THE YOUTH OPPORTUNITY
BETWEEN THE NECESSITY THERE LIES THE OPPORTUNITY
Tag: Programmes & Schemes
Groundwater crisis in India
Ever since the Green Revolution, farmers’ dependence on intensive inputs like water and fertilizers has resulted in the serious depletion of the underground water table, in many states across the country.
Farming is becoming increasingly unsustainable in these regions, as the map shows, and there is a heavy need to switch to more sustainable alternatives. However, the reverse has happened. Policymakers have only incentivized more groundwater usage through credit and subsidies for groundwater extraction equipment as well as low electricity tariffs that lead to excessive water usage. This is catastrophic – good for short-term profit, but soon the marginal output of farms will start decreasing and the environment would be beyond recovery.
The choice of crops is also important – being water-abundant, the east is more suited to growing water-intensive crops like sugarcane and paddy. But differences in electricity supply have ensured that such crops have not found a place in their natural habitat. On the other hand, electricity subsidies and tariffs in the south and west India, regions with low water tables, encouraged sugarcane and paddy cultivation, draining these regions of their already low groundwater.
The need of the hour is to switch to surface water irrigation and other sustainable alternatives to groundwater depletion before it’s too late, and to prioritize crop growing according to what is most sustainable. The government must realize that short-term revenue cannot be the altar at which nature is sacrificed, and that it is for the benefit of all parties involved that unsustainable farming practices are discouraged.
NGO – A ray of hope.
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Kisan Rail
The First Kisan Rail introduced by the Ministry of Railways will start from Devlali in Maharastra Nashik at 11 am to Danapur in Bihar’s capital , patna ,on August 7 , 2020.
Narendra singh Tomar , Union Agriculture Minister will launch the country’s first kisan special parcel Train via video conference which was announced in budget 2020.
The train will make stoppage at different stations carrying fruits , vegetables ,etc and it will be not carrying regular passengers . It will have coaches 10 +1.
This train will be going on weekly basis and will reach Danapur at 6.45 pm the next day , after completing the distance of 1519 km in over 31 hours .
The stoppages of this train – Manmad, Naski Road ,Bhusaval ,Jalgaon ,Burhanpur ,Itarsi , khandwa , katni , Jabalpur , Satna , Manikpur ,pt. Deendayal upadhyay Nagar , Prayagraj clhheoki , Buxar.
As per the railway ministry , Nasik and the surrounding region provides a high quality of fruits and vegetables , onions , flowers , other perishables mainly also transported to the region around Allahabad , patna , satna and Katni.
There shall be refrigerated coaches in freight trains and express as well. A cold supply chain to be build for meat , milk and fish for transportation of perishable traffic.
One Nation One Election – Boon or Bane?
Civic Sense
Life is a journey from beginner to a pro. It drives us from a million ways through which we live, learn, seek, embrace and grow. The growth of a human being into a person is what involves the entire journey of a lifetime. For every second a person lives, he grows in a million uncounted, un-felt ways. The greatest mechanism for the transformation of a human being to a person is education. Education is the power that can change the world.
Education is an integral part of human development and there exist an essential need for the same. But as always said, Growth is always multidimensional. Education teachers of person theoretically. There is a need of social recognisation and realisation in people which we call the Civic sense. The sense of responsibility and concern towards being a good human is what constitutes to an important branch of growth. Teaching makes people intelligent but civic sense makes people gentleman. Also, What point is it to have an education system which lacks the basic education?
people lack in having civic sense as they were never taught about the importance regarding the same. In rushing after our ambitions, we often forget that we need to be responsible and sensible about our living too. There are many strategies and steps which could be followed in order to improve the current situation of our generation as lack of civic sense does not only pulls human away from being a complete person but also exploits the environment. Instances like dumping garbage in the middle of high speeding road, leaving over the packages marks how can professional and uncivilized this generation is.
There should be a systemised remedy provided for the same. As qualities like these are developed in the early stages, the schools should have a subject about Moral Education or Values to Uphold to highlight the importance of being a good human being and how to pursue it.
Only if we start it from the initials, we will make it to the finals too. It is high time for the generation to step out and see the ways to turn their imperfection into areas of improvement. Besides, awareness programs should be held, laws should be made for betterment of the same. When the people will come together, the environment, ethics and morals will never have to be compromised.
