Nadi Utsav
Why in news?
- The fourth edition of ‘Nadi Utsav,’ a celebration of India’s rich
river culture, begins today on September 22nd and will continue
until September 24th, 2023. - Organized by the National Mission on Cultural Mapping
(NMCM) of IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the
Arts) in collaboration with the Janapada Sampada Division - The event will be hosted in Delhi, situated on the banks of River
Yamuna.
The Vision Behind ‘Nadi Utsav’ :
- To raise awareness and sensitize people about the ecological and
environmental importance of rivers - This noble initiative was conceived by Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi
- Rivers occupy a central and revered position in Indian culture as
a symbol of spiritual significance - Rivers have played a pivotal role in shaping civilizations, with
countless cities, villages, and towns thriving along their banks
Previous Editions of Nadi Utsav
- 1st edition – the inaugural event in Nashik, situated on the banks
of the river Godavari
2nd edition – held in Vijayawada, on the banks of the river
Krishna
3rd edition – held in Munger, along the river Ganga - Source – Indian Express
RECENT INITIATIVES FOR AGRICULTURE
Kisan Rin Portal
Why in news?
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA&FW) has launched three
initiatives, namely the Kisan Rin Portal (KRP), KCC Ghar Ghar
Abhiyaan and a manual on Weather Information Network Data
Systems (WINDS).
About Kisan Rin Portal:
The portal helps farmers avail of subsidised loans under the Kisan
Credit Card (KCC). It was developed in collaboration with multiple government
departments.
It offers a comprehensive view of farmer data, loan disbursement
specifics, interest subvention claims, and scheme utilisation
progress.
It fosters seamless integration with banks for more focused and
efficient agriculture credit.
Key Facts about the Kisan Credit Card (KCC):
The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was introduced in 1998 to
issue KCC to farmers on the basis of their holdings for uniform
adoption by the banks so that farmers may use them to readily
purchase agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, etc
and draw cash for their production needs.
It was developed by NABARD (the National Bank for Agriculture
and Rural Development),
The scheme was further extended for the investment credit
requirement of farmers, allied and non-farm activities, in the year
2004.The scheme was further revisited in 2012 with a view to simplify
the scheme and facilitate the issue of Electronic Kisan Credit
Cards.
Applicability: It is to be implemented by Commercial Banks,
RRBs, Small Finance Banks and Cooperatives.
Objective: Aims at providing adequate and timely credit support
from the banking system under a single window with a flexible and
simplified procedure to the farmers for their cultivation and other
needs as indicated below:
To meet the short-term credit requirements for the cultivation of
crops;
Post-harvest expenses;
Produce marketing loan;
Consumption requirements of farmer household;
Working capital for maintenance of farm assets and activities
allied to agriculture;
Investment credit requirement for agriculture and allied
activities.
Eligibility:
Farmers – individual/joint borrowers who are owner cultivators;
Tenant farmers, oral lessees & share croppers;
Self Help Groups (SHGs) or Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) of
farmers, including tenant farmers, share croppers etc.;
Features:
Banks provide single credit facility/ term loans to farmers.
Farmers can take a loan of up to Rs 3 lakh in the scheme.
Farmers having KCC credit are covered under personal
accidental insurance up to Rs 50,000 for permanent disability
and death and up to Rs 25,000 for other risks. Quantum of loan for the 1st year under this scheme is assessed
on the basis of the cost of cultivation, post-harvest expenses and
farm maintenance cost.
For the subsequent 5 years, the loan will be sanctioned on the
basis of the increase in the scale of finance.
The long-term loan limit is based on the proposed investments
during the five-year period and the bank’s perception of the
repaying capacity of the farmer.
The repayment period is decided on the basis of the harvesting
of the crop and its marketing period.
Banks will not seek security on loans up to Rs. 1.60 lakh.
The validity of KCC is for 5 years.
Ghar-Ghar KCC Abhiyaan
About:
The “Ghar-Ghar KCC Abhiyaan” underscores government
commitment to Universal Financial Inclusion, ensuring every
farmer has unhindered access to credit facilities crucial for their
agricultural pursuits.
This campaign targets the saturation of KCC accounts among
eligible PM KISAN beneficiary farmers.
The ministry has verified existing KCC account holders’ data
against the PM KISAN database, identifying those with KCC
accounts and those without.
