Honey FPO Programme: NAFED

Context

Recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare virtually inaugurated the Honey Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) Programme of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED).

• A Producer Organisation (PO) is a legal entity formed by primary producers, viz. farmers, milk producers, fishermen, weavers, rural artisans, craftsmen, etc. FPO is one type of PO where the members are farmers.
• Apiculture or beekeeping is the care and management of honey bees for the production of honey and wax. In this method, bees are bred commercially in apiaries, an area where a lot of beehives can be placed.

Key Points

• The programme has been launched under the Formation and Promotion of FPOs.
• It is a new Central Sector Scheme for the promotion of 10,000 new FPOs.
• Under it, the National Level Project Management Advisory and Fund Sanctioning Committee (N-PMAFSC) had allocated FPO clusters for 2020- 21 to all implementing agencies.
• Initially there will be three implementing agencies to form and promote FPOs, namely Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC),
• National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). NAFED has been appointed as the 4 national implementing agency.
• States may also, if so desire, nominate their implementing agency in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW). FPOs will be developed by specialist Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) engaged by implementing agencies.
• NAFED, through CBBOs and the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) has initiated the formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers and honey collectors in 5 states of India.

These 5 locations are East Champaran (Bihar), Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).

The first Honey FPO has been registered in the state of Madhya Pradesh under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM).

Benefits:

• Skill Upgradation in scientific beekeeping.
• State-of-the-art infrastructural facilities for processing honey and allied

beekeeping products like bee’s wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, etc.

• Quality upgradation by quality control laboratories.
• Better supply chain management by improving collection, storage,

bottling and marketing centres.

• Promotion and Formation of FPOs is the first step for converting Krishi into

Atmanirbhar Krishi.

Other Efforts by Government to Promote Beekeeping:

The government is promoting beekeeping as part of its aim to double farmers’ income and ensure tribal upliftment. The Government has allocated Rs. 500 crores towards beekeeping under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan.

Apiary on Wheels:

It is a unique concept designed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for the easy upkeep and migration of Bee Boxes having live Bee colonies.

The Government launched NBHM as part of ‘Sweet Revolution’. The 'Sweet Revolution' was launched in 2016 to promote beekeeping and associated activities.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd

It is an apex organization of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India. It was founded on 2 October 1958 and is registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. NAFED is now one of the largest procurement as well as marketing agencies for agricultural products in India.

Objectives:

• To organize, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of

agricultural, horticultural and forest produce.

• To distribute agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs, undertake

inter-state, import and export trade, wholesale or retail as the case may be.

• To act and assist with technical advice in agricultural production for the

promotion and the working of its members, partners, associates and

cooperative marketing, processing and supply societies in India.

Climate Change Knowledge Portal

Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched the ‘India Climate Change Knowledge Portal.

Objective:

The Portal will help in disseminating knowledge among citizens about all the major steps the Government is taking at both national and international levels to address climate change issues.

Benefit:

It will be a single point Information resource which provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access updated status on these initiatives.

Components: The eight major components included in the knowledge portal are:

1. India’s Climate Profile: The northern part of the country is characterized as a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. The coastal regions of the country, however, experience warmer temperatures with little variation throughout the year and frequent rainfall.

2. National Policy Framework

For Example, In order to strengthen the implementation of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste in the country, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has amended the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016.

India’s Nationally determined contributions (NDC) Goals NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of these long-term goals.

NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

3. Adaptation Actions: To meet the high energy demand India is adapting to clean energy development. Example: Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission which aims to increase the share of solar energy in India.

4. Mitigation Actions: For example, to mitigate water issues Indian government launched the National Water Mission.

5. Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation: The Paris climate deal is a great example of multilateral cooperation.

6. International Climate Negotiations: In the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015, India accepted 1.5 degrees Celsius as a target limit for the increase in the global average temperature and announced an ambitious domestic renewable energy programme.

7. Reports & Publications: For example, reports like Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region published by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

Dry Swab RT-PCR Covid-19 Test.

