UPSC ASpIrants

infradebt

2013-03-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

Infradebt, India's first infrastructure debt fund (IDF) is set to kick-start its formal operations. Finance minister P Chidambaram handed over the license to the fund's promoters including ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Citibank and Life Insurance Corporate of India.The infra debt fund has equity capital of Rs 300 crore.The non-banking financial company (NBFC) includes independent management with LIC, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank and Citibank among the major participants. The infra debt fund projects can finance projects up to Rs 200 crore
ICICI Bank (together with a wholly-owned subsidiary) is the largest shareholder in Infradebt with 31 percent stake holding followed by Bank of Barodaat 30 percent, Citibank at 29 percent and LIC at 10 percent.Infradebt would seek to raise debt capital from domestic as well as foreign resources and would invest in infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership model that have completed one year of operations. Infradebt will expand and diversify the domestic and international sources of debt funding to meet the large financing needs of the infrastructure sector.

What is "Infrastructure Debt Fund" ?
Earlier, Pranab Mukherjee, the then finance minister had announced the setting up of IDFs in his budget speech for the year 2011-2012. The objective was to facilitate the flow of long-term debt into infrastructure projects.The IDF will be set up either as a trust or as a company. A trust based IDF would normally be a mutual fund (MF) while a company based IDF would normally be a NBFC. IDF - NBFC would raise resources through issue of either rupee or dollar denominated bonds of minimum 5 year maturity," RBI had said in a notification issued on November 21, 2011.

Trophies & Cups Associated with Sports

2012-01-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

Trophies & Cups

Associated with Sports

International

American Cup : Yacht Racing
Ashes : Cricket
Benson and Hedges : Cricket
Canada Cup : Golf
Colombo Cup : Football
Corbitton Cup : Table Tennis (Women)
Davis Cup : Lawn Tennis
Derby : Horse Race
Grand National : Horse Streple Chase Race
Jules Rimet Trophy : World Soccer Cup
King's Cup : Air Races
Merdeka Cup : Football
Rydet Cup : Golf
Swaythling Cup : Table Tennis (Men)
Thomas Cup : Badminton

U. Thant Cup : Tennis
Uber Cup : Badminton (Women)
Walker Cup : Golf
Westchester Cup : Polo
Wightman Cup : Lawn Tennis
World Cup : Cricket
World Cup : Hockey
Reliance Cup : Cricket
Rothman's Trophy : Cricket
William's Cup : Basketball
European Champions Cup : Football
Eisenhower Cup : Golf
Essande Champions Cup : Hockey
Rene Frank Trophy : Hockey
Grand Prix : Table Tennis
Edgbaston Cup : Lawn Tennis
Grand Prix : Lawn Tennis
World Cup : Weight-lifting

National

Agarwal Cup : Badminton
Agha Khan Cup : Hockey
All-India Women's Guru Nanak
Championship : Hockey
Bandodkar Trophy : Football
Bangalore Blues Challenge Cup :
Basketball
Barna-Bellack Cup : Table Tennis
Beighton Cup : Hockey
Bombay Gold Cup : Hockey
Burdwan Trophy : Weight-lifting
Charminar Trophy : Athletics
Chadha Cup : Badminton
C. K. Naydu Trophy : Cricket
Chakoia Gold Trophy : Football
Divan Cup : Badminton
Deodhar Trophy : Cricket
Duleep Trophy : Cricket
D. C. M. Cup : Football
Durand Cup : Football
Dhyan Chand Trophy : Hockey
Dr. B. C. Roy Trophy : Football
(Junior)
Ezra Cup : Polo
F. A. Cup : Football
G. D. Birla Trophy : Cricket
Ghulam Ahmed Trophy : Cricket
Gurmeet Trophy : Hockey
Gura Nanak Cup : Hockey
Gyanuati Devi Trophy : Hockey
Holkar Trophy : Bridge
lrani Trophy : Cricket
I. F. A. Shield : Football
lndira Gold Cup : Hockey
Jawaharlal Challenge : Air Racing
Jaswant Singh Trophy : Best Services Sportsman

Kuppuswamy Naidu Trophy :
Hockey
Lady Rattan Tata Trophy : Hockey
MCC Trophy : Hockey
Moinuddaula Gold Cup : Cricket
Murugappa Gold Cup : Hockey
Modi Gold Cup : Hockey
Narang Cup : Badminton
Nehru Trophy : Hockey
Nixan Gold Cup : Football
Obaid Ullah Gold Cup : Hockey
Prithi Singh Cup : Polo
Rani Jhansi Trophy : Cricket
Ranjit Trophy : Cricket
Rangaswami Cup : Hockey
Ranjit Singh Gold Cup : Hockey
Rajendra Prasad Cup : Tennis
Ramanujan Trophy : Table Tennis
Rene Frank Trophy : Hockey
Radha Mohan Cup : Polo
Raghbir Singh Memorial : Football
Rohinton Baria Trophy : Cricket
Rovers Cup : Football
Sanjay Gold Cup : Football
Santosh Trophy : Football
Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee : Football
Subroto Cup : Football
Scindia Gold Cup : Hockey
Sahni Trophy : Hockey
Sheesh Mahal Trophy : Cricket
Todd Memorial Trophy : Football
Tommy Eman Gold Cup : Hockey
Vittal Trophy : Football
Vizzy Trophy : Cricket
Vijay Merchant Trophy : Cricket
Wellington Trophy : Rowing
Wills Trophy : Cricket

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has approved 10 "Mega Food Parks".

2011-12-26T06:08:00.000-08:00

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has approved 10 Mega Food Parks in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, Assam, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar and Tripura. In-principle approval has been accorded to 5 projects and Expression of Interest (EoI) issued for another 15 projects.

The Mega Food Parks Scheme (MFPS), a flagship programme of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MFPI) aims at accelerating the growth of food processing industry in the country through facilitating establishment of strong food processing infrastructure backed by an efficient supply chain. The scheme provides for a capital grant of 50 percent of the project cost in difficult and ITDP notified areas(with a ceiling of Rs 50 crores). The grant is utilized towards creation of common infrastructure in the park. A Mega Food Park takes about 30-36 months to be completed.

