Technology and Doubling Farmers’ Income

The Government has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to examine issues relating to doubling of farmers’ income and recommend adoption and role of technology to achieve doubling of farmers’ income in real terms by the year 2022.

The technologies include Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Block chain Technology, Internet of Things, etc.

Major Technology Interventions Include

• Kisan Suvidha Mobile Application- The app facilitates dissemination of information to farmers on the critical parameters viz., Weather; Market Prices; Plant Protection; input dealers (Seed, Pesticide, Fertilizer) Farm Machinery; etc.
  
  • This helps farmers make informed decisions to sell produce at the right price and right time.
• Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has compiled mobile apps developed by ICAR, State Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras. Developed in the areas of crops, horticulture, veterinary, etc., these apps offer valuable information to the farmers.
• mKisan Portal (www.mkisan.gov.in) for sending advisories on various crop related matter to the registered farmers through SMSs.
• Launching of e-National Agriculture Market initiative to provide farmers an electronic online trading platform.
• Implementation of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, sub-scheme of Integrated Scheme of Agricultural Marketing, in order to improve/create scientific storage capacity for storing farm produce, processed farm produce and to reduce post-harvest storage loss.
• Introduction of Soil Health Card Scheme to assist State Governments in providing Soil Health Cards to all farmers across the country once in a cycle of 2 years.
  
  • Soil health card provides information to the farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving crop productivity and soil fertility.
• Providing subsidies under National Food Security Mission (Oil Seeds and Oil Palm) to farmers on seed components, transfer of technologies, production inputs and water carrying devices.
  
  • Financial assistance is also being provided under this scheme for block demonstration, frontline demonstration, farmers training to educate farmers to adopt modern techniques of farming to yield good crop economically.
• Use of space technology for various programmes/ areas such as Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land-based Observations project, National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System, Rice-Fallow Area Mapping and intensification, geo tagging of infrastructure and assets created under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, and Crop Insurance.
• Using machine learning process along with different computer algorithm for crop classification and area estimation.
• Setting up of Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agricultural Technology Management Agencies at district level for dissemination of technologies among farm community.
  
  • In addition, farmers are provided information through Focused Publicity Campaigns, Kisan Call Centres, Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres of entrepreneurs, Agri Fairs and exhibitions, Kisan SMS Portal, etc.

National Health Mission and Janani Suraksha Yojana

• Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Mission (NHM). The Yojana was launched on 12th April 2005. It is being implemented in all states and UTs with special focus on low performing states.
  
  • JSY is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme and it integrates cash assistance with delivery and post-delivery care.
• Objectives: It was Launched for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, to promote institutional delivery among pregnant women especially with weak socio-economic status i.e. women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and BPL households.
• Cash assistance: Under the JSY, eligible pregnant women are entitled to cash assistance irrespective of the age of mother and number of children for giving birth in a government or accredited private health facility.
• Area of Focus: The scheme focuses on poor pregnant woman with special dispensation for states that have low institutional delivery rates, namely, the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Jammu and Kashmir.
  • While these States have been named Low Performing States (LPS) under the scheme, the remaining States/UTs have been named High Performing States (HPS).
• The scheme also provides performance-based incentives to women health volunteers known as ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) for promoting institutional delivery among pregnant women.

National Health Mission

• National Health Mission (NHM) was launched by the government of India in 2013 subsuming the National Rural Health Mission and the National Urban Health Mission. It was further extended in March 2018, to continue till March 2020.
• The main programmatic components include Health System Strengthening in rural and urban areas for - Reproductive-Maternal- Neonatal-Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), and Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases. The NHM envisages achievement of universal access to equitable, affordable & quality health care services that are accountable and responsive to people's needs.
• The National Health Mission seeks to ensure the achievement of the following indicators:
  
  • Reduce Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) to 1/1000 live births
  • Reduce Infant Mortality rate (IMR) to 25/1000 live births
  • Reduce Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to 2.1
  • Prevention and reduction of anaemia in women aged 15–49 years
  • Prevent and reduce mortality & morbidity from communicable, non- communicable; injuries and emerging diseases
  • Reduce household out-of-pocket expenditure on total health care expenditure
  • Reduce annual incidence and mortality from Tuberculosis by half
  • Reduce the prevalence of Leprosy to <1/10000 population and incidence to zero in all districts
  • Annual Malaria Incidence to be <1/1000
  • Less than 1 per cent microfilaria prevalence in all districts
  • Kala-azar Elimination by 2015, <1 case per 10000 population in all blocks

Rashtriya Gokul Mission

Government has sanctioned funds under Rashtriya Gokul Mission for setting up of 21 Gokul Grams as Integrated Cattle Development Centres.

