IMD Forecasts and EL Nino

Part of: GS-I- Geography (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD):

• A disastrous tropical cyclone struck Calcutta in 1864 and this was followed by failures of the monsoon rains in 1866 and 1871. In the year 1875, the Government of India established the India Meteorological Department, bringing all meteorological work in the country under a central authority.
• The first Director General of Observatories was Sir John Eliot who was appointed in May 1889 at Calcutta headquarters. The headquarters of IMD is at New Delhi.
• In the telegraph age, it made extensive use of weather telegrams for collecting observational data and sending warnings.
• IMD became the first organisation in India to have a message switching computer for supporting its global data exchange.
• India was the first developing country in the world to have its own geostationary satellite, INSAT, for continuous weather monitoring of this part of the globe and particularly for cyclone warning.

IMD has continuously ventured into new areas of application and service, and steadily built upon its infra-structure in its history of 140 years. It has simultaneously nurtured the growth of meteorology and atmospheric science in India. Today, meteorology in India is poised at the threshold of an exciting future.

IMD Mandate:

India Meteorological Department was established in 1875. It is the National Meteorological Service of the country and the principal government agency in all matters relating to meteorology, seismology and allied subjects.

• To take meteorological observations and to provide current and forecast meteorological information for optimum operation of weather-sensitive activities like agriculture, irrigation, shipping, aviation, offshore oil explorations, etc.
• To warn against severe weather phenomena like tropical cyclones, norwesters, duststorms, heavy rains and snow, cold and heat waves, etc., which cause destruction of life and property.
• To provide meteorological statistics required for agriculture, water resource management, industries, oil exploration and other nation-building activities.
• To conduct and promote research in meteorology and allied disciplines.
• To detect and locate earthquakes and to evaluate seismicity in different parts of the country for development projects.’

IMD Forecasts:

• Seasonal rainfall is likely to be 100% of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of ± 5%, the IMD said.
• A total of around 88 cm rainfall is forecast during the monsoon months from June to September.
• The monsoon season in 2019 breached many records across India with a total of 968.3 mm rainfall.
• The forecast probability, as reported by IMD, indicates 20 per cent chances of below-normal (90-96% of LPA), 41 per cent chances of normal (96-104%) and 21 per cent chances of above-normal rainfall (104-110%).
• Further, the IMD report also states that neutral El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions would be neutral over the Pacific Ocean during the monsoon season, with some models indicating the possibility of weak La Niña conditions during the second half of the season.
• The hero of monsoon 2019, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is also likely to remain neutral during monsoon season.
• The sea surface temperature conditions over the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as indicated by ENSO and IOD, play a crucial role in determining the amount of rainfall and its distribution across India during the monsoon season.
• While El Niño has an adverse impact on the monsoon rainfall, a strong positive IOD (like 2019) and La Niña conditions contribute to enhancing the overall rainfall across India.

El Nino:

• El Nino refers to the large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate interaction linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific. It is associated with high pressure in the western Pacific.
• El Nino adversely impacts the Indian monsoons and hence, agriculture in India.
• The cool surface water off the Peruvian coast goes warm because of El Nino. When the water is warm, the normal trade winds get lost or reverse their direction.
• Hence, the flow of moisture-laden winds is directed towards the coast of Peru from the western Pacific (the region near northern Australia and South East Asia).
• This causes heavy rains in Peru during the El Nino years robbing the Indian subcontinent of its normal monsoon rains.
• The larger the temperature and pressure difference, the larger the rainfall shortage in India.

La Nina

• La Nina means ‘little girl’ in Spanish and is also known as El Viejo or ‘cold event’. Here, the water temperature in the Eastern Pacific gets colder than normal. As a result of this, there is a strong high pressure over the eastern equatorial Pacific. Now, there is low pressure in the Western Pacific and off Asia.
• La Nina causes drought in Peru and Ecuador, heavy floods in Australia, high temperatures in Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, off the Somalian coast and good monsoon rains in India. A La Nina is actually beneficial for the Indian monsoon.
• Generally, El Nino and La Nina occur every 4 – 5 years. El Nino is more frequent than La Nina. Typically, the episodes last for nine to twelve months.