Recently, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) has got the permission of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to commercially use the dry swab RNA-extraction free testing method for the Covid-19.

Key Points

About:

Dry swab method has a consistency of 96.9%.

The comparison of conventional (swab-VTM-RNA extraction-RT-PCR) and the simplified (direct elution from dry swab-RT-qPCR) protocols suggested that dry swabs eluted directly into a simple buffered solution can support molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 via endpoint RT-PCR without substantially compromising sensitivity.

Conventional Method:

• In the conventional testing method, nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab samples are collected by sample collection centres from the suspected coronavirus patients. These are then transported to testing centres, sometimes even hundreds of kilometres away.
• The nasopharynx is the upper part of the pharynx (throat) behind the nose.
• The oropharynx is the middle part of the pharynx just beyond the mouth and includes the back part of the tongue (base of tongue), tonsils, soft palate (back part of the roof of the mouth), and the sides and walls of the throat.
• The swab samples are generally placed in a liquid called Viral Transport Medium (VTM) and to avoid leakage, the samples are packed heavily that adds on to sample processing times at both the sample collection and testing centres.
• RNA extraction, even with automation, takes four hours for roughly 500 samples. VTM and RNA extraction both add a significant burden on money and time required for mass testing.

New and Simplified Method:

• Dry swab technique does not require VTM and RNA extraction process, and can be directly used for RT-PCR testing.
• It has the potential of bringing the costs and time of testing by 40-50% and the screening can also be enhanced several-fold with immediate effect while, at the same time, making the whole process safer.
• It is easy to implement with no requirement of new kits and existing manpower can perform this with no additional training

RT-PCR Test

• Kary Mullis, the American biochemist invented the PCR technique. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993.
• Under the test, copies of a segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are created using an enzyme called Polymerase.
• The ‘chain reaction’ signifies how the DNA fragments are copied exponentially, where one is copied into two, the two are copied into four, and so on.
• A fluorescent DNA binding dye called the “probe” is added to DNA, which shows the presence of the virus on a fluorometer.
• Covid-19 is made of RNA (ribonucleic acid), so to detect it, RNA is converted into DNA using a technique called reverse transcription.
• Then the copies of the DNA are then made and amplified.

Fiscal deficit reaches 120% of annual target

The Union Government’s fiscal deficit further widened to 9.53 lakh crore, or close to 120% of the annual budget estimate, at the end of October of the current fiscal.

Reasons behind this:

• The deficit widened mainly due to poor revenue realisation.
• The lockdown imposed to curb spreading of coronavirus infections had significantly impacted business activities and in turn, contributed to sluggish revenue realisation.

What is the fiscal deficit?

• It is the difference between the Revenue Receipts + Non-debt Capital Receipts (NDCR) and the total expenditure.
• In other words, the fiscal deficit is “reflective of the total borrowing requirements of Government”.

Impact of high fiscal deficit:

• In the economy, there is a limited pool of investible savings. These savings are used by financial institutions like banks to lend to private businesses (both big and small) and the governments (Centre and state).
• If the fiscal deficit ratio is too high, it implies that there is a lesser amount of money left in the market for private entrepreneurs and businesses to borrow.
• Lesser amount of this money, in turn, leads to higher rates of interest charged on such lending.
• A high fiscal deficit and higher interest rates would also mean that the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India to reduce interest rates are undone.

What is the acceptable level of fiscal deficit for a developing economy?

• For a developing economy, where private enterprises may be weak and governments may be in a better state to invest, the fiscal deficit could be higher than in a developed economy.
• Here, governments also have to invest in both social and physical infrastructure upfront without having adequate avenues for raising revenues.
• In India, the FRBM Act suggests bringing the fiscal deficit down to about 3 percent of the GDP is the ideal target. Unfortunately, successive governments have not been able to achieve this target.

Pilibhit tiger reserve gets the first TX2 award:

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Uttar Pradesh has bagged the first international award, TX2, among the 13 tiger-ranging countries for having doubled the number of tigers in less than the stipulated time.