• As of now, 4 Gokul grams (Varanasi, Mathura, Patiala, and Phora) have been completed and work is under progress in remaining 17 Gokul grams.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission

• Rashtriya Gokul Mission comprises of two components namely:
  
  • The national program for bovine breeding and National mission for bovine productivity.
• Underlying objectives of the Mission:
  
  • Development and conservation of indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner.
  • Undertake breed improvement program for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock.
  • Enhance milk production and productivity.
  • Distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.

Significant initiatives under Rashtriya Gokul Mission:

• Awards for encouraging farmers/breeder societies to rear Indigenous breeds of bovines:
  
  • Gopal Ratna awards: for farmers maintaining the best herd of Indigenous Breed and practicing best management practices.
  • Kamdhenu awards: for best managed Indigenous herd by Institutions/Trusts/ NGOs/ Gaushalas or best-managed Breeders’ societies.
• Gokul Gram: The Rashtriya Gokul Mission envisages the establishment of integrated cattle development centers, ‘Gokul Grams’ to develop indigenous breeds including up to 40% nondescript breeds (belonging or appearing to belong to no particular class or kind) with objectives to:
  
  • Promote indigenous cattle rearing and conservation in a scientific manner.
  • Propagate high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.
  • Optimize modern Farm Management practices and promote Common Resource Management.
  • Utilize animal waste in an economical way i.e. Cow Dung, Cow Urine
• National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre: (NKBC) is being established as a Centre of Excellence to develop and conserve Indigenous Breeds in a holistic and scientific manner.
• “E-Pashu Haat”- Nakul Prajnan Bazaar: An e-market portal connecting breeders and farmers, for quality- disease-free bovine germplasm.
• Pashu Sanjivni: An animal wellness program encompassing the provision of animal health cards (‘Nakul Swasthya Patra’) along with UID identification and uploading data on National DataBase.
• Advanced Reproductive Technology: Including Assisted Reproductive Technique- In-vitro Fertilization (IVF)/ Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer (MOET) and sex-sorted semen technique to improve the availability of disease-free female bovines.
• National Bovine Genomic Center for Indigenous Breeds (NBGC-IB) will be established for selection of breeding bulls of high genetic merit at a young age using highly precise gene-based technology.

Implementing Agency

• Rashtriya Gokul Mission will be implemented through the “State Implementing Agency (SIA viz Livestock Development Boards).
• State Gauseva Ayogs will be given the mandate to sponsor proposals to the SIA’s (LDB’s) and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal.
• All Agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development will be the “Participating Agencies” like ICAR, Universities, Colleges, NGO’s, Cooperative Societies and Gaushalas.

Why conservation of Indigenous breeds is the need of the hour?

• Indigenous bovines are robust and resilient and are particularly suited to the climate and environment of their respective breeding tracts and productivity of indigenous breeds is less likely to be impacted by the adversities of climate change.
• The milk of indigenous animals is high in fat and SNF content (The substances in milk other than butterfat and water in the form of casein, lactose, vitamins, and minerals which contribute significantly to the nutritive value of milk).

Anaemia in Women

• According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS)–IV (2015-16), the prevalence of anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 years is 53% and among adolescent girls aged 15-19 years is 54%.

Under the National Health Mission (NHM), the steps taken to tackle anaemia are:

• Anaemia Mukt Bharat(AMB): It has been launched in the year 2018 as part of Intensified National Iron Plus Initiative (NIPI) Program for accelerating the annual rate of decline of anaemia from one to three percentage points.
  
  • The target groups for AMB are Children 6-59 months, 5-9 years, Adolescent Girls & Boys of 10-19 years, Women of Reproductive Age (15-49 years), Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.
• Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS): This Programme is being implemented to meet the challenge of high prevalence and incidence of anaemia amongst adolescent girls and boys.
  
