Daily Current Capsules - 04th JULY

2019

Agricultural Reforms

Centre constitutes 'high powered' panel of CMs for 'transformation' of Indian agriculture

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the high powered panel of CM ) + Mains ( GS

III agricultural reforms)

What’s the NEWS

Prime minister Narendra Modi has constituted a high powered committee

of chief ministers to be convened by Maharashtra chief minister

Devendra Fadnavis for transforming Indian agriculture and raising

farmers’ income.

In the meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister

has set up a High Powered Committee of Chief Ministers for

‘Transformation of Indian Agriculture.

Know! more about the high powered panel and its objective

The terms of reference (ToR) of the committee include suggesting

modalities for adoption and time bound implementation of reforms such

as Agriculture Produce and Livestock, Contract Farming and Services

(Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018’; changes in the Essential

Commodity Act, 1955 to attract private investments in agricultural

marketing and infrastructure.

The committee has also been asked to suggest mechanism for linking of

market reforms with e-NAM, GRAM and other relevant Centrally

Sponsored Schemes; and ways to upgrade agri-technology to global

standards and improve access of farmers to quality seed, plant

propagation material and farm machinery in agriculturally advance

countries.

Policy measures to boost agricultural export, raise growth in food

processing and attract investments in modern market infrastructure, value

chains and logistics are also part of the ToR of the committee.

The committee which has been asked to submit its report within two

months is also free to propose any other relevant reforms.

The other members of the committee include H.D. Kumaraswamy, Chief

Minister, Karnataka; Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister, Haryana;

Pema Khandu, Chief Minster, Arunachal Pradesh; Vijay Rupani, Chief

Minster, Gujarat; Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh; Kamal

Nath, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh; Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister,

Agriculture

Prelims Factoids

App to track your carbon footprint to be launched

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the app and about steps taken by the

government to mitigate the menace of climate)

What’s the NEWS

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the State government

will now track citizens’ carbon footprint through an app and reward those

who achieve an emission neutral status.

Know! more about the app and its working

It will be floated next month with an aim to reduce pollution and carbon

emission in Maharashtra.

The State Forest Department is developing the app, which will be able to

count the everyday carbon emission of a citizens and suggest measures to

reduce it depending on the count

The citizens would be awarded a certificate and tax rebate once they

achieve a neutral status.

The idea of the app was initiated after Prime Minister Narendra Modi

promised international organisations to bring India’s pollution levels to

2005 levels by 2030.

The PM had also announced India’s aim to generate 175 GW (gigawatt)

of renewable energy by 2022, of which 100 GW is to be solar

The PM has kick-started several other schemes to reduce pollution by

planting trees and improving ground water levels.

The footprints of an individual, as per the app, will include his use of

electricity, air conditioning, kitchen activities among others.

India has, as part of the Paris Summit, promised to reduce green house

gas emission by 20% to 25%.

Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Creation of PAN-India market for Farm Produce

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about e-NAM) + Mains ( GS III farmer’s welfare )

What’s the NEWS

The Government has launched National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)

Scheme on 14th April, 2016 with the objective of creating online

transparent competitive bidding system to facilitate farmers with

remunerative prices for their produce.

So far, 585 wholesale regulated markets of 16 States and 02 Union

Territories (UTs) have been integrated with e-NAM platform.

Know! about e-NAM

Government is promoting inter-state trade and inter mandi trade through

e-NAM platform.

States have been advised to strengthen quality assaying facilities in e-

NAM mandis for proper quality testing of commodities, e-trading, online

payment facility.

Mobile application has been enhanced for ease of transaction and e-

trading. Close monitoring of the progress through meeting at various

levels and visits of the officers to e-NAM mandis is carried out.

The Central Government is providing free software and assistance for

related hardware including quality assaying equipments and creation of

infrastructure like cleaning, grading, sorting, packaging and compost unit

etc.

Under the scheme, various training & awareness programmes are

conducted for farmers, traders and other stakeholders for successful

implementation of e-NAM.

National Food Security Act

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the provisions of NFSA) + Mains ( GS II

welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the centre and

state + government policies and interventions)

Know! all about National Food Security Act

Government of India enacted National Food Security Act (NFSA) in

July, 2013 which gives legal entitlement to 67% of the population (75%

in rural areas and 50% in urban areas) to receive highly subsidized

foodgrains.