Scheme for Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure

Eight out of ten cold chain projects approved by MFPI have started commercial operation. Substantive value addition, reduction in wastage and enhancement in farmers’ income is evident from concurrent evaluation of these projects. 39 projects have been approved in 2011. The approved projects envisage a total investment of about Rs. 850 crore.

These 49 projects would create cold chain capacity of over 2.30 lakh MT.

The cold chain scheme was approved in 2008 with an objective to provide integrated and complete cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure facilities without any break, for perishables from the farm gate to the consumer. The assistance under the scheme includes financial assistance (grant-in-aid) of 50% of the total cost of plant and machinery and technical civil works in general areas and 75% for NE region and difficult areas subject to a maximum of Rs 10 crore.

Taking note of the high demand and the gap in the requirement of cold storage, processing, preservation and cold logistics facilities in India, “creation & management of cold chain infrastructure for agriculture” has been recently identified as a thrust area by the Prime Minister.

Modernization of abattoirs

In the year 2011, two projects at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and Dimapurin Nagaland have been completed. Ten projects for modernization of abattoirs are at various stages of progress. A proposal for up-scaling the scheme is under consideration.

Technology Upgradation/Establishment/ Modernization of Food Processing Industries

A sum of Rs. 488 crore is likely to be spent by March 2012 on the scheme for technology upgradation and modernization of food processing industries. This scheme is adding huge processing capacity to the food processing industry which in turn has resulted in significant reduction of wastages.

New ‘Mission on Food Processing’ on the anvil

The Working Group on Food Processing for the XII Plan has recommended a new centrally sponsored scheme in the form of National Mission on Food Processing proposed with seven components. Four components, namely, (i) Technology up-gradation / setting up / modernization of food processing industries, (ii) HRD, (iii) Modernization of Abattoirs and (iv) Promotional Activities are being implemented in 11^th Plan as Central Sector Schemes which will form part of the National Mission on Food Processing. Three new activities, namely, (i) Modernization of Meat Shops, (ii) Cold Chain, Value Addition & Preservation Infrastructure for non-horticulture produce, and (iii) Creation of on-farm PPC/CCs are proposed as new components. Planning Commission has given in-principle approval.

Launching of National Mission on Food Processing is likely to have greater involvement of State Governments and all stakeholders resulting fast growth of the food processing sector.

Bird species reported from India which are listed as Critically Endangered in IUCN Red List version

2011-12-13T10:25:00.000-08:00

Details of bird species reported from India which are listed as Critically Endangered in IUCN Red List version

S. No.	Common Name	Scientific Name	Family	Status
1	White-rumped Vulture	Gyps bengalensis	Accipitridae	CR
2	Indian Vulture	Gyps indicus	Accipitridae	CR
3	Slender-billed Vulture	Gyps tenuirostris	Accipitridae	CR
4	Red-headed Vulture	Sarcogyps calvus	Accipitridae	CR
5	Pink-headed Duck	Rhodonessa caryophyllacea	Anatidae	CR
6	White-bellied Heron	Ardea insignis	Ardeidae	CR
7	Sociable Lapwing	Vanellus gregarius	Charadriidae	CR
8	Christmas Frigatebird	Fregata andrewsi	Fregatidae	CR
9	Jerdon's Courser	Rhinoptilus bitorquatus	Glareolidae	CR
10	Siberian Crane	Grus leucogeranus	Gruidae	CR
11	Bengal Florican	Houbaropsis bengalensis	Otididae	CR
12	Himalayan Quail	Ophrysia superciliosa	Phasianidae	CR
13	Spoon-billed Sandpiper	Eurynorhynchus pygmeus	Scolopacidae	CR
14	Forest Owlet	Heteroglaux blewitti	Strigidae	CR

CR: Critically Endangered.

UN Women Report

2011-12-07T21:25:00.001-08:00

UN Women Report

The report titled, “Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice 2011-12” was launched by UN Women on 7 July 2011. The Report offers a comprehensive global review of women’s rights around the world. By focusing on the issue of women’s access to justice, or lack thereof, it highlights the many ways in which injustice against women still continues- in a home or the work place, in politics and in justice systems. The Report has both positive examples from across the world of progress in women’s access to justice as well as areas where more action is needed. The Report does not mention about “Khap” Panchayats. The Minister of Women & Child Development Smt. Krishna Tirath revealed this in Rajya Sabha recently in written reply to a question.

The Minister further stated that as Khap Panchayat is a gathering of the members of particular caste or clan of the village or from a group of neighbouring villages and are informal bodies, they don’t have legal status.

As per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects and, as such, the primary responsibility of prevention, detection, registration, investigation and prosecution of crime, lies with the respective State Government/Union Territory Administration. Existing provisions of the IPC cover crimes such as murder and, therefore, provisions for punishment to people who abet crime. Further, MHA has sent detailed advisory to all State Governments/Union Territory Administrations advising them to take appropriate measures in cases of crimes against women including the violation of women’s rights by so-called ‘Honour Killings’.

National Mineral Policy

2011-12-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

National Mineral Policy

The National Mineral Policy, 2008, seeks to address areas of serious concern in mining sector relating inter-alia to:

(i) making the regulatory mechanism more conducive to technology and investment flows by ensuring greater transparency in allocation of mineral concessions, seamlessness and security of tenure in the concession processes,

(ii) strengthening the role of Geological Survey of India, Indian Bureau of Mines, and State Directorates of Mining and Geology,

(iii) developing and enforcing a Sustainable Development Framework ensuring stakeholder rights to the indigenous population and that the mining activity takes place along with suitable measures for restoration of the ecological balance,

(iv) discourage and prevent sub-optimal and unscientific mining by promoting zero-waste mining,

(v) developing new concession instruments to attract high technology for incentivizing exploration of large areas, and

(vi) developing a cluster approach to mining of small deposits in a scientific and efficient manner.

