlights
- Sowmya has been conferred with Sangita Kalanidhi Award.
- Sangita Kalanidhi Award was instituted by the Music Academy, Chennai.
- It is the title awarded yearly to a Carnatic Musician
