National
President Droupadi Murmu launches 4th Agriculture Road Map (2023-2028) of Bihar
⇒ President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu launched the fourth Krishi Road Map (2023-2028) of Bihar worth Rs 1.62 lakh crore at Patna on October 18, 2023.
- President Murmu exhorted the farmers of Bihar to take advantage of the rising demand for organic products, and the increasing infrastructure for the same in the State.
- The President launched the Agriculture Road Map at Babu Sabhagar in the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Ministers of several other departments.
Focus:
- The Agriculture Road Map focuses on increasing agricultural production in the State, while also increasing farmers’ incomes in the next five years.
- The road map, the fourth of its kind, also focuses on the storage, processing and expansion of seed and irrigation along with crop diversification as well as improved agriculture marketing.
» The first Agriculture Road Map was launched in 2008, followed by another in 2012 and a third in 2017.
First three Agricultural Road Map have been implemented by the state government with the resolve ‘A dish of Bihar in the plate of every Indian (Pratyek Bhartiya ke thal me Bihar ka ek vyanjan).
- With this resolve, schemes were implemented for qualitative increase in the production of agricultural products and also schemes for strengthening and rejuvenation of infrastructure to take agricultural produces of the state to the entire country.
The major achievements of the policies and agriculture road map programs are as follows:
- The production of wheat, maize, and rice has increased manifold since the first Agriculture Road Map. In 2008, the production of wheat was 23.35 quintal per hectare which has risen to 30.78 quintal per hectare. Similarly, the production of maize was 27.39 quintals per hectare which has not increased to 52.36 quintals per hectare.
- Even rice production has increased from 12.37 quintals to 24.96 quintals per hectare by 2022. Not only rice, wheat and maize, even the production of milk, eggs and meat has also increased in Bihar after the Agriculture Road Map was implemented in Bihar.
- The production of fruits in the pre-agriculture road map period was 32.2 lakh metric tonnes, which has increased to 45.36 lakh metric tonnes. Vegetable production increased from 101.03 lakh metric tonnes to 169.25 lakh metric tonnes during the same period.
- Before the agricultural road map, milk production per year was 57.7 lakh metric tonnes, which has increased to 115 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2020-21.
- Egg production was 10667 lakhs per year in the year 2007-08, which has increased to 30132 lakhs per year in the year 2020-21.
- Meat production was 1.80 lakh metric tonnes per year in the year 2007-08, which has increased to 3.97 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2020-21.
- Before the implementation of the agriculture road map, the state’s fish production was 2.88 lakh metric tonnes. After the implementation of the agriculture road map, the present fish production of the state has increased to 7.62 lakh metric tonnes.
Despite the significant achievements of the first three agricultural road maps, there are many challenges and new opportunities before the agriculture sector.
The Fourth Agriculture Road Map has been prepared to address the challenges before agriculture.
- In formulating this road map, it has been kept in mind that there should be development of multitude of marginal farmers of the state. Special attention has been paid to address the needs of women farmers.
- This road map promotes investment in the public sector on a priority basis, along with creating a conducive environment to encourage private investment in the state.
- The Fourth Agriculture Road Map also aims at convergence between various departments, public-private working together for the farmers.
- The specialty of the fourth agriculture road map is that along with the detailed vision of this road map, approval has been granted for the detailed project reports (DPRs) of priority sector. As a result, continuous work of these schemes will be possible for five years to achieve the target.
- The fourth Agriculture Road Map is dedicated to work for the interests of raiyat as well as non- raiyat farmers, keeping the same definition of the farmers as in the first three agricultural road maps.
The objectives of the Fourth Agriculture Road Map have been set as follows:
- Food and Nutrition Security
- Promotion of non- raiyat and women farmers along with raiyat farmers for inclusive development
- Sustainable development.
- Convergence between different departments of agriculture road map as well as mutual coordination between government departments and private sector in relation to farmer related subjects.
- Forming farmers’ groups for the purpose of small farmer-big farming.
- Maximum use of modern technology in agriculture, so that farmers’ lives can be improved by solving their problems.
- Specific measures to reduce damage to agricultural produce during production and after production.
- Special program for the development of specific agricultural areas of the state such as Tal and Diara and Chaur.
- Integrated development of agriculture sector, which includes development of horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries sector along with crops.
- To prepare farmers for the situations arising due to climate change and to keep the ecological balance intact.
» Altogether, 12 departments would be engaged in the execution of the fourth road map.
4th Agriculture Road Map (2023-2028) of Bihar (Official Link)
Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurates project "Heartland Tripura”
⇒ Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated project “Heartland Tripura,” a skill development initiative in collaboration with Deloitte and NIELIT in Agartala.