OVL showed keen interest in participating in the Sakhalin-3

2011-12-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

OVL showed keen interest in participating in the Sakhalin-3 and other fields. It was pointed out that the Company is in close talks with Gazprom to jointly develop projects to produce LNG, gas pipelines, its transportation and marketing. Indian side suggested swapping LNG imports of Japan from Qatar with the LNG that could be available from Russian sources like Sakhalin. Indian side also proposed participation of PLL in the projects along with OVL.

PLL informed that they would be soon finalizing the agreement for sourcing LNG from Russia under the pact arrived at with Gazprom. The Heads of Agreement for supply of about 2.5 million tones of LNG were signed recently at Singapore. The LNG is proposed to be sourced from Shtokman field. PLL further showed interest in importing more LNG as the demand in India was growing rapidly

Trade Deficit with China

2011-12-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Trade Deficit with China

The trade deficit of India with China was US$ 23.864 billion in 2010-11.

The matter relating to growing trade deficit was taken up with the Chinese side by India during the Eighth Session of India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade Science and Technology (JEG) held on 19th January, 2010 in Beijing. Following specific requests to increase imports from India were made to the Chinese side during 8th Session of the JEG:

i. Greater import of IT and ITES by China from India.

ii. Removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to the import of power plant equipment from India.

iii. Removal of restrictions on import of Basmati Rice, fruits and vegetables by China.

iv. Landing rights for Indian TV channels in China.

v. Import of more Indian films by China.

vi. Removal of procedural bottlenecks, including time consuming licensing procedures being faced by Indian drugs and pharmaceuticals.

As an outcome of 8th JEG a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 19th January 19, 2010, on extension of Trade and Economic Cooperation was signed between India and China. The MoU recognizes that a balanced trade is conducive to long term, sustainable and harmonious development of economic cooperation between the two countries. As per Para I of the MoU, “Both sides agree to give special attention to improving the trade situation to ensure greater value addition in their bilateral trade and promote the introduction of additional goods and services in their markets. While the Indian side will take conscious initiatives to promote its goods in China, the Chinese side will strive to import as much of its requirement of value added goods from India as possible”.

There is increase in export of some value added goods to China as compared to the previous year. Under investment in both manufacturing and value-addition in India has led to severe mismatch between demand and supply in India and creation of a market for imports of manufactured and value-added goods from China.

The Government of India has addressed the issue of growing trade deficit at the highest level. Indian exporters are encouraged to participate in major trade fairs in China to show-case Indian products in the Chinese market and increase engagement with Chinese companies. Participation of Indian exporters in trade fairs aims to promote Indian products amongst Chinese importers. With a view to reducing trade deficit, efforts are also being made to diversify the trade basket with emphasis on manufactured goods. We are also pursuing market access issues to tackle non-tariff barriers in the Chinese market at different fora. Business to Business relations are encouraged through schemes such as Market Access Initiative (MAI)/Market Development Assistance (MDA). Apart from these measures the Government of India is alive to the challenges of import surges and various unfair trade practices through available safeguard measures under WTO.

Action Against Import of Hazardous Wastes

2011-12-07T19:51:00.001-08:00

Action Against Import of Hazardous Wastes

The import of hazardous wastes including e-waste, plastic scrap, clinical and related wastes into India is subject to the provisions of Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Tran boundary Movement) Rules. As per the Rules, import of recyclable wastes, such as plastic scrap, e-waste, is permitted only for recycling or recovery or reuse. Import for clinical and related wastes (hazardous medical waste) listed at the entry A 4020 in Schedule VI of these Rules is prohibited into the country.

Promotion of Indian Culture

2011-12-07T19:47:00.001-08:00

Promotion of Indian Culture
Cultural Education is an integral part of school education at all levels in the country. By organizing seminars, workshops, programmes and taking up projects, excursions, heritage walks, schools have been sensitizing children about rich and diverse heritage and taking concrete steps to further promote and preserve it. CBSE has also initiated following steps for this purpose.

• The Board has been conducting Heritage India Quiz since 2001 involving schools students to learn and appreciate the country’s history with special reference to the freedom struggle, the constitution and other aspects associated with different regions, life styles, traditions, customs etc.

• Schools have been advised to celebrate Heritage Day on 12th January 2011.

• Schools have been advised to organize SPIC MACAY events/workshops and avail the opportunity to bring great artists to the portals of their institutes.

"Getting to Zero" ::new report on AIDS

2011-12-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

"Getting to Zero"

World AIDS Day this year is about Getting to Zero, Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths. Backed by the United Nations the "Getting to Zero" campaign runs until 2015 and builds on last year's successful World AIDS Day "Light for Rights" initiative encompassing a range of vital issues identified by key affected populations. "The potential for creative, connected and meaningful campaigning is really exciting,” says World AIDS Campaign Africa Director, Linda Mafu. "Our organization will focus on Zero AIDS Related Deaths, but the choice is there for others to pick a different zero or all three."

The World AIDS Campaign 2011 focus on "Zero AIDS Related Deaths" signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all; a call for governments to act now. It’s a global campaign that spotlights how our fundamental right to health is intrinsically and inextricably linked to other basic rights – The right to food, to shelter, to freedom, to clean water and safety. The global HIV response is at a pivotal moment, where huge strides forward are at serious risk and current approaches are reaching their limits. Only one third of the 15 million people living with HIV in need of lifelong treatment are receiving it.

The decision to go with the millennium development related goal of Getting to Zerocomes after extensive discussions among people living with HIV, health activists, broader civil society and many others - more than a hundred organizations. The vision for this year's World AIDS Day and beyond may be inspirational but the journey towards its attainment is laid with concrete milestones.

Situation in India

According to NACO an estimated 2.2 million people in India were living with HIV/AIDS in the year 2010 (88.7% adults in 15-49 years, 7.5% aged 50 and above and 3.5% children below 15 years). The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the country is 0.34%. Women account for 39% of HIV burden in the country. 8 states have HIV prevalence greater than the national average. India has been successful in containing the overall prevalence of the epidemic. However, there is no room for complacency as the epidemic spreads from high risk groups to general populations, from men to women and from urban to rural areas.