Education drives human to a person but civic sense a person to the person.
Bullet Train is required in India or not
What is Bullet Train?
The shinkansen high speed trains are colloquially called as bullet train for their apperance and speed. It is generally used to describe a high-speed train of speeds above 250kmph. Its key characteristics is its key exclusive grade seperated tracks which enables high capacity utilization to be achieved while maintaining high service reliability and high safety performance.
India project
The first india bullet train will run in the Mumbai and Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor,whose construction began in 2017. The train will run at speed of 320 kmph and is expected to be completed by 2022.It is 750-seat train.The entire corridor estimated cost is Rs1,08,000 crore .Japan has offered a loan to India. There will be 12 stations on route ,majority of route will be elevated. A part of it will run through a 7 km long undersea tunnel. It will usher a new era of development.
Why Need of this service? Bullet train project is expected to create 4000 direct job opportunities,along with 20000 indirect job and 20000 construction workers will also be employed. set up of stations will come up as will attract urban growth..In the backdrop of increasing concerns over environmental pollution and degradation of fossil fuels ,energy efficient and environment friendly. IT emit Eighth and fifth of carbon dioxide as against automobiles and aeroplanes per passenger km.India is vast country,it requires to travel faster.while air transport can cater to such needs but simply cannot match that of railways. It is important to adopt proven state of the art technologies.It will save time and boast business.
Seems redundant ?
The Mumbai -Ahmedabad train costs around one lakh crore Indian rupees. It may further get increased due to delays and further inflation.
The fare may range from 4000 to 5000 rs to make the running of trains economically variable. Such may be afforded by rich who would rather prefer air tickets. Travel by train in India is mostly done by poor class.
The complexities of the project will give rise to land acquisition ,rehabilitation and environmental concerns. It will give rise to poverty.
Facts
The indian Railways is in worrying state. There is first need to strengthening the present infrastructure of the railways.
The recent increase in rail accident strengthen this case.
The committee also recommended a complete shift to LHB coaches to minimize the loss of lives due to derailment.
Coming together in COVID-19
Since the dawn of civilization, epidemics and pandemics have continued to haunt mankind. From the outbreak of Spanish Flu to Yellow fever, history of these pandemics dates back to the time of plague in Athens (430 B.C).But perhaps; COVID-19 (spread by SARS-COV-2 virus) is greatest in the history of mankind. This particular virus has brought entire world to a halt, something that the modern world history hasn’t witnessed before.
The virus, whose roots can be traced back to Hubei Province in China, has spread globally causing the infected number of cases rising over 92 lakh. From the Superpowers to third world countries, this virus has brought down healthcare sector, economies and the entire human race on its knees; India being no exception. Yes, various sectors such as healthcare, education, energy, and logistics have faced a serious crunch amidst lockdown. With the global economy shrinking to an all time low, economists predict a depression like situation in the near future. One might question whether we are heading towards an inevitable crisis? Or is the humanity doomed? Such negative thoughts do more harm to us than the virus itself.
Just like all other major turmoil and struggles, COVID-19 too comes with its own share of lessons and learning for the mankind. Lessons in humility, humanity and gratitude. These simple lessons which we had long forgotten in the rat race for materialistic pleasures. While some countries initially played the “blame game” but very soon they realized that the mightiest weapon in combating the virus lies in unity and mutual co-operation. Shunning the geo-political differences, the SAARC countries came together and contributed to the COVID-19 relief fund. Other stories include those of Hindu-Muslim harmony in Telangana where a group of Muslim men performed the last rituals of a Hindu woman in the middle of lockdown restrictions. This virus has brought out heart warming stories of real heroes to the forefront. From the generous acts of donating her education savings by 13 yr old Nethra of Madurai, few Jamatis voluntarily coming forward to donate plasma serve as a ray of hope in these turbulent times.
Despite the social distancing, humanity is coming closer than ever before with a mutual sense of compassion, empathy and concern towards fellow human beings. While we stay hidden indoors amidst fear, the mother earth is breathing back to life. Those little sparrows playing in my balcony, which I hadn’t seen in a long while, are a living testimony to that. The medical staff, sanitation workers and the COVID warriors whom we once took for granted are risking their lives to save ours. What else could be a nobler act than this!
