PIB Summary- 4th February, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF)

Context: MIF is proposed to be doubled by augmenting it by another Rs.5,000 crores.

Micro Irrigation Fund Details – ‘Per Drop More Crop’

Approval was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister for setting up of a dedicated ‘Micro Irrigation Fund’ (MIF) with NABARD under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with an initial corpus of Rs 5,000 crore.

• By supplementing the efforts of PMKSY programme, the dedicated micro-irrigation fund would help in bringing about 10 lakh hectares under micro-irrigation.
• The fund will facilitate States to mobilize resources for their initiatives, including additional (top up subsidy) in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) to achieve the annual target of about 2 million hectares per year during the remaining period of 14th Finance Commission.
• The government estimates the area that can come under micro irrigation at 69.5 million hectares, compared with the current coverage of only about 10 million hectares.
• The states can access this fund for incentivizing micro-irrigation, innovative integrated projects, including projects in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
• The funds can be accessed by State Level Agencies/ Farmers Producers Organization (FPO)/ Cooperatives with a state government guarantee or any equivalent collateral.
• The fund may be accessed by the Farmers Co-operatives for innovative cluster based community irrigation projects.
• Under the programme, NABARD will extend loans to state governments during this period. The loans can be paid back in 7 years, including a grace period of two years.

National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)

Context: The government announced in the budget 2021-22 that the e-NAM is being expanded to integrate 1000 more mandis.

e-NAM

• National Agriculture Market popularly known as e-NAM was an innovative initiative in agricultural marketing to enhance farmer’s accessibility digitally to multiple numbers of markets & buyers and to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery mechanism, quality commensurate price realization and also to develop the concept of “One Nation One Market” for agriculture produce.

What is e-NAM?

• e-NAM or the e-trading platform (online trading portal) for the National Agriculture Market (NAM) was launched by the Prime Minister of India, on April 2016.
• e – National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal that nets the prevailing Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) Mandis for making a united national market for agricultural commodities.
• The e-NAM project would operate via the online portal that is linked to the states’ Mandis (Wholesale markets). All the participating states will be providing the software (Website and Mobile Application) for e-NAM at no cost.

Recent Development related to e-NAM

• With the integration of 38 new Mandis with e-NAM, the Indian Government fulfiled the target of integrating 415 Mandis in phase 2 of e-Nam
  • 19 Mandis are from Madhya Pradesh
  • 10 Mandis are from Telangana
  • Four Mandis are from Maharashtra
  • One Mandi is from Gujarat
  • One Mandi is from Punjab
  • One Mandi is from Haryana
  • One Mandi is from Kerala
  • One Mandi is from the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir
• In phase 1, 585 mandis were integrated with the e-National Agriculture Market.
• Now, there are a total of 1000 mandids operating under e-NAM.

How Does e-NAM Operate?
A competent person will be appointed for one year in each sharing mandi in order to enable the seamless and smooth operation of the portal.
Some key points related to e-NAM are given below:

• The GOI is offering a grant of Rs.30 lakhs to the participating agriculture mandis.
• Farmers under this scheme will be given ‘farmer helpline services’ 24×7 to help them obtain information about the portal.
• Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead promoter of National Agricultural Market (eNAM). SFAC is formulated under the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW). SFAC through open tender selects a Partner to develop, operate, and maintain the NAM e-platform.
  National Agricultural Market

e-NAM & Its Role in the Agriculture Industry
The farmers can benefit if they were to find ways for aggregating produce on their own, bypassing the Arhatiya (business representative) and even the local mandi (Marketplace) in the process.

e-NAM & Its Constituents
e-NAM comprises of commodity onsets and prices, buy and sell trade offers, facility to respond to trade offers, among other services.
The focus areas, with regards to the implementation of e – National Agriculture Market, are given in the table below:

In conclusion, we can say that this will turn out beneficial to the farmers when they’re receiving a higher price than before on their produce. The intermediaries that are responsible for the claiming charges that result in higher market prices can be put to trial. Larger retail stores can benefit from this and will be attracted to this due to higher profit margins since no intermediaries will be involved. When the local market prices are high, the state government has been seen blocking supplies in order to create an imbalance in Demand and Supply; hence it is critical to ensure that the software being used doesn’t have any loopholes.