HIV/AIDS in the World of work

HIV/AIDS is a major threat to the world of work. It has shown maximum impact on the most productive segment of the labour force. In countries with high HIV prevalence rates, it has cut the supply of labour and slashed income of workers, adversely affected enterprise performance and national economies.

HIV/AIDS affects fundamental rights at work, particularly with respect to discrimination and stigmatization of workers and people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Stigma and discrimination at the workplace gets reflected in the form of loss of employment and livelihood opportunities in addition to ostracism and seclusion faced by workers either due to known or presumed HIV status.The threat of HIV to the Indian working population is evident from the fact that nearly 90% of the reported HIV infections are from the most productive age group of 15-49 years.

Focus Area within the National AIDS Control Programme

Expanding HIV/AIDS policy and programmes in the world of work is a key component under the mainstreaming strategy in the National AIDS Control Programme phase-III (2007-2012). The National AIDS Control Organization, realizing the need for focused efforts to mainstream HIV/AIDS in a sustained manner has established a dedicated mainstreaming cell which would be responsible for initiating and facilitating mainstreaming efforts with government, civil society organizations and businesses/industries.

It was observed that a national policy guideline on HIV/AIDS interventions in the world of work would be of immense value. The Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National AIDS Control Organizations, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, have jointly developed this policy document. These guidelines have come out of consultation with the employers‟ and workers‟ organizations, people living with HIV/AIDS, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNAIDS.

Key Strategies

a) Prevention of HIV transmission.

b) Provide education and training at all levels in workplaces, set up interventions for behavior change through peer educators, integrate HIV in the existing / to be initiatedprogrammes at workplaces like the training of the Human Resource Department, Welfare and OHS programmes, Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives etc.

c) Set up interventions for unorganized/informal sector workers and migrant workers, based on vulnerability studies and risk assessment.

d) Enhance access to condoms, treatment of STIs, universal precaution and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).

e) Widen scope of social security coverage to include HIV in employee and family assistance programmes, health insurance etc.

f) Undertake vulnerable studies/epidemiological surveillance at the workplace to gather data/information for taking informed policy and programmatic decisions.

g) Creating and ensuring an enabling environment to discourage stigma and discrimination towards people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

h) Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in HIV/AIDS Prevention and care.

Eventually, effective steps are being taken globally to surmount the pandemic and definitely we will achieve our targets. But there are two interlinked factors regarding this win-win situation, firstly, political determination to check the rate of HIV infection and secondly, social awareness to remove stigma-discrimination which is the main hurdle in the path of HIV/AIDS control program. The combination of these two factors can bring success in respect of our efforts. Because HIV/AIDS is a universal challenge before us that is why we need to step up universally in the same proportion as well. In sum, it is our collective responsibility for the sake of saving the next generation from this pandemic.

The World AIDS Day is celebrated on 1st December every year.

Steps to Address Crisis in Traditional Sectors

2011-12-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

Government has announced a six fold strategy to offer financial support to handloom weavers..

Under the Scheme, weavers will be eligible to margin money assistance of Rs. 4200 to Rs. 5400 per head and interest subsidy of 3 percent on loans for a period of 3 years and Weavers Credit Cards will be issued to eligible individual weavers to enable them to access loans upto Rs. 2 lakh in a period of 3 years without any collateral security. Government has convened stakeholders meetings at Ministerial level to assess the slowdown in the industry.

The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) and Cotton Yarn Advisory Board (CYAB) meetings held on 15th November 2011 assessed domestic mill consumption for 2011-12 at 210 lakh bales down from 240 lakh bales of cotton; and cotton yarn production down from 3900 million kgs to 3200 million kgs indicating the slowdown in textiles industry. Government is considering industry representations for a moratorium on loans for capital intensive requests and special relaxation in RBI’s prudential norms to avoid asset reclassification or additional provisioning to address the textile industry slowdown.

Implementation of Crop Development Schemes in 11th Plan

2011-11-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

Implementation of Crop Development Schemes in 11th Plan :
Foodgrain Production Reached at All Time High of 241.56 MT in 2010-11

As a consequence of implementation of the new schemes in the 11th Plan period along with other ongoing schemes, the production of foodgrains, wheat, pulses and rice, has increased considerably as compared to the end of tenth plan, as detailed below:

 The foodgrains production of 208.60 million tones at the end of 10th Plan (2005-06) reached to an all time high of 241.56 MT in the year 2010-11.

 Wheat production increased from 69.35 MT to 85.93 MT, an increase by 16.58 MT.

 Pulses production during the same period increased from 13.3 MT to 18.09 MT, an increase by 4.07 MT.

 Rice production increased from 91.79 MT during 2005-06 to 99.18 MT in 2008-09, an increase by 7.39 MT.

Major Centrally Sponsored Schemes launched during 11th plan period are:

(i) National Food Security Mission, with an outlay of Rs. 4883 crore during 11th Plan to enhance the production of rice, wheat and pulses by 10, 8 and 2 million tones, respectively by the end of XI Plan.

(ii) National Project on Management of Soil Health & Fertility (NPMSHF) with an outlay of Rs.429.85 crore during 11th Plan period to promote balanced and judicious use of fertilizer in conjunction with organic manure on soil test basis.

(iii) National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture in 2010 to “create an environment conducive for raising farm productivity and income to global levels through provision of relevant information and services to the stakeholders”.

The components of these schemes will also be continued during 12th Plan.

Increase in Forest Covers of the Country

2011-11-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

Increase in Forest Covers of the Country

There is increase in forest cover due to afforestation-reforestation in different states.The forest cover of the country is assessed by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun on biennial basis. The data is published in state of Forest Report. The last report was published in 2009 which is known as India State of Forest Report, 2009. According to the India State of Forest Report 2009, there is an increase in the forest cover of the country from 690171 square km in 2005 to 690899 square km in 2007. The details of forest cover in the country, state-wise is given in Annexure I.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Afforestation Programme (NAP) Scheme for regeneration of degraded forests and adjoining areas in the country. The scheme is being implemented through a decentralized mechanism of State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) at State level, Forest Development Agency (FDA) at Forest Division level and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) at village level. As on 31.10.2011, 800 FDA projects have been approved in 28 States in the country to treat an area of 18.32 lakh ha. sinceinception of the scheme in 2002. The details of funds released and area approved during the current five year plan are given in Annexure II.

