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Daily PIB/ 08 March
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; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
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Cultivation and processing of aromatic plants
Context:
Cultivation and processing of aromatic plants doubles incomes of farmers in Himachal.
- Farmers in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, keen for new livelihood options to supplement their income from traditional crops like maize, paddy, and wheat, have found a new lease of life.
- Cultivation of aromatic plants has given them additional income.
- They have extracted essential oil from the improved variety of wild marigold (Tagetes minuta) that has been introduced, and the profit from wild marigold oil has doubled the income of farmers as compared to traditional maize, wheat and paddy crops.
Mud Hive Technology:
In another initiative, farmers have improved pollination by adopting mud hive beekeeping technology which has enhanced apple production resulting in an increase in the income of apple growers 1.25 times.
- Mud Hive Technology is a combination of wall hive & wooden hive technology, with a habitat like wall hive.
- It has inbuilt provision for putting frames inside the mud hive and more favorable conditions, especially temperature for bees throughout the year as compared to wooden hives.
What are the Aromatic Plants?
Aromatic plants are often used as natural medicines because of their remedial and inherent pharmacological properties.
- Looking into natural resources, particularly products of plant origin, has become an exciting area of research in drug discovery and development.
- Aromatic plants are mainly exploited for essential oil extraction for applications in industries, for example, in cosmetics, flavoring and fragrance, spices, pesticides, repellents and herbal beverages.
- Aromatic compounds are present in root, wood, bark, foliage, flower, fruit, seed etc of these plants.
General Studies- II
Topic-.India and its neighborhood- relations
India Science Research Fellowship (ISRF)
Context:
Applications are invited from researchers who are actively involved in research activities and holding permanent positions in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand to visit India under the India Science and Research Fellowship (ISRF) Programme to pursue research in frontier/ advanced areas of science including Medicine and Agriculture for a period of 3 – 6 months.
- The programme is funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi
- Forty scholars from six countries were awarded, last year, with the opportunity to carry out their research in Indian Institutes and Universities using state of the art facilities in these places.
What is the ISRF Programme?
It is a part of India’s initiatives to engage with neighbouring countries to develop S&T partnerships launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
- The ISRF Programme include researchers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand to work in Indian Universities and Research Institutions.
- It has been implemented since 2015, and as of now, 5 calls have been announced in this programme with participation of young researchers from these countries.
- About 128 fellows from these countries have been awarded fellowship under this programme
Significance:
This fellowship is a platform to establish research cooperation with neighbouring countries of India, which is one of the mandates of DST’s International Science and Technology Cooperation.
ISRF programme has provided an opportunity to the young researchers from neighbouring countries to get access to the state of art facilities available in the Indian institutes/universities.
General Studies- II
Topic- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Seaplane projects
Context:
Minister of State for Shipping (I/C), reviewed the seaplane projects on Indian water bodies.
What is a Seaplane project?
A seaplane, unlike a conventional aircraft, can land both on a waterbody and on land. Seaplane helps to increase connectivity without building highways and runways.
- India, having large number of natural water bodies, provides ideal opportunity for seaplane operations.
What is the Water Aerodrome?
A water aerodrome is an area of open water that can be used by seaplanes as well as amphibious aircraft to land and take off.
- Moreover, depending on the volume of traffic, water aerodrome may have a terminal building on the shore or on a jetty where planes can dock, and bays where they can be parked.
- The water dromes are present in some island nations, especially in the richer ones like the British Virgin Islands.
- Also, there are few in Canada, including Yellowknife on the Great Slave Lake, Tofino on Vancouver Island and Whitehorse on Schwatka Lake.
Seaplane projects in India
The first attempt for seaplane operations was taken by Manmohan Singh government in 2010.
- The Airport Authority of India is working on seven locations in the three States of Gujarat, Assam and Odisha to locate positions for seaplane operations.
- Till now, 16 seaplane routes have been identified under Regional Connectivity Routes under UDAN scheme.
- Seaplane projects will provide faster and hassle-free travel option for the long, treacherous and hilly regions of the country.
Challenges in Seaplane Operations
- A proper and comprehensive regulation for seaplane operations is lacked.
- High duties levied on the import of aircraft could hamper the implementation especially in the nascent stage.
- There are apprehensions regarding the adverse environmental impacts that may arise due to seaplane operations.
- Seaplane operations, may cause disturbance to natural habitation of water bodies, such as in Chilka lake, a ramsar site and home to many migrated birds.
- Kerala government withdrew its permission for seaplane operations due to fishermen apprehensions that it affects their livelihood.
What is Ro-Pax service?
- ROPAX (roll on/roll off passengers) service is a water transport service project under Eastern Waterfront Development.
- Ro-Pax ferry service will reduce travel time, logistics cost and lower environmental footprint.
- It will create new avenues for jobs & enterprises and give a boost to tourism in the region.
Ro-Pax terminal
- The Ro-Pax Terminal being inaugurated at Hazira is of 100 meters length and 40 meters width.
- The terminal has wide ranging facilities including administrative office building, parking area, substation and water tower etc.
Ro-Pax Ferry Vessel
- The Ro-Pax Ferry Vessel ‘Voyage Symphony’ is a three decks vessel with DWT 2500-2700 MT, with displacement of 12000 to 15000 GT.
- It has a load capacity of 30 trucks (of 50 MT each) on the main deck, 100 passengers cars on the upper deck and 500 passengers plus 34 crew & hospitality staff on the passenger deck.
Benefits:
- There will be several wide-ranging benefits of the Hazira-Ghogha Ro-Pax ferry service.
- It will work as a Gateway to South Gujarat and Saurashtra region.
- It will reduce the distance between Ghogha and Hazira from 370 Km to 90 Km.
- The reduced cargo travel time from 10 to 12 hours to about 4 hours will result in huge savings of fuel and lower the maintenance cost of vehicles drastically.
About Eastern Waterfront Development
The Eastern Waterfront is a plan of Mumbai Port Trust’s (MbPT’s) to develop the port lands across Mumbai’s eastern coast stretching from Sassoon Dock to Wadala.
- MbPT is an autonomous Body of the Government of India under the Ministry of Shipping.
- The project focus on a water transport by making a provision for water taxis, international and domestic cruises and ro-pax services.
Chrome facts for Prelims
Maitri Setu
The bridge ‘Maitri Setu’ has been built over Feni river which flows between Indian boundary in Tripura State and Bangladesh.
- The name ‘Maitri Setu’ symbolizes growing bilateral relations and friendly ties between India and Bangladesh.
- The 1.9 Km long bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
- With this inauguration, Tripura is set to become the ‘Gateway of North East’ with access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh, which is just 80 Kms from Sabroom.
- It is poised to herald a new chapter for trade and people to people movement between India and Bangladesh.
Singorgarh Fort
The conservation works of Singorgarh Fort in Singrampur village of Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh has reached in its last phase.
It is a hill-fort of Garha Kingdom, spread over the hills of a forested area.
- It was a magnificent fort and a residence of Rajgond rulers of Central India who spent part of each year there.
- The fort was attacked in June, 1564 during the last war of the Garha Kingdom dynasty, under the rule of Rani Durgavati.
- Before coming in hand of Gond rulers, Singorgarh fort was under Chandel rulers in 1308.
- It was Gond ruler Sangram shah who conquered the Singorgarh fort in early period of 16th century.
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