Jai Hind Jai Bharat

Rural Industries – MSME ACT – MGNREGA

Part of: GS-III- Energy/Industries (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)

Rural industrial activities can be divided into the following three categories:

1. small-scale cottage activities,
2. medium-scale village enterprises, and
3. large-scale rural industries.

This classification can be carried out on the basis of the following criteria: Location; ownership; labour source and organization; the complexity of the technology used; the scale of production; regularity of production; a form of organization; flexibility of energy source and use.

Cottage Industries:

The cottage industry is a concentrated form of small-scale industry that can be started with very low investments. The cottage industry is generally unorganized and the production of goods takes place in the houses of labourers using conventional methods. The cottage industry has its origin in rural areas where unemployment and underemployment are prevalent. It helps the Indian economy by involving the other unemployed workforce of rural areas.

To work towards the development of Cottage and small scale industries, the government of India has set up numerous agencies like Khadi and Village Industries Commission, All India Handicrafts Board, AH India-Handloom Board, and Central Silk Board, etc. To provide service and support to cottage industries at district level the government has set up District industries centres. In a nutshell, Cottage industry brings in the economic development of any local geographical area and gradually the nation as a whole and hence it is important to support and encourage its existence.

Small Scale Industries and Cottage Industries- Comparison

• Small scale industries and cottage industries slightly differ depending upon their features, location and ownership.
• Small scale industries are mostly located in urban and semi-urban areas whereas cottage industries are more concentrated in rural areas.
• Small scale industries are slightly larger and hire employees to work but cottage industries are mostly run by members of the family.
• Cottage industries are not mass producers it mainly focuses on meeting the local needs. Small scale industry focuses and covers a wider range of product and areas.
• Cottage industry involves very low investments as it uses basic tools and conventional methods for production. Small scale industry uses full equipped machinery and their investments range from 60 lakhs to 3crores.
• Small scale businesses are well organised and run by professionals however cottage industries are unorganised.

Types of Cottage Industries In India

• Cotton Weaving: It is the most important cottage industry in India as cotton clothes are widely worn across the country. It is mainly concentrated in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. The vibrant colour, traditional designs, variety of patterns increases the demand for cotton clothes in the country.

• Silk Weaving: India is a major producer and exporter of silk. 70% of the total silk weaving industries is situated in Karnataka. Mulberry, Tassore, Muga, and Eri are the different types of silks produced in the country.

• Carpet Making: The origin of the carpet making industry dates back to the Mughal era. It is mainly found in Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab. Kashmiri carpet, durries and coir carpet are in great demand owing to its superior quality and texture. The Carpet export council has been set up by the Indian government for promoting the knotted rugs and various other types of floor coverings from across the country.

• Leather Works: The regions of India famous for leather production are Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. India is the major supplier of high-quality leather and meets around 10% of the global leather demands.

• Metal Works: Indian metal handicrafts are appreciated worldwide and it is a major contributor to the Indian economy

Challenges Faced By Indian Cottage Industry

• Cottage industry faces competition from medium and large industries which uses high-end technologies for production.
• There is an urgent need for the implementation of modern technology which not only enhances productivity but also develops skills of the labourers to meet the requirements of the local market.
• As most of the cottage industries are located in rural areas, the implementation of modern marketing strategies is difficult.
• The availability of raw materials is limited to specific seasons and it decreases with time.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2018

• The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Giriraj Singh on July 23, 2018. The Bill amends the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. The Act classifies and regulates enterprises as micro, small and medium enterprises.

• The Act classifies micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on the basis of investment in: (i) plant and machinery, for enterprises engaged in the manufacturing or production of goods, and (ii) equipment, for enterprises providing services.

• The Bill introduces a uniform classification for all MSMEs. Under the Bill, all MSMEs, whether they are manufacturing or service-providing enterprises, will be classified on the basis of their annual turnover.

The changes in the classification of MSMEs are given in Table 1.

Table 1: Classification of enterprises as micro, small and medium enterprises (in Rs)

• The central government may change these annual turnover limits through a notification. The maximum turnover may be up to three times the limits specified in the Bill.