Annexure I

Forest Cover in States / UTs in India

(area in km²)

State/UT	Geographical Area	Forest Cover				% to GA	Change in forest cover	Scrub
State/UT	Geographical Area	Very Dense Forest	Mod. Dense Forest	Open Forest	Total		Change in forest cover	Scrub
Andhra Pradesh	275,069	820	24,757	19,525	45,102	16.40	-129	10,372
Arunachal Pradesh	83,743	20,858	31,556	14,939	67,353	80.43	-119	111
Assam	78,438	1,461	11,558	14,673	27,692	35.30	-66	179
Bihar	94163	231	3,248	3,325	6,804	7.23	-3	134
Chhattisgarh	135,191	4,162	35,038	16,670	55,870	41.33	-59	107
Delhi	1,483	7	50	120	177	11.94	0	1
Goa	3,702	511	624	1,016	2,151	58.10	-5	1
Gujarat	196,022	376	5,249	8,995	14,620	7.46	16	1,463
Haryana	44,212	27	463	1,104	1,594	3.61	-10	145
Himachal Pradesh	55,673	3,224	6,383	5,061	14,668	26.35	2	327
Jammu & Kashmir	222,236	4,298	8,977	9,411	22,686	10.21	-3	2,036
Jharkhand	79,714	2,590	9,899	10,405	22,894	28.72	172	683
Karnataka	191,791	1,777	20,181	14,232	36,190	18.87	-10	3,176
Kerala	38,863	1,443	9,410	6,471	17,324	44.58	40	58
Madhya Pradesh	308,245	6,647	35,007	36,046	77,700	25.21	-39	6,401
Maharashtra	307,713	8,739	20,834	21,077	50,650	16.46	-11	4,157
Manipur	22,327	701	5,474	11,105	17,280	77.40	328	1
Meghalaya	22,429	410	9,501	7,410	17,321	77.23	116	211
Mizoram	21,081	134	6,251	12,855	19,240	91.27	640	1
Nagaland	16,579	1,274	4,897	7,293	13,464	81.21	-201	2
Orissa	155,707	7,073	21,394	20,388	48,855	31.38	100	4,852
Punjab	50,362	0	733	931	1,664	3.30	4	20
Rajasthan	342,239	72	4,450	11,514	16,036	4.69	24	4,347
Sikkim	7,096	500	2,161	696	3,357	47.31	0	356
Tamil Nadu	130,058	2,926	10,216	10,196	23,338	17.94	24	1,206
Tripura	10,486	111	4,770	3,192	8,073	76.99	-100	75
Uttar Pradesh	240,928	1,626	4,563	8,152	14,341	5.95	-5	745
Uttarakhand	53,483	4,762	14,165	5,568	24,495	45.80	2	271
West Bengal	88,752	2,987	4,644	5,363	12,994	14.64	24	29
A&N Islands	8,249	3,762	2,405	495	6,662	80.76	-1	53
Chandigarh	114	1	10	6	17	14.91	0	1
Dadra & Nagar Haveli	491	0	114	97	211	42.97	-5	1
Daman & Diu	112	0	1	5	6	5.04	0	3
Lakshadweep	32	0	16	10	26	82.75	0	0
Puducherry	480	0	13	31	44	9.14	2	0
Grand Total	3,287,263	83,510	319,012	288,377	690,899	21.02	728	41,525

Annexure II

‘Increase in forest covers of the country’

S.No.	State	Total Release (incrore)	Total area (in ha.)
1.	Andhra Pradesh	50.62	34017
2.	Bihar	29.26	21813
3.	Chhattisgarh	135.80	69783
4.	Goa	0.00	0
5.	Gujarat	118.97	61270
6.	Haryana	83.95	26329
7.	Himachal Pradesh	24.69	16717
8.	Jammu and Kashmir	30.40	17655
9.	Jharkhand	80.67	56650
10.	Karnataka	69.95	44635
11.	Kerala	31.76	19364
12.	Madhya Pradesh	91.49	65827
13.	Maharashtra	96.27	57838
14.	Orissa	63.80	75695
15.	Punjab	12.20	9874
16.	Rajasthan	29.81	21000
17.	Tamil Nadu	36.59	18909
18.	Uttar Pradesh	127.20	76670
19.	Uttarakhand	33.10	31609
20.	West Bengal	26.10	20567
21.	Arunachal Pradesh	15.99	12030
22.	Assam	38.92	25650
23.	Manipur	43.10	22314
24.	Meghalaya	21.63	15645
25.	Mizoram	66.42	28320
26.	Nagaland	39.33	24690
27.	Sikkim	43.01	15399
28.	Tripura	26.22	22556
	Grant Total	1467.25	912826

Environment Education Awareness and Training (EEAT) scheme

2011-11-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

Eeat Scheme in Rural Areas

The Environment Education Awareness and Training (EEAT) scheme is being used to educate students in rural areas. Under the Environment Education Awareness and Training (EEAT) Scheme, National Green Corps (NGC) Programme is being used to educate student in rural areas about environmental issues.

The Eco-clubs have been set up by the Government in the schools under the National Green Corps (NGC) Programme since 2000-01, with underlined objective of spreading environmental awareness amongst school children. These clubs are set up in each district the country over, with the focus on action oriented environment programme through the active involvement of the students. Though State Govts./UTs are at liberty to set up any number of eco-club in a district but the financial assistance under the Programme is restricted to 250 eco-clubs per district Rs.@ 2,500/- per Eco-club per annum.

Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC):To Tackling Cyber Crime

2011-11-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tackling Cyber Crime

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has a specific unit, which deals with the cyber crime cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Union Territories. The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) set up by CBI, investigates cyber crime cases and help respective police organizations in implementation of laws addressing cyber crime and cyber frauds. The efforts of the State Governments are supplemented by the Central Government through regular training of their personnel on ‘Cyber Crime Investigation’ at various training institutions, like the CBI Academy at Ghaziabad, SVPNPA at Hyderabad, NCRB at New Delhi, NEPA at Barapani, LNJNNICFS at New Delhi, CDTS at Chandigarh & Hyderabad and GEQD, Hyderabad.

Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India and therefore, the State Governments are primarily responsible for prevention, detection, registration and investigation of crimes including cyber crime and for prosecuting the criminals through the machinery of their law enforcement agencies. Cyber crime cells have been set up by various State Governments.

National Policy on Prison Reforms

2011-11-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

National Policy on Prison Reforms

The Committee on Draft National Policy on Prison Reforms and Correctional Administrations has given recommendations concerning Central and State Governments. Some of the major recommendations of the Committee were as under:

(i) Inclusion of the subject of Prisons in the Concurrent List,

(ii) Formulation of a new and comprehensive central law replacing the existing Prison Act 1894,

(iii) Amendment in the Representation of People Act, 1951 to provide right of franchise to all prisoners,

(iv) Continuation of scheme of Modernization of Prisons Phase II,

(v) To incorporate the principles of management of prisons and treatment of offenders in the Directive Principles of the State Policy embodied in Part IV of the Constitution of India,

(vi) Specific mention be made in the preamble to the legislations relating to administration of correctional services that correction, reformation and rehabilitation are objectives of punishment awarded to offenders,

(vii) Revision of State Prison Manuals on the lines of Model Prison Manual circulated by Govt. of India,

(viii) Setting up of a State Level Board to review all applications for remission/commutation of sentence,

(ix) To provide industrial and vocational training to all prison inmates,

(x) Disposal of mercy petitions in six months time,

(xi) Establishment of Special Courts/ Lok Adalats,

(xii) Improvement of the living conditions of prisoners in prisons, and

(xiii) Treatment of prisoners in jails.

Most of the recommendations of the Committee pertain to the State Governments and since Prison is a State subject, these were accordingly forwarded to them for implementation.

The major recommendations concerning the Government of India are (i) inclusion of Prison in the Concurrent list (ii) enactment of new central Prison Law in place of Prison Act 1894 (iii) amendment in section 62(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 to allow all the prisoners to vote (iv) continuance of Phase II of the scheme of Modernization of Prisons.

The Home Ministry did not find it feasible to take any action on the recommendations mentioned at (i) & (ii) above.

As regards recommendations at (iii) above, the matter was examined in consultation with the Election Commission of India. Section 62(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 was challenged before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has, however, rejected the contention and observed that the restriction imposed in the aforesaid provisions was reasonable and no arbitrariness or discrimination was involved in the provisions.

Know Indira Goswami..!!

2011-11-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

Indira Goswami also known by pen name as Mamoni Raisom Goswami (14 November 1942 – 29 November 2011), popularly known as Mamoni Baideo,among the Assamese people, was an Assamese editor, poet, professor, scholar and writer.

She was the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1982), the Jnanpith Award (2000)and was also India's first Principal Prince Claus Laureate (2008)One of the most celebrated writers of contemporary Indian literature, she was noted for her novels which include The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker, Pages Stained With Blood and The Man from Chinnamasta.

Role of Gram Sabha in Implementing Forest Right Act,2006

2011-11-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Role of Gram Sabha in Implementing Forest Right Act,2006

As per the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA), the Gram Sabha has been assigned substantial role for implementation of the provisions of the Act.

Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the Gram Sabha has been assigned the following roles for implementing the provisions of the Act:

(i) To initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both that may be given to the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers within the local limits of its jurisdiction under the Act by receiving claims, consolidating and verifying them and preparing a map delineating the area of each recommended claim in such manner as may be prescribed for exercise of such rights and then pass a resolution to that effect and thereafter forward a copy of the same to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee.

(ii) To recommend developmental projects managed by the Government which involve felling of trees not exceeding seventy-five trees per hectare, and which require diversion of forest land, under Section 3 (2) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

(iii) To consider the resettlement or alternative packages prepared by the State Governments for providing a secure livelihood to the affected individual forest rights holders and communities whose forest rights recognized under the Act in the critical wildlife habitats of National Parks and Sanctuaries are subsequently modified or resettled for the purposes of creating inviolate areas for wildlife conservation for providing free informed consent to the proposed resettlement and to the alternative package

(iv) To protect the wild life, forest , biodiversity, adjoining catchments areas, water sources, other ecological sensitive areas, preserve the habitat of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers from any form of destructive practices affecting their cultural and natural heritage etc. [Section 5];and

(v) To pass a resolution against any higher authority by giving a notice of not less than sixty days to the State Level Monitoring Committee and the State Level Monitoring Committee does not proceed against such authority for enabling the Court to take cognizance of any offence under Section 7 of the Act [Section 8].

As per the information received from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, as on 31^stOctober, 2011, the claims for recognition of forest rights under the Act have been received by the Gram Sabhas in the following States:

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Assam

3. Bihar

4. Chhattisgarh

5. Gujarat

6. Himachal Pradesh

7. Jharkhand

8. Karnataka

9. Kerala

10. Madhya Pradesh

11. Maharashtra

12. Orissa

13. Rajasthan

14. Tamil Nadu

15. Tripura

16. Uttar Pradesh

17. Uttarakhand

18. West Bengal

The Gram Sabhas in these States have also passed resolutions on such claims and forwarded the same to the Sub-Divisional Level Committees for preparation of the record of forest rights.

New initiative taken by state to empower Panchayats..

2011-11-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

The Central Government provides funds to the State Governments under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) to redress regional imbalances in development in 250 backward districts in the country with a strategy that aims to promote the performance and capacity of Panchayats in planning, decision making, implementation and monitoring.