The corona virus has indeed enabled us to look beyond economic differences. Becoming more sensitive and considerate towards our domestic helps. We’ve begun appreciating simple acts of kindness, engaging in deep conversations with our loved ones and clapping to say “thank you”. Our generation is more enlightened than ever before with the realisation however evolved the human race might become but in the end we’ll only remain a tiny spec in the universe. The forces of natural world are far mightier than we could possibly become. Humans may change the course of nature but can’t defy it.
The Chinese symbol “Ying and Yang” illustrates the philosophy of life beautifully. Life flows when energies complement rather than contradict each other. The mankind and nature must maintain balance for life to exist .The day we try to overpower the forces of natural world; it will only take a single microcosmic organism to perish the entire human race.
No, I’m not implying living in a utopian world and becoming ignorant of this deadly virus .True that our healthcare and education systems have failed required to meet necessary standards. But if it wasn’t for COVID-19, these loopholes might have gone neglected. There is no better time to reshape the economy, healthcare, politics and culture than now for the dawn of new world post COVID-19.
But why did it take a virus for this realisation?
“Because sometimes we need to get sick in order to get better”.
Let’s change our outlook towards this pandemic. Instead of perceiving it as a threat we need to see it as opportunity and emerge stronger than ever before. We are a fortunate generation having the privilege to shape a better world than the one we left behind. All we need is to shed stigmas and embrace this change.
Concluding in the words of Yuval Noah Harrai (bestselling author of Sapiens)
“The storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of us will still be alive –but we will inhabit a different world.”
Transgender, Trains and Taboos
Pradhanmantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana- A step towards employability of migrants
The Prime Minister on 20th June launched a rural public works scheme-Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana- to make migrant workers employable. One of the severely hit people are these migrant workers who were stranded without any jobs. They started to head back towards their hometown as they did not have any permanent place to live where they used to work. The central government has communicated with 116 district administrations to plan about formal employment engagement of a segment of these migrant workers. These districts will explore various sectors like hospitality, manufacturing, service and travel sectors to provide a formal employment engagement to these workers.
Highlights of this scheme:
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To address the vulnerable condition of migrant workers, this scheme will deploy 50,000 crores from among the outlays for 25 existing schemes for welfare.
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Under this scheme, 3,00,000 migrant workers will be trained and placed as apprentices in rural industries and other district level formal job clusters.
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Of the 3,00,000 migrant workers, 1,50,000 will be offered short-term skills and the other 1,50,000 will receive a certificate through a programme- Recognition of Prior Learning.
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The scheme will offer informal works immediately for 125 days, while 3,00,000 people will get formal work through this scheme.
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Under apprenticeship, an industry can employ an apprentice for three years at a stipend which is on par with minimum wages of semi-skilled workers.
This scheme is like one arrow and two shots. There are two benefits of this scheme
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This will train migrant workers in the formal job sector, which increases their employability.
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Since it is an apprentice programme, the industries will not have to worry about their permanent wages as they have to pay stipend for a short period. Also some amount of stipend will be reimbursed by the government which will be done under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and the Apprenticeship Scheme.
States chosen for implementation of this scheme:
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha are the states where this scheme will be implemented. Across these states, 116 districts have been selected by the government to implement this scheme. These districts have estimated to cover about 2/3 of the migrant workers
Popular Agriculture Related Schemes of Central and State Government in India
This section provides you useful links to avail various Citizen Services being provided by the Central and State/UT Governments in India. The list, however, is not exhaustive, as we are committed to adding more and more information about other services for which citizens and other stakeholders need to interact with the Government.
Schemes for Development of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare
The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation was earlier implementing 51 schemes for development of agriculture and welfare of farmers in the country. These schemes have recently been restructured into 5 Centrally Sponsored Missions, 5 Central Sector Schemes and 1 State Plan Scheme as given below:
I. Centrally Sponsored Missions
1. National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
2. National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
3. National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)
4. National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET)
5. Mission of Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
II. Central Sector Schemes
6. National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP)
7. Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Cooperation (ISAC)
8. Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)
9. Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics & Statistics (ISACE&S)
10. Secretariat Economic Service (SES)
III. State Plan Scheme
11. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY)
The schemes are constantly reviewed and evaluated at National, State and Zonal levels and taken up during meetings with States and during Zonal and National Rabi/Kharif season Conferences to identify the deficiencies in the implementation of the schemes. The deficiencies so identified are taken up with the State Governments concerned for remedial measures, viz modification of the schemes and/or its guidelines, for effective implementation.