What is the Agriculture Produce Market Committee?
APMC is the state governments’ driven market board that notifies the agriculture livestock and produces. It aims to limit the distress caused by the intermediaries in the lives of farmers.

Prime Minister’s ‘Five S’ vision to tackle global challenges

Context: Raksha Mantri’s keynote address at IOR Defence Ministers’ Conclave stresses on Prime Minister’s ‘Five S’ vision to tackle global challenges.

What is the ‘Five S’ Vision?

• PM Modi’s ‘Five S’ Vision to tackle global challenges stands for:
• Samman (respect)
• Samvaad (dialogue)
• Sahyog (cooperation)
• Shanti (peace)
• Samriddhi (prosperity)

KAPILA

Context: The government has launched a campaign namely Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness Campaign (KAPILA) for Intellectual Property Literacy and creating patent awareness.

About KAPILA

• KAPILA was launched in October 2020.
• Scheme objectives:
  • Creating awareness regarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
  • Enabling of IP protection of inventions originating from faculty and students of HEIs
  • Development of Credit Course on IPR
  • Training program on IPR for faculty and students of HEIs
  • Sensitization and development of vibrant IP filing system

KAPILA Kalam Campaign

• KAPILA is an acronym for Kalam Program for IP (Intellectual Property) Literacy and Awareness.
• The KAPILA programme was launched virtually on 15th October 2020 by the Union Education Ministers, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.
• Through the KAPILA Kalam Program, Government of India will spread the awareness and importance of patenting and inventions
• Under this campaign, students pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of the application process for patenting their invention and they will be aware of their rights.
• The program will facilitate the colleges and institutions to encourage more and more students to file patents.
• To promote awareness in the field, the Ministry celebrated the week from 15th October to 23rd October as ‘Intellectual Property Literacy Week’.

Aim of KAPILA Kalam Programme

• Through the KAPILA Kalam Programme, the government will spread awareness with the help of educational programs about the importance of patenting an invention, to lead India towards self-reliance.
• It aims to tap the resources in the field of Intellectual Property to come ahead with their inventions and blend it towards Patents. 

Power Sector Reforms

Context: Andhra Pradesh becomes the 2nd state to undertake Power Sector reforms.

Details

• Andhra Pradesh has become the second state to undertake the power sector reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
• As part of the reforms, the state has started Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of electricity subsidy to farmers with effect from September 2020.
• Thus, the state has successfully implemented one out of the three stipulated reforms in the power sector.
• Due to the successful implementation of the reform, the Dept. of Expenditure has given permission to the state to raise additional borrowing of Rs. 1,515 crore.
• Andhra Pradesh is the second state to undertake power sector reforms after Madhya Pradesh.

Significance

• Power Sector reforms stipulated by the Ministry of Finance aim at creating a transparent and hassle free provision of power subsidy to farmers and prevent leakages.
• They also aim at improving the health of power distribution companies by alleviating their liquidity stress in a sustainable manner.
• As per the guidelines, the states undertaking reforms in power sector are granted permission to raise additional financial resources of up to 0.25 percent of the GSDP.
• This is linked to a set of 3 reforms in the sector:
  • 05 % of GSDP for reduction in Aggregate Technical & Commercial losses in the state as per prescribed targets.
  • Another 0.05 % of GSDP is allowed for reduction in the gap between Average Cost of Supply and Average Revenue Realisation (ACS-ARR gap) in the state as per prescribed targets.
  • Finally, 0.15 % of GSDP of the state on introduction of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to all farmers in the state in lieu of free/subsidised electricity. For this, the state government has to frame a scheme for transfer of cash and implement the scheme in at least one district by 31st December 2020.
    • Andhra Pradesh has implemented the scheme from Sep 2020 in Srikakulam District and plans to roll out in the entire state from April 2021.