Under the Act, foodgrain is allocated @ 5 kg per person per month for

priority households category and @ 35 kg per family per month for

AAY families at a highly subsidized prices of Rs. 1/-, Rs. 2/- and Rs.

3/- per kg for nutri-cereals, wheat and rice respectively.

Coverage under the Act is based on the population figures of Census,

2011. The Act is now being implemented in all 36 States/UTs and

covers about 81.35 crore persons.

The annual allocation of foodgrain under National Food Security Act

and Other Welfare Schemes is about 610 Lakh Metric Tons.

The NFSA is being universally implemented in the country. There is no

identified category of BPL under the NFSA.

However, the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries are clearly

identified. As such, the Government of India has reviewed the Sugar

Subsidy Scheme and decided to continue it for AAY families with

effect from June, 2017.

The Central Government is reimbursing a fixed subsidy of Rs. 18.50

per kg @ 1 Kg per month per AAY families to participating

States/UTs”.

In order to liquidate the excess stock of foodgrain in the Central Pool,

Government of India avails the available options of disposal of the

excess stock of foodgrain through Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS)

and Export on Government-to-Government basis, as export from public

stockholding is not compliant to WTO norms.”

Infrastructure Development

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the national mobility mission and about FAME I

and FAME II ) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development – energy

security/conservation)

What’s the NEWS

The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 is a National

Mission document providing the vision and the roadmap for the faster

adoption of electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country.

Know! about NEMMP

This plan has been designed to enhance national fuel security, to provide

affordable and environmentally friendly transportation and to enable the

Indian automotive industry to achieve global manufacturing leadership.

As part of the NEMMP 2020, Department of Heavy Industry formulated a

Scheme viz. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric

Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme in the year 2015 to promote

manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology and to ensure

sustainable growth of the same.

Know! about the phase -I of FAME Scheme

The Phase-I of the FAME India Scheme was initially launched for a period

of 2 years, commencing from 1st April 2015, which was subsequently

extended from time to time and the last extension was allowed up to

31st March 2019.

The 1st Phase of FAME India Scheme was implemented through four focus

areas namely (i) Demand Creation, (ii) Technology Platform, (iii) Pilot

Project and (iv) Charging Infrastructure.

In this phase, market creation through demand incentives was aimed at

incentivizing all vehicle segments i.e. 2-Wheelers, 3-Wheelers Auto,

Passenger 4-Wheeler vehicles, Light Commercial Vehicles and Buses.

The demand incentive was available to buyers of xEV in the form of an

upfront reduced purchase price to enable wider adoption

Know! about phase – II of the FAME Scheme

The Cabinet notified the Phase-II of FAME India Scheme on 8th March

2019, which is for a period of three years commencing from 1st April 2019

with a total budgetary support of Rs. 10,000 crore.

This phase will mainly focus on supporting electrification of public &

shared transportation, and aims to support through subsidies 7000 e-Buses, 5

lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars and 10 lakh e-2

Wheelers.

With greater emphasis on providing affordable and environment friendly

public transportation options for the masses, the scheme will be applicable

mainly to vehicles used for public transport or those registered for

commercial purposes in e-3W, e-4W and e-bus segments.

However, privately owned registerede-2W will also be covered under the

scheme as a mass segment.

In addition, creation of charging infrastructure will be supported in selected

cities and along major highways to address range anxiety among users of

electric vehicles.

Internal Security

Modernization of Police Forces Relevance IN – Mains ( GS III internal security)

What’s the NEWS

The Government of India has approved implementation of the umbrella

scheme of “Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF)”.

The umbrella scheme has two verticals – Security Related Expenditure

(SRE) of specific theatres & Modernisation of Police Forces. Salient

features of the Modernisation of Police Forces vertical are given below:

Central assistance is provided to the State Governments for weapons,

equipment for Forensics, Information Technology, Communication,

Training, etc.

The scheme is focused on facilitating targeted interventions and

‘mobility’ and ‘construction of police infrastructure including housing’ is

now permitted in case of Jammu & Kashmir, insurgency affected North

Eastern (NE) States and Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected Districts.

Three Himalayan States, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh and 8 North Eastern States including Sikkim are

eligible to receive financial assistance on 90:10 Centre:State sharing

basis. The remaining States are eligible for financial assistance on 60:40

Centre: State sharing basis.