  • The intervention under WIFS includes supervised weekly ingestion of Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablet.
  • To control worm infestation biannual deworming with Albendazole is provided.
• Health management information system & Mother Child tracking system is being implemented for reporting and tracking the cases of anaemic and severely anaemic pregnant women.
• Universal screening of pregnant women for anaemia is a part of ante-natal care and all pregnant women are provided iron and folic acid tablets during their ante-natal visits through the existing network of sub-centres and primary health centres and other health facilities as well as through outreach activities at Village Health & Nutrition Days (VHNDs).
• Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA): It has been launched to focus on conducting special ANC check up on 9th of every month with the help of Medical officers/ OBGYN to detect and treat cases of anaemia.
• Operationalization of Blood Bank: in District Hospitals and Blood Storage Unit in subdistrict facilities such as Sub-Divisional Hospital/ Community Health Centers is being taken to tackle complications due to severe anaemia.

Panel for Coordination among Ministries

• The Union government has set up a panel for better coordination among the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and the state governments.
• The panel will assist in speeding up hydrocarbon exploration-related clearances.
• It will help in resolving the following issues:
  
  • There are differences among MoPNG and MoEF on whether “exploration” should be treated as “mining”.
  • Many onshore and offshore blocks under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) and Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OLAP) rounds also stuck with the MoEFCC.
  • Another issue is the companies involved in exploration state that exploration activities be considered as a temporary “vegetation change” which is objected by MoEF.
• The panel has Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha as chairman, and secretaries of home, petroleum and environment will be members.
• It will also have a representative from the NITI Aayog and chief secretaries of petroleum-producing states like Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

Trafficking in Persons Report

The U.S. State Department has released the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2019. India continued to be placed in Tier-2 on the country trafficking scale.

• The U.S. State Department report has used the International Labour Organisation (ILO) data.

Finding of the Report

• There are 25 million adults and children suffering from labour and sex trafficking all over the world. In 77% of the cases, victims are trafficked within their own countries of residence, rather than across borders.
• The number of victims trafficked domestically was high compared to foreign victims being trafficked in all regions of the world except Western and Central Europe, the Middle East, and certain East Asian countries.
  
  • Victims of sex trafficking were more likely to be trafficked across borders while victims of forced labour were typically exploited within their own countries.
• The report stresses on the implementation of the Palermo Protocol. The countries need building legal frameworks to prosecute traffickers and provide care for survivors.

Categorisation of Countries

• The categorisation is based not on the magnitude of a country’s trafficking problem but on efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.
• The report contains country narratives and category designations for all countries, including the U.S.
• The countries are designated on the three-tier system:
  
  • Tier 1 countries are those countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) minimum standards.
  • Tier 2 countries are those countries whose governments do not fully comply with a TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
  • Tier 2 watchlist countries are those countries, whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards and:
    
    • The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing; or
    • There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or
    • The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.
  • Tier 3 countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
  • There are also a few "Special Cases" such as Yemen, where the civil conflict and humanitarian crisis make gaining information difficult, and Sint Maarten where the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma has made reporting difficult.

India's Position

• India is placed in Tier 2: The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. The report highlights efforts by the government to crack down on trafficking and convicting traffickers.
  
  • The government took some action following reports of government complicity in forced labour and sex trafficking, although the systemic failure to address forced labour and sex trafficking in government-run and government-funded shelter homes remained a serious problem. The report also highlighted the government’s failures in this regard.
  • Recommendations for India: It includes amending the definition of trafficking in Section 370 of the Penal Code to include forced labour trafficking and ensure that force, fraud, or coercion are not required to prove a child sex trafficking offence,
  • To establish Anti-Human Trafficking Units in all districts with dedicated funding and clear mandates.

India’s Food Processing Industry

The Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries has stated that Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) envisages creation of direct and indirect employment for 5,30,500 persons by 2020.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

• In the year 2016, the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries (MoFPI) had introduced an umbrella Scheme Called “Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters” or SAMPADA, which was proposed to be implemented with an allocation of Rs 6,000 crore for the period of 2016-20.
• In the year 2017, the government renamed SAMPADA scheme as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
• The objective of PMKSY is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste.
• The PMKSY has seven component schemes:
  
  • Mega Food Parks,
  • Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure,
  • Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Clusters,
  • Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages,
  • Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities,
  • Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, and
  • Human Resources and Institutions.
• Under PMKSY, capital subsidy in the form of grants-in-aid ranging from 35% to 75% of the eligible project cost subject to a maximum specified limit is provided to investors under the various schemes for undertaking infrastructure, logistic projects and setting up of food processing units in the country.

