DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Ministry of Tribal Affairs initiates IEC Campaign on Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) to raise awareness and ensure 100% saturation of Government Schemes in PVTG majority tribal habitations

‘Empowering Tribals, Transforming India’: IEC initiative to ensure coverage of every PVTG household that has remained unreached due to distance, lack of road and digital connectivity and will provide facilities at their doorstep.

Aim: of reaching out to 22000 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) majority tribal habitations and PVTG families in 200 districts across the country.

About:

• • PM JANMAN is a government scheme that aims to bring tribal communities into the mainstream.
  • The scheme (comprising Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes) will be implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in collaboration with the State governments and the PVTG communities.
  • The scheme will concentrate on 11 critical interventions overseen by 9 line Ministries, ensuring the implementation of existing schemes in villages inhabited by PVTGs.
    • It encompasses various sectors, including safe housing under the PM-AWAS Scheme, access to clean drinking water, improved healthcare, education, nutrition, road and telecommunications connectivity, as well as opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.
  • The plan also includes the establishment of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras for trading in forest produce, off-grid solar power systems for 1 lakh households, and solar street lights.
  • The scheme is expected to enhance the quality of life and well-being of the PVTGs, by addressing their multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and exclusion, and by recognizing and valuing their unique and valuable contribution to national and global development.
• Challenges in Implementation:
  • Lack of current data on PVTGs is a significant challenge, as the last available census data for PVTGs is from 2001, which counted a total of around 27.6 lakh individuals belonging to these communities.
    • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has started conducting baseline surveys, but an accurate and current dataset of PVTG populations is yet to be compiled.
    • The population data submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment in 2022 was based on the 2011 Census and did not include the population of PVTGs in Maharashtra, Manipur, and Rajasthan.
    • The lack of current data hampers the accurate assessment of the needs and progress of PVTG communities.
    • The absence of a specific Census for PVTG communities, as recommended by the National Advisory Council in 2013, further adds to the challenge of gathering comprehensive information on their education, health, and housing status.
  • The complexity and diversity of the needs and capacities of the PVTGs across different regions and states and the need for customized and flexible approaches and interventions.
  • The stigma and discrimination faced by the PVTGs in mainstream society and the state and the need for sensitization and awareness among the stakeholders and the public.
  • The coordination and convergence of the scheme with the existing schemes and programmes of the central and state governments and the need for effective and efficient delivery and utilization of the resources and services.

Who are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)?

• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission established Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a distinct category, encompassing tribal communities characterized by a declining or stagnant population, the use of pre-agrarian technology, economic backwardness, and low literacy. These groups are identified as less developed among the tribal communities.

• In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs. They reside in remote and inaccessible areas, facing challenges due to poor infrastructure and administrative support.
• There are 75 PVTG communities spread across 18 States and Union Territories in India.
  • Odisha has the highest number of PVTGs (15), followed by Andhra Pradesh (12), Bihar and Jharkhand (9), Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (7), Tamil Nadu (6), and Kerala and Gujarat (5 each).
  • The rest of the communities are spread across Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tripura, and Manipur.
  • All four tribal groups in the Andaman and one in the Nicobar Islands are recognized as PVTGs.

As per annual report of National Crime Record Bureau the crimes against women rose 4% in 2022 compared to 2021.

Recently the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution directed all mills and distilleries not to use sugarcane juice/syrup for making any ethanol “with immediate effect”.

Ethanol Blended Petrol Program (EBP)?

• Launch year- 2003
• Aim- To promote the use of renewable fuels.
• Ethanol- It is an agro-based product, mainly produced from a by-product of the sugar industry, namely molasses. It is 99.9% pure alcohol that can be blended with petrol.
• Guidelines- National Policy on Biofuels.
• Nodal department- Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) is the nodal department for promotion of fuel grade ethanol producing distilleries in the country.
• Target-
  • E10-It has achieved the target of 10% ethanol blending in 2022.
  • E20- It has set a target of 20% blending (E20) by 2030 which was now shifted to 2025-26.
• Price fixation-The procurement price of ethanol is fixed by the government, and oil companies can purchase it from domestic sources.
• C-heavy molasses- Ethanol is typically made from “C-heavy” molasses, a by-product of sugarcane processing.
• Alternative feedstocks- It include “B-heavy” molasses, concentrated sugarcane juice, and other substrates like rice and maize.
• Increase in ethanol production- It happened largely after 2017-18, when mills started making it from B-heavy molasses and concentrated sugarcane juice/syrup.

What is the significance of EBP?

• Differential pricing-The success of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program is attributed to differential pricing for ethanol produced from various feedstocks.
• Diversified production-Government support and alternative feedstocks have diversified ethanol production.
• Sustainable production- The government raised the procurement price of ethanol produced from damaged grain and maize, this would lead to food security as it reduces the reliance on the food sources.
• Fuel India- Uttar Pradesh and Bihar would “fuel India” in future as Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra feeds India.

Uttar Pradesh is a major sugarcane producer, Bihar is the major producer of maize.

• Vehicle efficiency- Ethanol blending offers increase in Research Octane Number (RON) of the blend, fuel embedded oxygen and higher flame speed.
• Climate resilient- It helps in complete combustion and reduce vehicular emissions such as hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.
• Energy security-Domestic biofuels provide a strategic opportunity to the country, as they reduce the nation’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.
• Waste to wealth- Ethanol produced from damaged food grain and vegetable waste would promote circular economy.

Why the government announced restrictions on ethanol production?

The Government directed the sugar mills and distillers “not to use sugarcane juice /sugar syrup” for ethanol production under Sugar (Control) Order 1966.

• Low stock- As per National National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories the sugar production for the year 2022-23 is lowest since 2016-17.
• Uncertain production- Maharashtra and Karnataka are expected to record particularly sharp declines, on the back of subpar rains and low reservoir water levels in their major cane-growing areas.
• Domestic availability- The sugar production is low coupled with uncertain production, hence the government prefers domestic supply for exports.
• Consumerism- The primacy has been given to consumers over ethanol production which is the need of the hour and the government gives high preference for food rather than fuel.
• Check food inflation- The restrictions by the government is to regulate the price mechanism for ethanol.

• It is an annual military training exercise conducted alternatively in India and Vietnam.
• Aim – To foster collaborative partnership, promote inter- operability and share best practices between the two sides.

The operation is under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter on Peace Keeping Operations.

• It is a top-up program that uses experiential learning to develop employability skills amongst underserved female students pursuing higher education.
• Introduced by - All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

This program will be delivered in a blended mode - a) instructor led face to face workshops/ classrooms and project work, and b) self-paced online learning modules.

• Researchers at IIT Madras, Columbia University and Colorado State University in the US have developed a technique to merge diverse plastics into strong and recyclable materials.
• A universal dynamic crosslinker (UDC) is a specially designed crosslinker that can blend plastics that are usually incompatible.

UDCs can be used to compatibilize immiscible mixed plastics.

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Madras has developed a technology called ‘AMRIT’ (Arsenic and Metal Removal by Indian Technology) for the removal of Arsenic and Metal ions from water.
• The technology uses nano-scale iron oxy-hydroxide, which selectively removes arsenic when water is passed through it.

The technology can also remove other impurities from groundwater, such as Manganese, Uranium, Chromium, Mercury, Fluoride.