TOPIC : GS 3 Major Crops – Cropping Patterns in various parts of the country, – Different Types of Irrigation and Irrigation Systems; Storage, Transport and Marketing of Agricultural Produce and Issues and Related Constraints; E-technology in the aid of farmers.
What is the news?
- Concerns have been raised by 91 organisations including farm union groups against Centre’s consultation paper on India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA).
- The group also demanded that the Centre stop implementation of the pilot projects being rolled out in partnership with tech and retail giants including Microsoft, Amazon and Patanjali.
The objectives of National Digital Agriculture Ecosystem are as follows:
- To enable the farmer to realize higher income and better profitability through access to right information at the right time, and from innovative services.
- To enable better planning and execution of policies, programs, and schemes of the Central and State governments, and, also of the private sector and Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs).
- To enhance efficiencies in the usage of resources including land, water, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and farm mechanization by providing easier access to information.
- To provide location-specific and personalized extension services across agriculture lifecycle, with simultaneous protection of privacy of personal data.
- To build capacities across the gamut of digital agriculture and precision agriculture.
- To promote adoption of standards for interoperability and seamless exchange of information across ecosystem, while ensuring that he digital rights are properly managed.
Grounds of Concerns
- Concerns have been raised on issues of exploitation of farmers, data protection and consent, mismanaged land records, exclusion of landless cultivators and the corporatization of agriculture.
- The group also highlighted that there is no farmer representation in the task force which brought out the proposals or in the governance framework of IDEA.
- The organisations said it was important to bring the benefits of digital technology to farmers, but emphasised that such digital infrastructure should be owned by the government, not private corporates.
Way Forward
The proposition of a “farmers’ database” based on digitized land records will lead to problems and exclusions, given the seriously flawed condition of the digitized land records and their failure to capture the information of actual cultivators and those operating the landholding.
Mains question
Explain how Making agricultural market reforms successful?
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- Basel III Norms
Basel III is a 2009 international regulatory accord that introduced a set of reforms designed to mitigate risk within the international banking sector, by requiring banks to maintain proper leverage ratios and keep certain levels of reserve capital on hand
It was rolled out by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision—then a consortium of central banks from 28 countries, shortly after the credit crisis of 2008. Banks have two main silos of capital that are qualitatively different from one another. Tier 1 refers to a bank’s core capital, equity, and the disclosed reserves that appear on the bank’s financial statements. In the event that a bank experiences significant losses, Tier 1 capital provides a cushion that allows it to weather stress and maintain a continuity of operations.
Tier 2 refers to a bank’s supplementary capital, such as undisclosed reserves and unsecured subordinated debt instruments that must have an original maturity of at least five years.
Sources: https://www.thehindu.com/business/india-has-stricter-regulatory-norms-basel/article28335822.ece
- Capital Adequacy Ratio
It is a measurement of a bank’s available capital expressed as a percentage of a bank’s risk-weighted credit exposures. The capital adequacy ratio, also known as capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR), is used to protect depositors and promote the stability and efficiency of financial systems around the world. Two types of capital are measured tier-1 capital, which can absorb losses without a bank being required to cease trading, and tier-2 capital, which can absorb losses in the event of a winding-up and so provides a lesser degree of protection to depositors.
- Pinaka
It is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 60km for Mark-I enhanced version, and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds.
The system is mounted on a Tatra truck for mobility. Pinaka saw service during the Kargil War, where it was successful in neutralising enemy positions on the mountain tops. It has since been inducted into the Indian Army in large numbers. As of 2019, an upgraded guided missile version of the system has been test-fired, with a range of over 90 km.
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
He was an Indian novelist, poet and journalist. He was the composer of Vande Mataram, originally in Sanskrit, personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring activists during the Indian Independence Movement. Chattopadhyay wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in Bengali. He is known as Sahitya Samrat (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali.
Chattopadhyay’s earliest publications were in Ishwar Chandra Gupta’s weekly newspaper Sangbad Prabhakar. He began his literary career as a writer of verse before turning to fiction. His first attempt was a novel in Bengali submitted for a declared prize. He did not win and the novelette was never published. Durgeshnandini, his first Bengali romance and the first ever novel in Bengali, was published in 1865.
Sources : https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1730652
PRELIMS QUESTION
- Consider the following statement regarding to Capital Adequacy Ratio
- It is expressed as a percentage of a bank’s risk-weighted credit exposures.
- It will protect company capital and promote the stability and efficiency of financial systems
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only (b) 2 only
(c).Both (d). None of above
Answer: A
It is a measurement of a bank’s available capital expressed as a percentage of a bank’s risk-weighted credit exposures. The capital adequacy ratio, also known as capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR), is used to protect depositors and promote the stability and efficiency of financial systems around the world. Two types of capital are measured tier-1 capital, which can absorb losses without a bank being required to cease trading, and tier-2 capital, which can absorb losses in the event of a winding-up and so provides a lesser degree of protection to depositors.
- Durgeshnandini novel is written by which of the following
- Lala Lajpat Ray
- Aurbindo Ghosh
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: C
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was an Indian novelist, poet and journalist. He was the composer of Vande Mataram, originally in Sanskrit, personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring activists during the Indian Independence Movement. Chattopadhyay wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in Bengali. He is known as Sahitya Samrat (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali.
Chattopadhyay’s earliest publications were in Ishwar Chandra Gupta’s weekly newspaper Sangbad Prabhakar. He began his literary career as a writer of verse before turning to fiction. His first attempt was a novel in Bengali submitted for a declared prize. He did not win and the novelette was never published. Durgeshnandini, his first Bengali romance and the first ever novel in Bengali, was published in 1865.