• Under the Act, the central government may classify micro, tiny or village enterprises as small enterprises. The Bill seeks to extend this to allow the classification of micro, tiny or village enterprises as small as well as medium enterprises.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (NREGA),2005

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), also known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) is Indian legislation enacted on August 25, 2005. The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments

Objective of the Act

The objective of the Act is to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Coverage

Thus NREGA covers the entire country with the exception of districts that have a hundred percent urban population.

Salient Features of the Act

• Adult members of a rural household, willing to do unskilled manual work, may apply for registration in writing or orally to the local Gram Panchayat
• The Gram Panchayat after due verification will issue a Job Card. The Job Card will bear the photograph of all adult members of the household willing to work under MGNREGA and is free of cost
• The Job Card should be issued within 15 days of application.
• A Job Card holder may submit a written application for employment to the Gram Panchayat, stating the time and duration for which work is sought. The minimum days of employment have to be at least fourteen.
• The Gram Panchayat will issue a dated receipt of the written application for employment, against which the guarantee of providing employment within 15 days operates
• Employment will be given within 15 days of application for work, if it is not then daily unemployment allowance as per the Act, has to be paid liability of payment of unemployment allowance is of the States.
• Work should ordinarily be provided within 5 km radius of the village. In case work is provided beyond 5 km, extra wages of 10% are payable to meet additional transportation and living expenses
• Wages are to be paid according to the Minimum Wages Act 1948 for agricultural labourers in the State, unless the Centre notifies a wage rate which will not be less than Rs. 60/ per day. Equal wages will be provided to both men and women.
• Wages are to be paid according to piece rate or daily rate. Disbursement of wages has to be done on weekly basis and not beyond a fortnight in any case
• At least one-third beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested work under the scheme.
• Work site facilities such as crèche, drinking water, shade have to be provided
• The shelf of projects for a village will be recommended by the gram sabha and approved by the Zilla panchayat.
• At least 50% of works will be allotted to Gram Panchayats for execution
• Permissible works predominantly include water and soil conservation, afforestation and land development works
• A 60:40 wage and material ratio has to be maintained. No contractors and machinery is allowed
• The Central Government bears the 100 percent wage cost of unskilled manual labour and 75 percent of the material cost including the wages of skilled and semi-skilled workers
• Social Audit has to be done by the Gram Sabha
• Grievance redressal mechanisms have to be put in place for ensuring a responsive implementation process
• All accounts and records relating to the Scheme should be available for public scrutiny

M-Sand

• In three months, the TN State government will put in place an M-sand policy that aims to promote the use of M-sand as an alternative building material.
• It is aimed to eliminate the pervasion of sub-standard products in the market through regulation of trade.

Manufactured sand (M-Sand)

• M-sand is a substitute for river sand for concrete construction.
• Manufactured sand is produced from hard granite stone by crushing.
• The crushed sand is of cubical shape with grounded edges, washed and graded as a construction material.
• The size of manufactured sand (M-Sand) is less than 4.75mm.

Why use M-sand?

• Manufactured sand is an alternative to river sand.
• Due to the fast-growing construction industry, the demand for sand has increased tremendously, causing a deficiency of suitable river sand in most parts of the world.
• Due to the depletion of good quality river sand for the use of construction, the use of manufactured sand has increased.
• Another reason for use of M-Sand is its availability and transportation cost.
• Since manufactured sand can be crushed from hard granite rocks, it can be readily available at the nearby place, reducing the cost of transportation from far-off river sand beds.
• Thus, the cost of construction can be controlled by the use of manufactured sand as an alternative material for construction.
• The other advantage of using M-Sand is, that it can be dust free, and the sizes of m-sand can be controlled easily so that it meets the required grading for the given construction.
• Usage of M-sand prevents dredging of river beds to get river sand which may lead to environmental disasters like groundwater depletion, water scarcity.

World Health Organization (WHO),

World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations’ specialized agency for Health was founded in 1948.

• Its headquarters are situated in Geneva, Switzerland.
• There are 194 Member States, 150 country offices, six regional offices.
• It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its member states usually through the Ministries of Health.
• The WHO provides leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
• It began functioning on April 7, 1948 – a date now being celebrated every year as World Health Day.