Brief Details of Missions/Schemes
I. Missions
1. National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
NFSM aims to increase the production of rice, wheat, pulses and Coarse Cereals through area expansion and productivity enhancement; restoring soil fertility and productivity; creating employment opportunities; and enhancing farm level economy. The basic strategy of the Mission is to promote and extend improved technologies, i.e., seed, micronutrients, soil amendments, integrated pest management, farm machinery and resource conservation technologies along with capacity building of farmers.
2. National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
NMSA has been formulated to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/Composite Farming Systems; conserve natural resources through appropriate soil and moisture conservation measures; adopt comprehensive soil health management practices; optimize utilization of water resources through efficient water management to expand coverage for achieving ‘more crop per drop; develop capacity of farmers & stakeholders, in conjunction with other on-going Missions and pilot models in select blocks for improving productivity of rainfed farming by mainstreaming rainfed technologies.
3. National Mission on Oil seeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)
The Mission aims to expand area under oilseeds, harness the potential in the area/ districts of low productivity, strengthening inputs delivery mechanism, strengthening of post harvest services besides a focus on tribal areas for tree bourn oilseeds.
4. National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET)
The Mission has four components viz : Sub Mission on Agriculture Extension, (SMAE) Sub Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP), (iii) Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) and (iv) Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine (SMPP). The Mission aims to disseminate information and knowledge to the farming community in local language/ dialect in respect of agricultural schemes.
5. Mission of Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
The Missions aims to promote holistic growth of horticulture sector, including bamboo and coconut through area based regionally differentiated strategies, which includes research, technology promotion, extension, post harvest management, processing and marketing, in consonance with comparative advantage of each State/ region
and its diverse agro-climatic features; encourage aggregation of farmers into farmer groups like FIGs/FPOs and FPCs to bring economy of scale and scope; enhance horticulture production, augment farmers, income and strengthen nutritional security and improve productivity by way of quality germplasm, planting material and water use efficiency through Micro Irrigation.
II. Central Sector Schemes
1. National Crop Insurance Scheme (NCIP)
The Scheme aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of crops failure as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases as also to encourage farmers to adopt progressive farming practices, high value inputs and higher technology in agriculture.
2. Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Cooperation (ISAC)
The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance for the activities of cooperatives like agro-processing, marketing of food grains, input supply, development of weaker section cooperatives, computerization of co-operatives etc. as also to develop cooperative awareness amongst the people and to cater to the education and training requirements of cooperative personnel and State Government officials.
3. Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)
The Scheme aims to to promote creation of agricultural marketing infrastructure by providing backend subsidy support to State, cooperative and private sector investments; to promote creation of scientific storage capacity and to promote pledge financing to increase farmers’ income; to promote Integrated Value Chains (confined up to the stage of primary processing only) to provide vertical integration of farmers with primary processors; to use ICT as a vehicle of extension to sensitize and orient farmers to respond to new challenges in agricultural marketing; to establish a nation-wide information network system for speedy collection and dissemination of market information and data on arrivals and prices for its efficient and timely utilization by farmers and other stake holders; to support framing of grade standards and quality certification of agricultural commodities to help farmers get better and remunerative prices for their graded produce; to catalyze private investment in setting up of agribusiness projects and thereby provide assured market to producers and strengthen backward linkages of agri-business projects with producers and their groups; and to undertake and promote training, research, education, extension and consultancy in the agri marketing sector.
4. Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics and Statistics (ISACE&S)
The Scheme aims to collect/ compile data of operational holdings in the country to provide aggregates for basic Agricultural Characteristics for use as the benchmark for inter-census estimates.
5. Secretariat Economic Service (SES)
The Scheme aims to provide support and services to the employees/ officers of the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation including provision of office equipments, furniture, office accommodation, renovation of rooms, transport services, newspaper, Magazines, Publicity and Advertisement expenditure, etc.
III. State Plan Scheme
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
The Scheme aims to incentivize the States to increase investment in Agriculture and allied sectors to achieved 4% growth in agriculture sector. The scheme is available for any agriculture activity that can increase production growth in the agriculture and allied sectors.