In addition to the BRGF, the following schemes for empowerment of Panchayats are being implemented:

(1) Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana: Funds are released to States for training and capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions in districts uncovered by the BRGF.

(2) Rural Business Hubs: This Scheme aims to assist the Panchayats to empower rural labour productivity by providing forward backward linkages with technical assistance in Public-Private-Partnership.

(3) Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan: It aims to enable women and youth Panchayat leaders to come together to articulate their problems as women Panchayat Leaders.

(4) e-Panchayat: For computerizing the databases, accounts and other functions of the Gram Panchayats for accountability and transparency.

(5) Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme: To recognize and incentivize the efforts of Panchayats with respect to transparency, accountability and efficiency and of States with respect to devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to Panchayats.

know structure of Earth..!!

2011-11-26T05:43:00.000-08:00

How to crack civil services exams(IAS,IPS,IFS) in first attempt...!

2011-11-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

The IAS Exam in 2013 will be special .Not only will it feature the new CSAT syllabus introduced from 2011 onwards but also the pattern will be different from the 2012 IAS exam. This hub explains all the details relating to the 2013 IAS Exam including the procedure, syllabus, possible exam pattern, books to refer, and tips to crack the 2013 IAS exam.

IAS Exam : The Basics

The IAS Exam will consist of three stages: Prelims, Mains, and Interview (Personality Test). While the Preliminary exam will be objective in nature, the mains will be written while the personality test is verbal.
You have to clear the preceding stage to reach the next stage of IAS 2012 Exam. For instance you will need to first crack the IAS prelims, then appear for the mains, and based on the marks obtained you may be called for the IAS interview, the final frontier.

Applying for the 2012 IAS Exam

To appear for the IAS exam you will first need to apply for it. All the three stages of the IAS exam are conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a Constitutional body answerable to the Union Parliament.
The notification for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (or just IAS prelims) will appear in the Employment News and on UPSC's website on 02-02-2013 and you can apply either online or through application forms available at the Head Post Offices throughout cities in India.
Remember: You cannot directly appear for the Mains or Interview. Rather you have to first apply for the Preliminary examination conducted by UPSC before proceeding to the next stage.
The last date of receipt of your application is 05-03-2013. At this stage you don't have to send any documents about your age or educational qualifications. They will be required at the time of filling the IAS Mains form.
The Preliminary exam or the first stage of the IAS Exam 2012 will be held on 18-05-2013.

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The 2012 IAS Prelims: What You Need to Know

Here is some basic and important information about the Prelims if you intend to appear for the ias exam in 2012.

The IAS Prelims will be objective in nature and consist of two papers compulsory to all
Most questions carry a negative penalty or negative marking of 0.33 marks for each wrong answer
Each paper will of 200 marks each and 2 hours in duration. The number of questions in each paper is not fixed and can vary every year
You have to appear for both papers, held on the same day, for your papers to be checked
Even if you appear for one paper, your attempt is counted
If you merely apply for the Prelims but do not appear for the exam then your attempt is not counted

2012 Prelims Syllabus

As already mentioned, the Prelims is objective in nature and each question carries four choices out of which the candidate has to select one right option. The new CSAT or Prelims syllabus was introduced from the 2011 exam and is as follows.

(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs

Current events of national and international importance
History of India and Indian national movement
Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
Indian Polity and governance constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
Economic and social development sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that donot require subject specialization
General science.

(Paper II) (200 marks) Duration : Two hrs

Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
Decision making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. Class X level)
English language comprehension skills (Class X level)
Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

How You Cracked the Prelims in First Attempt

Many IAS exam aspirants want to know whether they can clear the ias exam 2012 prelims in their very first attempt? Yes it's entirely possible! Let me explain briefly how you cleare the prelims in first attempt itself without any coaching and very little guidance.

Read one good newspaper and two magazines for current affairs apart from Manorama Year Book for GK and Current Events.

Instead of referring multiple magazines and newspapers, I suggest you just read one good newspaper and one or two magazines for current affairs. The Hindu is a very reputed English daily and if you can get hold of it, go for it otherwise read The Indian Express.

As far as magazines are concerned, Civil Services Chronicle or civil services Times are both good magazines for current affairs and reading one will be enough. But you should surely read Manorama Year Book for not just current affairs but more importantly to build your General Knowledge.

Read the past 5 years solved question papers before and after reading a topic.

The best way to track your progress is to refer the past five years questions whenever you start a new topic. This way you know what's important and should be stressed upon. After you finish reading that topic refer the questions from that topic again and check if you can answer all of them or not.

This way you know if you have left out some important points in the first reading and can attempt course correction immediately instead of waiting till the fag end of your preparation for IAS Exam in 2012.

covered the scoring topics early

You shouldn't just study the first topic that you come across. Rather, prioritize and plan. Topics like GK, Polity, Maps can be prepared quickly and fetch easy marks. Tackle them early to pocket 30-40 marks even before you step into the exam hall.

make micro notes that you could go through quickly before the prelims

Aspirants planning to prepare for the 2012 IAS Exam should make it a habit of writing important current event and GK snippets in a diary, register or flip cards on a daily basis which you can go through 15 or 20 days before the Prelims.

Learn How to Read the Newspaper for IAS Exam

IAS 2013 Mains Examination Details

The Civil Services (Main) Examination 2012 will commence from 18-11-2013 and continue for 21 days. The first paper will be GS or General Studies followed by Essay and English (Compulsory). The third day will be the Indian Language paper and this will be followed by various optional papers on different days.

In all the 2013 IAS Mains exam will consist of 2000 marks ( GS paper of 600 marks, 2 optional papers of 600 marks each, essay paper of 200 marks) and students securing more than 940 marks (general category) can expect an Interview call from the UPSC.

Each paper of the 2013 IAS Mains exam will be of 3 hours duration and there will be 3 hours break between two papers held on the same day. For instance, GS paper 1 will be held in the morning and paper 2 in the afternoon.

Approximately 13 times the total number of seats qualify the prelims and appear for the mains exam. So if the total number of seats announced in the 2013 prelims notification is 1500, about 20,700 candidates will clear the prelims and write the mains exam.