Other steps taken in the Food Processing Sector

• 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route in manufacturing of food products and 100% FDI under Government approval route for retail trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products produced and/or manufactured in India has been permitted.
• A special fund of Rs.2000 crore has been created with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to provide affordable credit to food processing projects/units.
• Food & agro-based processing units and cold chain infrastructure has been classified as agriculture activity for Priority Sector Lending (PSL).
• Fiscal measures like 100% exemption of Income Tax on profit for new food processing units, 100 % income tax exemption from profit derived by Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) having annual turnover of Rs.100 crore have been allowed for activities such as post-harvest value addition to agriculture.
• Lower Goods & Service Tax (GST) rates for the majority of food products have been fixed.
• A new Central Sector Scheme “Operation Greens’’ for integrated development of Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) crops value chain, with an outlay of Rs.500 Crore. to promote FPOs, agri-logistics, processing facilities, has been launched.

Report on Epilepsy

A report “Epilepsy, a public health imperative” has been released by the World Health Organization and leading non-governmental organizations for epilepsy, the International League Against Epilepsy and the International Bureau for Epilepsy.

• In low- and middle-income countries, early death among people with epilepsy is significantly higher than in high-income countries.
• More than 75 percent of people with epilepsy in low-income countries are at risk of premature death, due to lack of access to anti-seizure medicines.
  • The reasons include possible lack of access to health facilities when seizures are long-lasting or occur close together without recovery in between, and preventable causes such as drowning, head injuries and burns.
• The report states that the treatment gap for epilepsy is unacceptably high, when 70 percent of people with the condition can be seizure-free when they have access to medicines that can cost as little as $5 per year and can be delivered through primary health systems.
• Roughly half of adults with epilepsy have at least one other health condition. The most common are depression and anxiety.
  • Around 23 percent of adults with epilepsy will experience clinical depression during their lifetime and 20 per cent will have anxiety.
• Mental health conditions such as these can make seizures worse and reduce the quality of life.
  • Development and learning difficulties are experienced by 30-40 percent of children with epilepsy.
• Stigma also prevents people from taking treatment.
• The Report states that “political will” facilitates the integration of diagnosis and treatment for epilepsy into the primary health services.

India’s NSG bid

China has clarified that India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was not on the agenda of the plenary of the grouping that concluded in Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) on 21st June, 2019.

• It also stated that discussion on India’s entry into the 48-nation club would take place only after reaching a specific plan on non-NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) members’ participation in the grouping.
• It has also refused to suggest a deadline by which such a consensus can be reached among the member states.
• China has been objecting to India's participation in the grouping since May, 2016 when India applied for the membership of the NSG.
• China has been firm on its stand that only those countries which have signed the NPT should be allowed to enter the organisation.
• Majority of the NSG member states including the US, Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Finland , Sweden and Norway back for India’s membership in the grouping considering its non-proliferation record.
• India is keen to become a member of NSG as it seeks to significantly expand its nuclear power generation and also enter the export market in coming years.

NSG

• The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was created following the explosion in 1974 of a nuclear device by a non-nuclear-weapon State (India), which demonstrated that nuclear technology transferred for peaceful purposes could be misused.
• It is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.
• The grouping has 48 participating governments and the NSG Guidelines are implemented by each member in accordance with its national laws and practices.
• The NSG takes decisions by consensus.

New Injection for Type 2 Diabetes

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Victoza (liraglutide) injection for treatment of pediatric patients 10 years or older with type 2 diabetes.
• Victoza is the first non-insulin drug approved to treat type 2 diabetes in pediatric patients since metformin was approved for pediatric use in 2000.
• Victoza has been approved to treat adult patients with type 2 diabetes since 2010.
• It has now been shown to improve blood sugar control in pediatric patients with type 2 diabetes.
  
  • The expanded indication provides an additional treatment option at a time when an increasing number of children are being diagnosed with this disease.
• Although type 2 diabetes primarily occurs in patients over the age of 45, the prevalence rate among younger patients has been rising dramatically over the past couple of decades.
• Victoza improves blood sugar levels by creating the same effects in the body as the glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor protein in the pancreas.
  
  • GLP-1 is often found in insufficient levels in type 2 diabetes patients.
  • Like GLP-1, Victoza slows digestion, prevents the liver from making too much glucose (a simple sugar), and helps the pancreas produce more insulin when needed.
• Victoza is not a substitute for insulin and is not indicated for patients with type 1 diabetes or those with diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition associated with diabetes where the body breaks down fat too quickly because there is inadequate insulin or none at all.
• The patients who have had, or have family members who have ever had Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC) should not use Victoza.
  
  • Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MTC) is a distinct thyroid carcinoma that originates in the parafollicular C cells of the thyroid gland.