Objectives

• To act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work.
• To establish and maintain effective collaboration with the United Nations, specialized agencies, governmental health administrations, professional groups and such other organizations as may be deemed appropriate.
• To provide assistance to the Governments, upon request, in strengthening health services.
• To promote cooperation among scientific and professional groups which contribute to the advancement of health.

World Health Assembly

• The Health Assembly is composed of delegates representing Members.
• Each Member is represented by not more than three delegates, one of whom is designated by the Member as chief delegate.
• These delegates are chosen from among persons most qualified by their technical competence in the field of health, preferably representing the national health administration of the Member.
• The Health Assembly meets in regular annual session and sometimes in special sessions as well.

Functions

• The Health Assembly determines the policies of the Organization.
• It supervises the financial policies of the Organization and reviews and approves the budget.
• It reports to the Economic and Social Council in accordance with any agreement between the Organization and the United Nations.

The Secretariat

1. The Secretariat comprises of the Director-General and such technical and administrative staff as the Organization may require.
2. The Director-General is appointed by the Health Assembly on the nomination of the Board on such terms as the Health Assembly may determine.

Membership and Associate Membership

• Members of the United Nations may become Members of the Organization.
• Territories or groups of territories which are not responsible for the conduct of their international relations may be admitted as Associate Members by the Health Assembly.

WHO and India

• India became a party to the WHO on 12 January 1948.
• Regional office for South East Asia is located in New Delhi.

Smallpox

• In 1967 the total number of smallpox cases recorded in India accounted for nearly 65% of all cases in the world. Of this 26,225 cases died, giving a grim picture of the relentless fight that lay ahead.
• In 1967, the WHO launched the Intensified Smallpox Eradication Programme.
• With a coordinated effort by Indian government with the World Health Organization (WHO), smallpox was eradicated in 1977.

Polio

• India began the battle against the disease in response to the WHO’s 1988 Global Polio Eradication Initiative with financial and technical help from World Bank.
• Polio Campaign-2012: The Indian Government, in partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contributed to almost universal awareness of the need to vaccinate all children under five against polio.
• As a result of these efforts, India was removed from the list of endemic countries in 2014.
• It has also been instrumental in the country’s transition from hospital-based to community-based care and the resultant increase in health posts and centres focusing on primary care.

The WHO Country Cooperation Strategy – India (2012-2017) has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and the WHO Country Office for India (WCO).

Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme-MPLAD

Part of: GS-II- Governance (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)

It was announced in December 1993 under the control of the Ministry of Rural Development. Later, in October 1994, it was transferred to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Objectives:

• To enable MPs to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets based on the locally felt needs to be taken up in their Constituencies.
• Lok Sabha Members can recommend works within their constituencies and elected Members of Rajya Sabha can recommend works within the State they are elected from.
• Nominated Members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the country.
• To create durable assets of national priorities viz. drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and roads, etc.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme. The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per MP constituency is Rs.5 crore.

PT PICKUPS

Government Accounts

Consolidated Fund

It was constituted under Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of India.

It is made up of:

• All revenues received by the Government by way of taxes (Income Tax, Central Excise, Customs and other receipts) and all non-tax revenues.
• All loans raised by the Government by issue of Public notifications, treasury bills (internal debt) and from foreign governments and international institutions (external debt).
• All government expenditures are incurred from this fund and no amount can be withdrawn from the Fund without authorization from the Parliament.
• Each state can have its own Consolidated Fund of the state with similar provisions.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India audits the fund and reports to the relevant legislatures on the management.

Contingency Fund

• It was constituted under the Article 267 (1) of the Indian Constitution.
• Its corpus is Rs.500 crores.
• It is used for meeting unforeseen expenditure.
• Each state can have its own Contingency Fund of the state with similar provisions.

Public Account

• It was constituted under Article 266 (2) of the Indian Constitution.
• The transactions under this account relate to debt other than those included in the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The receipts under Public Account do not constitute normal receipts of Government hence Parliamentary authorization for payments is not required.
• Every state can have their own similar accounts.