ARD Current Affairs - Apr'22

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Maharashtra Gene Bank Project

Recently, Maharashtra Cabinet approved the ‘Maharashtra Gene Bank’, a first-of-its-kind
project in India.
 Objective: To conserve native and endangered animals, crops, marine and biological
species.
 The ‘Maharashtra Gene Bank Project’ will work on seven themes -- marine, crop,
veterinary, freshwater, grassland biodiversity, protection and management of forest
right areas, and regeneration of forests.
 an amount of ₹172.39 crores will be spent on these seven focus areas in the next
five years.
 It will tap into indigenous knowledge resources, work on documenting these
species and the knowledge of local communities and preserve these genetic and
molecular samples.
 Apart from protecting biodiversity, the project will focus on mitigating the impact on
the food chain due to climate change. The project will be implemented by the
Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB).

Farmer Distress Index (FDI): NABARD

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) is planning to formulate a
Farmer Distress Index (FDI) to track, identify and support “needy and distressed farmers.”

 It can integrate the available high-frequency data on key agricultural variables like
deviation of monsoon rains, excessive rainfall, drought and dry spells, variations in
temperature and soil moisture, and yield of major crops in the district, among
others.

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 It can be used by the policymakers and the government to plan and design a timely
and targeted method of supporting distressed farmers.
 Depending on the level of distress, the government and the financial institutions can
decide on an appropriate package of support instead of the current practice of
doling out distress packages to all the farmers across the board.
 It won’t be uniform across the country as it changes from place to pace depending
on the stress levels.

Significance
 According to a study, more than 60 per cent of the ‘very high’ and ‘high’ distress
small and marginal farmers (SMFs) did not receive farm loan waiver (FLW) benefits.
 It will help really needy and distressed farmers.
 It will also help the entire financial sector, government departments and insurance
companies.

FAO Report on Fisheries, Aquaculture

Insurance

Given the low penetration of insurance products in the fisheries sector, the FAO “World
Review of Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022” has suggested involvement of public
and private insurance service providers to undertake proactive measures to turn the tide on
fisheries and aquaculture insurance in India.
 In India, fishing vessels, coastal immovable property, and aquaculture units have
abysmal insurance coverage.
 Fishermen and aquaculture farmersare generally unaware of insurance options

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 The report suggested that bundling disaster risk insurance packages with existing
micro-credit schemes could be a viable option, given the strong network of micro-
finance institutions and self-help groups in coastal areas.
 New insurance packages covering marine and inland cages, sea farming, brood
bank/hatchery units and seaweed farming units should be introduced on a priority
basis, the report said.

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Nutrient Based Subsidy rates for P&K

fertilizers

The central government increased the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for phosphatic and
potassic (P&K) fertilizers for this year’s Kharif season which is from April to September 2022
to Rs 60,939 crore, as against Rs 57,150 crore for the whole of 2021.
 The increase in subsidy is meant to insulate farmers from the increases in the prices
of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and other non-urea nutrients in the global
markets.

National Workshop on Innovative Agriculture :

NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog recently organized a National Level Workshop on “Innovative Agriculture” in

Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
 The workshop had four technical sessions:
o a panel discussion on natural farming in States,
o natural farming for soil health restoration and climate change mitigation,
o promotion of natural farming,
o innovations in natural farming.

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 The workshop aimed to utilize the research experience, knowledge, and expertise
of all the international experts who attended the workshop to aid in the capacity
building of Indian researchers, scientists, and policymakers towards the promotion
of India’s natural farming.
 The step-wise adoption of natural farming was highlighted.

One Health Pilot Project

The Government of India's Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) has
launched a pilot project in Uttarakhand to implement the One Health Framework through
the One Health Support Unit.
 Some of the key activities to be undertaken as part of the pilot project include
institutionalizing the mechanism for data collection on disease outbreaks,
prevalence, management, and development of targeted surveillance plan,
integrating network of laboratories, developing and implementing communication
strategy across sectors and integration of the data with the digital architecture of the
National Digital Livestock Mission.
 One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely
connected to the health of animals and our shared environment.
 It’s purpose is to encourage collaborations in research and sharing of knowledge at
multiple levels across various disciplines like human health, animal health, plants,
soil, environmental and ecosystem health in ways that improve, protect and defend
the health of all species.

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National Conference on Agriculture- Kharif

Campaign – 2022

The National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign 2022-23 has been inaugurated
by Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar at the NASC Complex, New Delhi.

 This conference’s objective was to assess and review the crop performance during
the previous crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for the Kharif season in
consultation with the various State Governments of the country.
 National targets have also been set by the conference.
 The government announced a foodgrain production target of 328 million tonnes
for 2022-23.
 Of the 328 million food grain production target fixed for 2022-23, kharif foodgrain
production target has been fixed at 163.15 million tonnes, while rabi foodgrain
production target has been kept at 164.85 million tonnes.
 The target for production of pulses and oilseeds has been fixed at 295.5 and 413.4
lakh tonnes respectively in 2022-23.
 It is also pointed out that the country is maintaining an increasing trend in food grain
production since 2015-16 and total food grain production has increased by 25% in
the last 6 years from 251.54 to 316.01 million tonnes.