Finally, about 2.5 time the total vacancies are called for the IAS interview. So out of 20,700 candidates writing the 2013 IAS Mains exam, about 4250 candidates will qualify for the IAS Interview.

IAS Interview Tips from an Indian Civil Services Officer

2011-08-31T03:14:00.000-07:00

UPSC Answer Sheets can be accessed under RTI: Supreme Court

2011-08-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, a Supreme Court bench said students had the right to access their answer-sheets under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The court held that evaluated answer-sheets were covered under the definition of “information” under the RTI Act, 2005. The bench, comprising justice RV Raveendran and justice AK Patnaik, upheld a February 5, 2009 ruling of the Calcutta high court that examination conducting agencies were not exempted under the transparency law from disclosing the answer-sheets.

FOR more reading .click here.hindustantimes

"Indian Agrarian Crises: Crop Holiday"

2011-07-21T07:21:00.001-07:00

It all started with 500 farmers in Achanta, a village in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district, covering around 4,500 acres of land. The farmers decided to declare a ‘crop holiday’, which means "the fight with inflation will start all over again".
the agricultural equivalent of a manufacturing shutdown.What started as a small movement of non-cooperation is picking up steam in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring southern states. It could threaten to engulf some northern states, too. If the movement spreads, the UPA’s Food Security Bill and anti-inflation strategy will be in tatters.

The crop holiday has now spread to 300,000 acres in Andhra Pradesh alone, which would result in a loss of 1.5 million tonnes of rice for the year. This quantity is 5 lakh tonnes more than the government’s export quota for the year.

If the movement catches on in other states, Achanta could set off a new power struggle to change the terms of trade between industry and agriculture, urban and rural areas. This small village was a testing ground for the green revolution in the mid-1960s.

There are two main reasons for the farmers to ‘revolt’ in such a manner.

1) The first is that the cost of production, after NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) pushed up costs all-around. Even if the crop is sold at the minimum support price (MSP), farmers say they are making losses. This is because the data used to calculate the MSP of rice is based on 2007-08 numbers.

Labour costs have shot up over four-fold with the implementation of NREGA. During the peak agricultural season their cost is around Rs 350-400 per day. While there is no need to deny higher wages for the lowest sections of society, a similar increase in MSP was needed to offset this cost, as was recommended by the National Commission for Farmers, headed by Prof MS Swaminathan, aimed at redressing the distressing conditions of 600 million farmers. The commission had suggested increasing the MSP by 50 percent across the board.

To ensure that NREGA does not make agriculture viable, the Centre has asked states to avoid making NREGA active during the peak agricultural season, says

The difference between the wages of agriculture and non-agriculture workers has increased from 1:1.8 in 1950s to 1:5.2 in 2010; in other words, a person deciding to stay back in his village and work will be paid one-fifth of what he will get if he decides to work in a manufacturing sector. The 11th Plan highlights the tale of an agriculture worker when it says “GDP per agricultural worker is currently around Rs 2,000 per month, which is only about 75% higher in real terms than in 1950 compared to a four-fold increase in overall real per capita GDP”.

2)The second reason is the huge pile of foodgrain stocks. Farmers in Andhra Pradesh still have over 30 percent of their stock from the previous season. Taking advantage of the stock pile, millers in the area are procuring the produce at a huge discount to the MSP (Rs 6.5-7 per kg as compared to Rs 10.80 per kg of MSP).

The government’s decision to allow exports of rice came five months after it knew that the country would have a bumper crop. The only people who will benefit from this export quota are traders and millers who have the financial muscle to hold the inventory and take advantage of higher prices and such sudden quota releases.

According to a Nabard report, small and marginal farmers who account for 80 percent of total land holdings and 36 percent of area have no access to bank credit. Thus releasing an export quota, when the domestic farmer is bleeding is playing right in the hands of the traders (read hoarders).

The bigger problem is, such attitude of the government at a time when it is contemplating to introduce and implement the Food Security Bill, will be very dangerous for the agriculture sector. If the bill is enacted, grain procurement would increase to 60 million tonnes as compared to around 40 million tonnes currently. The MSP has to be properly calculated and implemented if the government is expecting success for the bill.

Issues related to farmers do not generally get the same kind of attention as news related to food inflation. Take for example, the ‘crop holiday’ announced by farmers in Andhra Pradesh for this kharif season. Don’t think that this phenomenon will be confined to Andhra Pradesh. Those leading the ‘crop holiday’ campaign have begun to talk to their peers in Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, asking them to go on a partial crop holiday as a mark of protest against net negative incomes.

These farmers belong neither to the rain-fed areas nor the drought-prone regions. They belong to the water-rich districts of East and West Godavari, Krishna and Nellore.

The reason for not growing kharif crops is:

1) it has become unviable.
2) The cost of production is far higher than the returns they get.

The extent of area under crop holiday is not insignificant. Farmers’ organisations have put it at three lakh acres! One may dismiss this, saying that it is just a fraction of the total arable land in the country. But when you convert acres into yields, it will certainly send a chill down your spine. At five tonnes an acre (two in kharif and three in rabi), the country is all set to lose 15 lakh tonnes this year!

If more farmers in Andhra Pradesh and other States join this new kind of protest, the extent of loss would be much higher and pose a serious threat to country’s food security. More than the loss itself, the desperation in the farming community poses a long-term challenge.

IMMEDIATE EFFECTS

The problem deserves immediate attention, because it is not a problem that can wait. After suffering for several seasons, it occurred to the farmers that it makes sense (by not making losses) for them to skip a season. This mirrors a serious crisis in Indian agriculture. If the thinking in the water-rich areas is such, one can only imagine the plight of those farmers in rain-fed areas.

One can argue that this is just a protest and that farmers cannot afford to do this forever. Agreed. But this is a strong political statement by farmers, with serious implications for food security and employment in rural areas. This crisis is driving the youth away from agriculture and allied activity. You find almost no young people to carry out farming chores or to work in the fields. And this is certainly not going help the country as it braces to feed 140 crore people in 2026.