State Action Plans (SAPs) of 25 States for the financial year 2019-20 under

the sub-scheme of Assistance to States for Modernisation of Police have

been approved by High Powered Committee

Infrastructure Development

Fifteen destinations have been identified by the Government for development of tourism under the Ramayana Circuit

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the Swadesh Darsan Scheme and its benefits) +

GS II government policies and interventions + GS III economic development +

infrastructure development)

What’s the NEWS

Ramayana Circuit is one of the fifteen thematic circuits identified for

development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism.

The Ministry has initially identified fifteen destinations including

Sitamarhi, Bihar for development under the Ramayana Circuit theme

namely Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar

Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya

Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Nashik &

Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka)

and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu).

Know! all about 13 Thematic Circuits Under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of

India

The Modi Government had launched Swadesh Darshan Scheme to

promote international and domestic tourism across the country.

There are 13 tourism circuits have been identified so far and few

proposed tourist circuit by Walk Through India such as Shiva Temple

Circuit, Jain Temple circuit,Gurdwara circuit, Adventure tourism circuit

and Cruise tourism.

1. North East India Circuit

The North East Region of India is paradise unexplored and blessed with

magical waterfalls,stunning natural beauty and challenging rivers. Its

serene natural environments,unique culture, flora and fauna offers visitors

a rare feast for the eyes and soul.

2. Buddhist Circuit

India is an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination where he Lord

Buddha grew up and attained enlightenment. To attract more tourist, The

Ministry of Tourism has identified Buddhist Circuit.

7 Places of Buddha’s Life

Kapilavastu, Uttar Pradesh

Bodh Gaya, Bihar

Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh

Rajgir, Bihar

Sravasti, Uttar Pradesh

Vaishali, Bihar

Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh

There are more Buddhist pilgrimage destination in India such as

Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur,Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh, Buddhist

Monasteries in Bylakuppe,Buddhist monastery in Sikkim,Buddhist

monastery in Ladakh.

3. Himalayan Circuit

The Himalayan region of India is home to three major rivers of the world,

Indus,the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. There are natural world heritage

sites in Himalaya and has innumerable beautiful tourist sites.

4. Coastal Circuit

India is known for its beautiful coast line, sea beaches and land of sun,

sea,surf and sand. Coastal circuit is one of the niche tourism product and

will have focus on creation of world class facilities with the objective of

conversation of native natural flora and fauna.

5. Krishna Circuit

The religious tourism product has been spread all over the world,

especially Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna. The development of Lord

Krishna circuit is aimed to bridge the gaps in various places and connect

major temples of Lord Krishna.

6. Desert Circuit

India is a country known for its rich biodiversity and geographical

boundaries that separate different regions of the Earth. Desert is the most

important physical feature of the country and an important tourist

attractions of India.

7. Tribal Circuit

From the lesser known tribes of North East region to the splendid Odisha

and fascinating Chhattisgarh to Jharkhand, The tribal population of India

has so far manage to preserve their rituals, festivals, customs and culture.

Under the Tribal Circuit tribal areas will aim to develop and promote.

8. Eco Circuit

Eco Tourism also known as ecological tourism is a travel to pristine and

protected areas. The Eco circuit will benefit the local communities as well

as people to enjoy and learn more about the natural characteristics.

9. Rural Circuit

India lives in its villages and to peep into India’s heart and soul, one has

to experience its village life. Indian villages are blessed with natural

beauty, charming climate and a very simple way of life. The Rural circuit

will provide a unique experience to travelers visiting the country and will

have a chance to explore lesser known destinations of India.

10. Spiritual Circuit

Spirituality is one of the prime tourist attractions of the country and India

attracts a large number of spiritual visitors. Temples, Yoga and Mediation

are combined with a sense to achieve the essence of Spirituality.

11. Ramayana Circuit

The Ramayana is not just an epic, it is a living and breathing story of

India. The development of Ramayana Circuit is aimed to connect place

associated with Lord Rama across the country and improve the tourist

facilities of temples.

12. Heritage Circuit

India is often referred to as a living museum, blessed with a rich history,

vibrant heritage and culture. There are 3685 national monuments, ancient

sties,cultural and natural places inscribed on world heritage list of

UNESCO.

13. Wildlife Circuit

India house a large number of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to

preserve wildlife in its natural form. The incredible range of wildlife in

India offers an ideal location for wildlife tourism.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL IAS