Background

• To meet the challenges posed by the pandemic, GOI had enhanced the borrowing limit of the states by 2 percent of their GSDP.
• Half of this special dispensation was linked to undertaking citizen centric reforms by the states.
• The four citizen centric areas for reforms identified were:
  • Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System (done by 12 states)
  • Ease of doing business reform (done by 11 states)
  • Urban Local body/utility reforms (done by 5 states)
  • Power sector reforms (done by 2 states)

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

Initiatives taken by the MoHUA

• MoHUA entered into MoU with Zomato to onboard street food vendors on its food-tech platform. This will give street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help these vendors grow their businesses.
  • In October 2020, MoHUA had entered into a similar agreement with another online platform for food ordering and delivery, Swiggy.
• MoHUA launched the Mobile Application for PM SVANidhi se Samriddhi.
  • This mobile application will assist city officials to conduct door to door data collection for socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families.
  • This will be done in 125 select cities as an additional component of PM SVANidhi.
  • The application will enable ULB field functionaries to conduct the socio-economic profiling activity even without any internet connection.
  • Quality Council of India, the implementing partner for this program, partnered with MoHUA to develop this mobile application.
  • The program aims to map the socio-economic profile of the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families, assess their potential eligibility for various central welfare schemes and facilitate the linkages to these schemes, for their holistic development and socio-economic upliftment.

National Safety Council (NSC)

Context: The Ministry of Labour & Employment has appointed Shri S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and Managing Director, L&T Ltd, as the Chairman of the National Safety Council for a period of three years.

National Safety Council

• National Safety Council (NSC) was set up by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India (GOI) in 1966 to generate, develop and sustain a voluntary movement on Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) at the national level.
• It is an apex not-for-profit tripartite body, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950.
• Among its activities include organising and conducting specialised training programmes/courses, conferences, seminars & workshops; conducting consultancy studies such as safety audits, safety ratings, hazard evaluation & risk assessment; designing and developing HSE promotional materials & publications; facilitating organisations in celebrating/observing various campaigns such as the National Safety Day/Week, Fire Service Week, World Environment Day and Road Safety Week.
• It is situated in Navi Mumbai.
• Its Board of Governors comprise members from the government, employers organisations and trade union organisations.
• The chairperson of the NSC is nominated by the government and is generally an eminent industrialist.

Monpa Handmade Paper

Context: People patronize Monpa Handmade Paper of Tawang after PM’s push in Mann ki Baat.

Monpa Handmade Paper

• These are handcrafted by artisans from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Monpa Handmade paper is made from the bark of tree Shugu Sheng grown locally in Tawang and is identified by its distinctive translucent fibrous texture.
• The paper is weightless but its natural fibres add great tensile strength to this paper making it apt for various art works.
• Monpa handmade paper has been used for writing Buddhist scriptures, manuscripts and for making prayer flags.
• Writing on this paper is also known to be tamper-proof.
• The paper was once produced in every household in Tawang and was exported to many countries like Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar and Japan among others.
• However, with the new technologies coming in, the handmade paper industry almost disappeared in the last 100 years.

National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)

About the NHDP

• It is a central sector scheme to support weavers both within and outside the cooperative fold including Self Help Groups, NGOs, etc.
• It follows a need-based approach for integrated and holistic development of handlooms and welfare of handloom weavers.
• It supports weavers in getting raw materials, design inputs, technology up-gradation, marketing , support through exhibitions, create permanent infrastructure in the form of Urban Haats, marketing complexes, development of web portal for e-marketing of handloom products, etc.
• With this the weavers have been benefited by waivers of overdue loans, availing loans at concessional rates, participation in exhibitions/fairs/craft melas for marketing handloom products, upgradation of looms and training to improve their earnings.
• The chief components of the scheme include:
  • Block level cluster projects
  • Handloom marketing assistance
  • Concessional credit
  • Handloom census (data regarding handloom weavers, number of handlooms, number of handlooms engaged in commercial and domestic use, etc.)
• Some of the other components include handloom parks, research and development, publicity, training, etc.

Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram (RYSK)

About RYSK

• The Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and has been continuing since the 12th Five Year Plan.
• The Scheme aims to develop the personality and leadership qualities of the youth and to engage them in nation building activities.
• The Scheme beneficiaries are youth in the age-group of 15-29 years. In case of programme components specifically meant for adolescents, the age group is 10-19 years.
• It is an umbrella scheme comprising the following sub-schemes:
  • Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (launched in 1972, it is one of the largest youth organisations in the world)
  • National Youth Corps
  • National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development
  • International Cooperation
  • Youth Hostels
  • Assistance to Scouting and Guiding Organisations
  • National Young Leaders Programme