In 2014, All India Tiger Estimation estimated 25 tigers in Pilibhit and the 2018 estimation showed an increase by projecting 65 tigers.

Conservation Excellence Award for 2020:

Transboundary Manas Conservation Area straddling the India-Bhutan border has received the TX2 Conservation Excellence Award for 2020.

Transboundary Manas Conservation Area or TraMCA comprises 500 sq. km. Manas National Park in Assam and the 1,057-sq. km. Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.

What is TX2?

It is the global award which was set up in 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia by international organizations working for tiger conservation like WWF, UNDP, IUCN, Global Tiger Fund (GTF), CATS and The Lion’s Share.

Conservation efforts in India:

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.
• At the Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010, leaders of 13 tiger range countries resolved to do more for the tiger and embarked on efforts to double its number in the wild, with a popular slogan ‘T X 2’.
• The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) program of the World Bank, using its presence and convening ability, brought global partners together to strengthen the tiger agenda.
• Over the years, the initiative has institutionalised itself as a separate entity in the form of the Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC), with its two arms –the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program.
• The Project Tiger, launched way back in 1973, has grown to more than 50 reserves amounting to almost 2.2% of the country’s geographical area.

Brain Fingerprinting

The accused in Hathras rape case will undergo brain fingerprinting.

Key takeaways

• Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP) is also known as brain fingerprinting.
• It is a neuropsychological method of interrogation in which the accused’s participation in the crime is investigated by studying their brain’s response.
• The BEOSP test is carried out via a process known as an electroencephalogram, conducted to study the electrical behaviour of the human brain.
• Under this test, the consent of the accused is first taken and they are then made to wear caps with dozens of electrodes attached to them.
• The accused are then shown visuals or played audio clips related to the crime to check if there is any triggering of neurons in their brains which then generate brainwaves.

The test results are then studied to determine the participation of the accused in a crime.

Blue Tide phenomenon observed in Maharashtra

Over the last few days, visitors to beaches in Maharashtra have witnessed the fluorescent bluish glow when the waves hit the shoreline.

Key takeaways

• The phenomenon is called ‘blue tide’.
• It appears when luminescent marine life makes the sea appear a deep shade of blue.
• It occurs when phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), commonly known as dinoflagellates, produce light through chemical reactions in proteins.
• Waves disturb these unicellular microorganisms and make them release blue light.

Do you know?

• Bioluminescence is the property of a living organism to produce and emit light.
• Animals, plants, fungi and bacteria show bioluminescence.
• A remarkable diversity of marine animals and microbes are able to produce their own light.
• It is found in many marine organisms such as bacteria, algae, jellyfish, worms, crustaceans, sea stars, fish and sharks.
• Luminescence is generally higher in deep-living and planktonic organisms than in shallow species.
• It is an anti-predatory response.

Bioluminescence is assumed to startle predators, causing them to hesitate.

Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill

The Scottish parliament passed landmark legislation that has made period products such as sanitary pads and tampons free of cost to those people who need them.

Features

• Scotland is the first country to take such a step.
• The bill was passed with the aim of tackling “period poverty”, which is when some people who need period products struggle to afford them.
• Central objective: To end the silence and stigma that surrounds menstruation.
• Aim: (1) To remove gendered barriers; (2) To ensure that those who menstruate have reasonably convenient access to period products free of charge.

What is ‘period poverty?

Certain circumstances make access to sanitary products difficult for women and trans people. These include homelessness, coercive, controlling and violent relationships and health conditions such as endometriosis.

Shahtoot Dam

India set to build the Shahtoot Dam in Afghanistan, providing drinking water for 2 million residents of Kabul. The dam would come upon the Maidan river tributary of the Kabul river.

SPACEX-NASA’S CREW-1 MISSION

• NASA has certified SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket, making it the first spacecraft certification provided by the space agency.

What is the Crew-1 mission?

• The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, whose objective is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.

About SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule:

• It will carry up to 4 astronauts on NASA missions, maintaining a space station crew of seven to maximize time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory.