Rapid Fire Current Affairs | 19 Jul 2023

India-Russia Vande Bharat Deal

Recently, the India-Russia Vande Bharat joint venture (JV) deal was revived as Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) subsidiary, Kinet Railway Solutions Limited, signed a share purchase agreement with Russian company Metrowagonmash and Locomotive Electronic Systems. This JV aims to manufacture 120 Vande Bharat train sets. The consortium aims to develop two prototype trains by June 2025, followed by annual production of 12 to 18 trains. Maintenance services will be provided for 35 years, with a total investment of USD 1.8 billion for train supply and USD 2.5 billion for maintenance.

Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Recently, delegates worldwide gathered in Rome, Italy the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) headquarters, for the 19^th session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA). The five-day session will focus on three key topics: a review of work on biodiversity, nutrition, and human health; access and benefit-sharing for food and agriculture; and digital sequence information for food and agriculture.

The CGRFA is a specialized agency of FAO of the United Nations. It is the main intergovernmental body that deals with all matters related to biodiversity for food and agriculture and aims to conserve and use it sustainably for food security, human well-being, and development worldwide.

Mission Organic Value Chain Development for Northeastern Region

Recently Mission Organic Value Chain Development for Northeastern Region was reviewed with focus on how to liquidate the committed liability of Phase III and roadmap for implementation of Phase IV of the scheme starting 2023-24.

Realizing the potential of organic farming in the North-Eastern Region of the country Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare has launched “Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North-Eastern Region” for implementation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, during the 12^th plan period. It is a Central Sector Scheme which aims at development of certified organic production in a value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, certification, to the creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing marketing and brand building initiative.

Read more: Organic Farming in India