This information was given today by the Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply to Lok Sabha question.
How to make agriculture a profitable sector
The agriculture sector contributed 51.9 percent to India’s GDP in 1950. Since then it has been on a downside and it currently stands at 13.9 percent. However, a change from an agrarian-centric economy to an industry-centric economy is inevitable with the advent of industries. With industries growing at a faster pace than the rate at which trees are being planted, will there be a time when agriculture’s productivity dwindles to a null? If yes, is it already here?
Living in a country where the cattle is worshipped as a goddess, about 60 percent of the population was banking on agriculture for their main source of income during the 1950s. Despite half of the population still continuing with the profession, the returns are low. While urbanisation might be cited as a reason, it is hard not to neglect the fact that agriculture is no more a profitable sector. Infrastructure costs have started running high, with its maintenance cost and capital investment only adding on to the farmers’ misery. According to an article by The Hindu, the average recovery rate of the investments made by Indian farmer is only 30 percent.
Another cause for low productivity is small holdings of land with farmers. By owning a fragmented land, effective irrigation and optimum usage of fertilisers for crops becomes difficult, thus resulting in lower yields. In India, more than two-thirds of the crops lack proper irrigational facilities, albeit India being the second largest irrigated country after China. But improper irrigation can also lead to other problems affecting yield like soil erosion, salinity, etc.
In the wake of agriculture losing its lucrative appeal, budget 2016-17 has proposed to bring 2.85 million hectares under irrigation, Rs 2,87,000 to be donated and 100 percent electrification to all villages by May 2018. The government has also announced a couple of initiatives to resolve the farmers’ plight.
Some of the recent developments in the agriculture and allied sector are enumerated below:
Launch of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
Farming has become an unreliable sector. Farmers are always unsure of the yield they’ll reap, but strive to draw the maximum benefits out of their investments and effort. Often farmers might be at the receiving end, with natural calamities like droughts and floods affecting their yield adversely. To resolve the problem of unpredictable nature of farming and prevent farmer suicides in the country, the Government launched PM Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in early 2016. It’s a crop insurance policy with relaxed premium rates on the principal sum insured for farmers. Implemented with a budget of Rs 17,600 crore, this scheme will provide financial support to farmers and cover for their losses. This initiative is expected to go on floors from the next Kharif season of farming, that is from June 2016.
After green, white, and golden, it’s time for blue
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Blue Revolution in India. It’s an integrated scheme designed to increase the productivity and profitability from aquaculture and fisheries resources, inclusive of both inland and marine. With a budget of Rs 3,000 crore offered by the government for the next five years, this scheme aims to maintain an annual growth rate of six to eight percent of the agriculture and allied sector.
Government to invest Rs 221 crore to improve milk productivity
India boasts of being the largest producer of milk in the world with an annual output of 130 million tonnes. However, with a milk-producing animal population of more than 118 million, the milk yields per animal is very low. To meet the steadily growing demand for milk, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has announced 42 dairy projects, under a budget of 221 crore. These projects shall focus on improving the milk productivity of major milk-producing states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the likes.
Energy-efficient irrigation to be implemented
A report says that in India more than two-thirds of the arable area lacks proper irrigational facilities. Taking note of this, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government is planning on investing Rs 75,000 crore to provide energy-efficient irrigational facilities to farmers, over the next three to four years. Under this scheme, close to 30 million energy-saving pump sets would be given to farmers and this cost would be recovered via savings in the electricity consumed. This would result in about 46 billion kWh of power being saved and creation of 20 lakh jobs.
Launch of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana
The government has launched Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana in order to address the critical importance of soil and water for improving agricultural production. The government would support and improve the organic farming practices prevalent in India. Following cluster approach mode of farming, at least 50 farmers would form a group having 50 acres of land to implement organic farming. The government aims to cover 10,000 clusters and five lakh hectares of arable land under organic farming within three years.
Recently, the government has been active in investing in agricultural infrastructure such as irrigational facilities, mechanised farming, and warehousing. The growing use of genetically modified crops will also improve the sector’s contribution to GDP. While all of these initiatives look promising, in what way are they going to affect the current scenario is something interesting to watch out for.
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