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‘Kisan Bhagidari, Prathmikta Hamari’

campaign
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has organized the week-long "Kisan
Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari" campaign from 25th to 30th April 2022 in association with the
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare as a part of ongoing celebration of Azadi Ka
Amrit Mahotsav.
 The Campaign aims to make the farmers aware about key scheme aspects of
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) like basic scheme provisions,
importance of insuring the crops and how to avail scheme benefits.
 Felicitated Progressive and innovative farmers, field exhibitions on Natural
Farming for small and medium farmers, women farmers and FPOs, Farmers-Scientist
Interaction etc. would be conducted.
 The Union Agriculture Minister launched a country wide workshop on crop insurance
(Fasal Bima Pathshala) organised by the common service centres (CSC).
 A Discourse on agro ecological and livestock practices was held under DAY-NRLM
along with the Ministry of Rural Development.
 A National Atma Nirbhar Bharat Conclave of 75 selected farmers and entrepreneurs
was also held.

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India’s Agriculture Exports in 2021-22

The agricultural exports have grown by 19.92% in FY22 to touch $ 50.21 billion. The growth
rate is remarkable as it is over and above the growth of 17.66%, at $41.87 billion, achieved
in 2020-21
 As per the data, the highest ever exports have been achieved for staples like rice (%
9.65 billion), wheat ($ 2.19 billion), sugar ($ 4.6 billion), and other cereals ($ 1.08
billion).
 Wheat has recorded an unprecedented growth of more than 273%.
 India has captured nearly 50% of the world's market for rice.
 Meanwhile, exports of marine products also reached the highest ever at $ 7.71
billion, benefitting farmers in the coastal states
 Spices exports have touched $ 4 billion for the second year in a row.
 Despite facing tremendous supply-side issues, coffee exports have crossed USD 1
billion for the first time, which has improved realizations for coffee growers in
Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
 Agriculture exports have increased due to sustained efforts by the commerce
departments like the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority (APEDA), the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
and various commodity boards in India.

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India Becomes World's 28th Country To Be

Included In Sakura Map
 The Cherry Blossom, commonly known as "Sakura," is the national flower of Japan
and a great inspiration for the Japanese people, and India had become the world's
28th country to be included in the Sakura Map.
 Dr. Sahoo, a professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Delhi (DU),
planned and organized India's first "Cherry Blossom Festival" in Shillong in
November 2016, which drew lakhs of people and evolved into an international event
that has been running for the last six years.
 Scientists from Manipur have discovered a new "Cherry Blossom" species, which
they called "Prunus dinabandhuana" as a token of respect for scientist Dr.
Dinabandhu Sahoo's outstanding contributions.
 Japanese Cherry Blossom blooms between March and April, while this new species
blooms in November
 The "Cherry Blossom" is currently accessible in six of the eight north-eastern
states, excluding Assam and Tripura.

State Energy and Climate Index

Recently, the NITI Aayog launched the State Energy and Climate Index (SECI). It is the first
index that aims to track the efforts made by states and UTs in the climate and energy
sector.
The parameters of the index have been devised keeping in mind India’s goals for climate
change and clean energy transition.
The objectives of the index are:

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 Ranking the States based on their efforts towards improving energy access, energy
consumption, energy efficiency, and safeguarding the environment.
 Helping drive the agenda of the affordable, accessible, efficient and clean energy
transition at the State level,
 Encouraging healthy competition among the states on different dimensions of
energy and climate.

Parameters: The State Energy and Climate Index (SECI) ranks states and UTs on six
parameters:
 Discoms' (Power distribution companies) Performance,
 Access Affordability And Reliability Of Energy,
 Clean Energy Initiatives,
 Energy Efficiency,
 Environmental Sustainability,
 New Initiatives.
Categorization:
 Based on the outcome of SECI scores, states and union territories have been
categorised into three groups -- front runners, achievers, and aspirants.
 Top Performers: Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab
 The top three performers among smaller states are Goa, Tripura and Manipur.
 Unsatisfactory Performance: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand were
placed at the bottom.

Jyotiba Phule Shramik Kanyadan Yojana

Scheme
UP Government is assisting poor families by wedding their daughters. Under the initiative,
769 workers' daughters have been married thus far.
 A gift of Rs 51,000 was given to underprivileged daughters to help them marry.

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 With the government's financial assistance, labor families no longer have to take out
loans to have their daughters married.
 The government's goal is to treat the poor with dignity and improve their living
conditions

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