1. PRADHAN MANTRI MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA
TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY
THE CONTEXT: PMMSY: bridging gaps in the fisheries sector
EXPLANATION:
- PMMSY began to bridge the gaps in the fisheries value chain from fish production, productivity, and quality to technology, postharvest infrastructure and marketing.
- The PMMSY has successfully pulled inland fisheries from traditional waters, and infused technology, inspiring many talented and enterprising youth to venture into fisheries.
- The PMMSY has empowered fisher women to explore remunerative options and alternative livelihoods, such as ornamental fisheries, pearl culture, and seaweed cultivation.
- India is now counted among the world’s top three countries in fish and aquaculture production and is also the biggest shrimp exporter in the world.
About PMMSY:
- Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) on September 2020.
- PMMSY has brought the Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of the fisheries sector in India at a total investment of ₹ 20,050 crore for holistic development of the fisheries sector including the welfare of fishers.
- PMMSY will be implemented in all the States and Union Territories for a period of 5(five) years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.
- Fishermen are given insurance protection, financial aid, and the option of a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) in order to make access to institutional credit easier.
Objectives of PMMSY:
- Harness the potential of the fisheries sector in a sustainable, responsible, inclusive, and equitable manner.
- Enhance fish production and productivity through expansion, intensification, diversification, and productive utilization of land and water.
- Modernize and strengthen the value chain including post-harvest management and quality improvement.
- Double fishers and fish farmers’ incomes and generate meaningful employment.
- Enhance the contribution of the fisheries sector to Agricultural GVA and exports.
Benefits
- Financial assistance for fishing infrastructure: The scheme provides financial assistance to develop fishing infrastructure like fishing harbors, fish landing centers, fish markets, fish feed plants, fish seed farms, and fish processing units.
- Financial assistance for fish farmers: The scheme provides financial assistance to fish farmers for various activities like the construction of ponds, cages, hatcheries, and nurseries, and for the installation of aeration systems and other equipment.
- Assistance for fisheries management: The scheme provides financial assistance for the management of fishery resources through the adoption of scientific methods, setting up of fishery management plans, and developing fishery information systems.
- Credit-linked subsidy for fish farmers: The scheme provides a credit-linked subsidy for fish farmers to encourage them to take up fish farming as a business.
- Assistance for marketing and export of fish products: The scheme provides assistance for the development of cold chains, fish processing units, and packaging facilities to promote the export of fish products.
2. RUBBER BOARD OF INDIA
TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY
THE CONTEXT: Rubber Board to increase area under rubber in Northeast.
EXPLANATION:
- In a move to expand the area in non-traditional States, the Rubber Board is implementing a project to bring 2 lakh hectares under natural rubber in the Northeastern States, except Sikkim, but including West Bengal.
- The northeastern states, particularly Tripura and Assam, account for over 16 percent of the total production, up from around 10 per cent a few years ago. The share of Kerala has come down from around 90 percent to 78 percent. The non-traditional regions of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra have a combined share of 6 percent in the total output.
- “The current rise in production has come more from higher output in northeastern states than from Kerala. Low prices and high production costs have reduced tapping in Kerala.
Rubber board of India:
- The Rubber Board is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.
- The Rubber Board functions under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Government of India. The Board is headed by a Chairman appointed by the Central Government and has 28 members representing various interests of the natural rubber industry. The Board’s headquarters is located at Kottayam in Kerala.
About Rubber: Rubber is made up of latex of a tree known as Hevea Brasiliensis. It is an equatorial crop.
- Climate: Rubber plants are native to tropical areas, so they don’t like to be hit with cold blasts of air from doors or drafty windows and may begin to drop some leaves if they are.
- Temperature: It requires high temperature throughout the year – ranging between 20°-35°C or average monthly mean of 27°C. Less than 20°C temperature is detrimental. Similarly, rubber also requires heavy rainfall(200cm).
- Soil: Rubber will do well on a wide variety of soils, some of which would be too poor for many crops. Deep, friable, well-drained soils are ideal as they promote root development, and acidic soils are also suitable.
Production and Consumption in India:
- India is currently the sixth largest producer of NR in the world with one of the highest productivities. The production capacity in India is around 900,000 tonnes, of which around 75% is tapped. Traditional rubber-growing states comprising Kerala and Tamil Nadu account for 81% of production. Major non-traditional rubber growing regions are the North Eastern states of Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
- India is the 2nd largest consumer of NR globally with current consumption of around 1.1 million tonnes.. Around 40% of the total NR consumption in India is at present met from import of rubber.
Challenges faced by Rubber industry:
- The sector also faces many challenges, some of which are sub-optimal agro-climatic conditions and adverse impact of climate change, saturation of area for new planting in traditional regions, agro-climatic, topographic, social, cultural, institutional and infrastructure constraints in non-traditional regions, global price volatility and low-price situations, and its repercussions on production, lack of competitiveness, stagnation in the growth of Non-Tyre Rubber manufacturing sector etc.
Government Initiative:
- National Rubber policy,2019.
- Rubber plantation development scheme.
- 100% FDI in Plantation of Rubber.
- The Rubber Board, in association with major tyre companies, is implementing the NE Mitra scheme in northeastern states that contemplates fresh cultivation of rubber in 200,000 hectares in five years.
Top Rubber producing state in India: 1. Kerala, 2.Tamil Nadu, 3.Tripura, 4.Assam
Largest Rubber producing countries in the world: Thailand, Indonesia , Vietnam ,Ivory Coast , China, India.
3. KALAIGNAR MAGALIR URIMAI THITTAM SCHEME
TAG: GS 2: SOCIAL JUSTICE
THE CONTEXT: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin launches Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam in Kancheepuram.
EXPLANATION:
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam in Kancheepuram on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) founder C.N. Annadurai.
- About Scheme:
- Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam is a basic income scheme.
- The main objective behind launching this scheme is to empower women financially so that their livelihood and standard of living will improve.
- Women Head of a Family whose Age is 21 Years and above are eligible for monthly financial assistance under this scheme.
- Registration for Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam is started by Tamil Nadu Government.
Universal Basic Income (UBI):
- It is a guaranteed, ongoing cash distribution from the government to all residents, regardless of their financial situation or level of income. UBI will serve as a universal safety net for all people, regardless of their income or age.
- The Universal Basic Income (UBI) comprises three components, namely universality, unconditionality, and agency, according to the Economic Survey (2016–17).
- Universal: All citizens will be covered by UBI.
- Unconditional: The beneficiaries of UBI are not chosen based on any criteria.
- Agency: Providing financial assistance in order to respect rather than impose the recipients’ preferences.
- UBI is intended to be distributed to individuals, not families, on a regular basis, in the form of money (rather than vouchers or coupons).
Benefits of UBI:
- Combating Extreme Events: By providing a basic income to everyone, the general public will be better able to withstand shocks like the COVID-19 Pandemic and other shocks like natural disasters (floods, tsunami, earthquakes, etc.). According to numerous reports, the majority of rural poor people have become financially vulnerable, while the lowest of the poor are essentially going hungry as a result of the pandemic’s effects.
- Economic Recovery: The current economic condition has forced the closure of numerous businesses and led to significant job losses. Due to this, the economy’s demand for goods and services has decreased. UBI can assist ignite the demand and boost the economy.
- Ensuring Dignity: A guaranteed quarterly financial transfer would make it possible for everyone to live a more dignified life, honoring everyone’s right to life as guaranteed by Article 21.
- Social justice: A society will not pass the justice test if it does not ensure that every citizen receives a respectable minimum income. As a result, UBI advances social justice by ensuring a minimum, unconditional income.
Challenges:
- The problem in the scheme comes when cut-offs are set and benefits are targeted at certain groups.
- Fiscal issues also surface when, rather than having a fixed budget for the scheme covering all citizens, cut-offs for various segments have to be worked out.
- A targeted scheme cannot be called universal and this will also require another round of Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to get updated data on beneficiaries as the 2012 data is now outdated and does not provide the correct picture.
- Recipients may abuse the funds they receive and defeat the goals of social security. UBI will further discourage individuals from working or cause them to work less.
Way forward:
- First, since the wealthy can be excluded from cash transfer programs, the government can reconsider real universality. specific classes of residents may be automatically excluded (for example, if they possess specific assets).
- Second, the government should exploit the potential of the JAM(short for Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity (biometric identification, financial inclusion, and mobile penetration) for direct cash transfers to household bank accounts after agreeing on the quasi-basic income criterion.