- The project was launched at the Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan in Agartala on 19 October 2023.
- During the inauguration ceremony, Deloitte India and NIELIT – Agartala signed an agreement.
- The project aims to provide skill development and employment opportunities to undergraduate students in engineering and non-engineering disciplines.
Implemented by:
“Heartland Tripura” is being implemented by Deloitte India in association with National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), Agartala, with the support of the Government of India and the Government of Tripura.
Key Points:
- The “Heartland Tripura” project will deliver a specific set of skill development certification courses through NIELIT-Agartala for the state. Select professionals will also have the opportunity to be selected in internships, which could lead to promising job prospects after they successfully complete the certification and internship requirements.
- The certification courses offered under “Heartland Tripura” will cover a wide range of new-age technical and professional development skills, such as cybersecurity, internal audit, and analytics, as well as softer skills such as business communication and executive presence.
- The initiative will also support the planning and delivery of placement season at colleges. Some of the educational institutions included in the project are, NIT College, Tripura Institute of Technology, Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Women’s College in Agartala and TECE.
- Deloitte will curate a curriculum for industry readiness, drive NCVET-based certification, provide trainer access through its professionals, and guide colleges in the state to organize placement fairs.
- The project also aims to identify target organizations for placements and build an advocacy network for private firms to hire from select colleges in Tripura.
» In the pilot phase of this project around 350 graduates are expected to receive training and employment opportunities, subject to fulfilling laid out assessment criteria.
- This will potentially create job opportunities for 50 engineering and non-engineering students by January 2024 and further job placements for up to 300 engineering and non-engineering students from March to June 2024.
Cabinet approves Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) in Ladakh
⇒ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, approved the project on Green Energy Corridor Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System for 13 GW Renewable Energy Project in Ladakh on 18 October 2023.
- The project is targeted to be set up by FY 2029-30 with total estimated cost of Rs 20,773.70 crore and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) @ 40 percent of the project cost i.e. Rs 8,309.48 crore.
Implementing Agency:
Keeping in view the complex terrain, adverse climatic conditions and defence sensitivities of Ladakh region, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) will be the Implementing Agency for this project.
- State of the art Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) system and Extra High Voltage Alternating Current (EHVAC) systems will be deployed.
Key Points:
- The transmission line for evacuating this power will pass through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab up to Kaithal in Haryana, where it will be integrated with the National Grid.
- An interconnection is also planned from this project in Leh to existing Ladakh grid so as to ensure reliable power supply to the Ladakh.
- It will also be connected to Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar line to provide power to Jammu & Kashmir.
- The project will entail setting up of 713 km transmission lines (including 480 km HVDC line) and 5 GW capacity of HVDC terminal each at Pang (Ladakh) and Kaithal (Haryana).
- The project will contribute to achieving the target of 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels by year 2030.
Intra-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-II (InSTS GEC-II):
- This project is in addition to Intra-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-II, which is already under implementation in the States of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh for grid integration. 20 GW of renewable energy power is expected to be completed by the year 2026.
- The InSTS GEC-II scheme targets addition of 10753 ckm of transmission lines and 27546 MVA capacity of substations having estimated project cost of Rs 12,031.33 crore and CFA @33%, i.e. Rs 3970.34 crore.
Background:
- The Prime Minister, during his Independence Day Speech on 15 August 2020, announced setting up of 7.5 GW Solar Park in Ladakh.
- After extensive field survey, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) prepared a plan to set up 13 GW Renewable Energy (RE) generation capacity along with 12 GWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Pang, Ladakh.
- For evacuating this huge quantum of power, it will be necessary to create an inter-state transmission infrastructure.
Important Day
World White Cane Day 2023
⇒ World White Cane Day is celebrated every year on 15 October.
World White Cane Day is observed to promote accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities and to increase public awareness of the rules of conduct for the blind.
History:
- World White Cane Day is also known as White Cane Safety Day.
- The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) started a fight against the solution and for the independence of the blind people in the 1960s. On this line, it urged the United States Congress to issue a joint resolution to observe White Cane Safety Day, now known as World White Cane Safety Day.
- Finally, in 1964, then-US President Lyndon B Johnson celebrated World White Cane Day for the first time.
- In 2011, President Barack Obama named the day as Blind Americans Equality Day.
- The day is now observed worldwide and recognises the movement of blind people from dependency to active participation in society. It also celebrates the achievement of the blind people.
- For visually impaired people, the white cane represents independence and mobility, and it is now a representation of freedom, independence, and confidence. It helps a visually impaired person move around freely and completes daily tasks.