4. THE POST OFFICE BILL, 2023
TAG: GS 2: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
THE CONTEXT: The Post Office Bill 2023 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha to repeal the Indian Post Office Act 1898.
PROVISIONS OF THE POST OFFICE BILL 2023 AND POST OFFICE ACT 1898
Post Office Act 1898
The Act provides for the issuance of postage stamps as per the Rules prescribed by the central government.
The Act provides that wherever the central government establishes posts, it will have the exclusive privilege of conveying letters by post, as well as incidental services such as receiving, collecting etc.
The Act specifies the services provided by the Post Office to include: (i) the delivery of postal articles including letters, postcards, and parcels, and (ii) money orders.
The Act allows for the interception of a shipment being transmitted through the post on certain grounds. An interception may be carried out on the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of public safety or tranquillity. Such interceptions may be carried out by the central government, state governments, or any officer specially authorised by them.
Under the Act, the Director General has powers to decide the time and manner of delivery of postal services. Under the Act, the central government can notify charges for postal services through notifications.
The Act specifies various offences and penalties. For instance, theft, misappropriation etc.
The Act exempts the government from any liability related to the loss, mis delivery, delay or damage to a postal article. This does not apply where the liability is undertaken by the central government in express terms. Officers are also exempt from such liability unless they have acted fraudulently or wilfully.
Post Office Bill 2023
The Bill also states that the Post Office will have the exclusive privilege of issuing postage stamps.
The Bill does not contain such privileges.
The Bill provides that the Post Office will provide services prescribed by the central government.
The Bill instead provides that the interception of a shipment being transmitted through post may be carried out on the following grounds: (i) security of the state, (ii) friendly relations with foreign states, etc. An officer empowered by the central government through a notification may carry out an interception.
As per the Bill, the Director General may make regulations to specify charges. The Director General may also make regulations on supply and sale of postage stamps and postal stationery.
The Bill does not provide for any offences or consequences, except one. Amounts not paid or neglected by a user will be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
The Bill retains these provisions. However, it provides that instead of the central government, the Post Office may prescribe the liability regarding its services.
WHY THERE IS NEED TO REPEAL THE ACT?
- The Indian Post Office Act, 1898 was enacted in 1898 with a view to govern the functioning of the Post Office in India which was primarily related to mail services provided through the Post Office.
- With time the services available through the Post Office have diversified beyond mails and the Post Office network has become a vehicle for delivery of a variety of citizen centric services. Further with India Post Payments Bank the postal department has entered banking too.
- All this necessitated the repeal of the said Act and enactment of new law in its place.
SOURCE: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/changing-the-way-the-postman-knocks/article67308498.ece
5. K2-18B EXOPLANET
TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide.
EXPLANATION:
- Webb’s discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet, one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.
K2-18B EXOPLANET:
- K2-18b is an interesting exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star.
- It is discovered in 2015 by the Kepler Space Telescope’s K2 mission. It is a type of planet called a sub-Neptune. These are smaller than Neptune in our own Solar System.
- The primary science objective of the Kepler mission was transit-driven exoplanet detection with an emphasis on terrestrial planets located within the habitable zones of Sun-like stars.
- The planet is about eight and a half times heavier than Earth and orbits a type of star called a red dwarf, which is much cooler than our Sun.
- However, K2-18b orbits much closer to its star than Neptune does in the habitable zone.
- This is the area that is not too hot and not too cold, where liquid water can exist (instead of freezing to ice or boiling into steam).
- Earth is called a rocky planet, but sub-Neptunes are gas planets, with much larger atmospheres containing lots of hydrogen and helium. Their atmosphere can also contain other elements.
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope: NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope is an observatory in space dedicated to finding planets outside our solar system, with a particular focus on finding planets that might resemble Earth. The observatory was in commission for just under nine years, from its launch in March 2009 to its decommission on Nov. 15, 2018.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STUDY:
- The new study found a lot of carbon dioxide and methane.
- It also found a small amount of dimethyl sulfide. Dimethyl sulfide is an molecule, made up of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur.
- On Earth, dimethyl sulfide is linked to life, on other planets it may somehow be related to geological or chemical processes.
- On Earth, it’s generally a bit smelly. But it’s also closely linked to life.
- Marine life and plankton emit it in the form of flatulence(gas).