The campaign aims to reach out to non-KCC account holder PM
KISAN beneficiaries and facilitate their seamless integration
into the KCC scheme.
Weather Information Network Data
Systems (WINDS) Manual
About:
The WINDS initiative is an effort aimed at establishing a
network of Automatic Weather Stations & Rain Gauges at
taluk/block and gram panchayat levels.
This initiative creates a robust database of hyper-local weather
data, supporting various agricultural services.
The comprehensive WINDS manual launched provides
stakeholders with an in-depth understanding of the portal’s
functionalities, data interpretation, and effective utilization.
It guides States and Union Territories in establishing and
integrating with the WINDS platform.
Additionally, it offers practical insights into leveraging weather
data for improved crop management, resource allocation, and
risk mitigation.
Source – PIB, Indian Express
National Medical Commission
Why in news?
The National Medical Commission (NMC), India has been awarded
the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Recognition
Status for 10 years, the highest standards in medical education and
accreditation.
What is National Medical Commission (NMC)?
The NMC has been constituted by an act of Parliament known
as National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
The NMC acts as India’s top regulator of medical education and
practice.
Committed to upholding the highest standards in healthcare
education, NMC ensures the delivery of quality medical
education and training across the nation.
What is the World Federation for Medical
Education (WFME)?
WFME was founded in 1972 by the World Medical Association,
the World Health Organization, the regional organizations of medical schools and academic teachers, and the International
Federation of Medical Students Associations.
WFME is a global organization dedicated to enhancing the
quality of medical education worldwide.
WFME has developed and published global standards for basic,
postgraduate, and continuing medical education, as well as
guidelines for distributed and distance learning in medical
education.
What are the Benefits of WFME Accreditation?
All the 706 existing medical colleges in India will become
WFME accredited.
The new medical colleges that will be set up in the coming 10
years will automatically become WFME accredited.
It will also enable Indian medical graduates to pursue
postgraduate training and practice in other countries that require
WFME recognition, such as the US, Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand.
It will increase the international recognition and reputation of
Indian medical schools and professionals.
It facilitates academic collaborations and exchanges and
promotes continuous improvement and innovation in medical
education.
It will also make India an attractive destination for international
students due to our globally recognized standards.
Source: PIB
Socialist and Secular
Why in news?
The leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha recently claimed that the
words “socialist” and “secular” were missing in the Preamble of the
Constitution of India, the copies of which were given to MPs recently.
Preamble:
These two words were originally not a part of the Preamble.
They were added by The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act,
1976.
The Preamble of the Constitution puts in words the ideal
contained in the Objectives Resolution, which was adopted by
the Constituent Assembly on January 22, 1947.
Introduction of “Socialist” and “Secular” come in
the Preamble: Socialist:
Indira Gandhi government had attempted to cement her approval
among the masses on the basis of a socialist and pro-poor image
with slogans such as “garibi hatao” (Eradicate poverty). It inserted the word in the Preamble to underline that socialism
was a goal and philosophy of the Indian state.
It needs to be stressed, however, that the socialism envisaged by
the Indian state was not the socialism of the USSR or China of
the time.
It did not envisage the nationalisation of all of India’s means of
production.
Indira Gandhi herself clarified that “we have our own brand of
socialism”, under which “we will nationalise only the sectors
where we feel the necessity”. She underlined that “just
nationalisation is not our type of socialism”.
Secular:
The people of India profess numerous faiths, and their unity and
fraternity, notwithstanding the difference in religious beliefs,
was sought to be achieved by enshrining the ideal of
“secularism” in the Preamble.
In essence, this means that the state protects all religions
equally, maintains neutrality and impartiality towards all
religions, and does not uphold any one religion as a “state
religion”.
A secular Indian state was founded on the idea that it is
concerned with the relationship between human being and
human being, and not between human being and God, which is a
matter of individual choice and individual conscience.
Secularism in the Indian Constitution, therefore, is not a
question of religious sentiment, but a question of law.
The secular nature of the Indian state is secured by
Articles 25-28 of the Constitution.
The description of India as a “secular” country has been debated
intensely over the past four decades; with critics claiming that these “imposed” terms sanction “pseudo-secularism”, “vote-
bank politics” and “minority appeasement”. Wasn’t Secularism Already an Integral Part of the
Constitution even before the 42nd Amendment?
In essence, it was always a part of the philosophy of the
Constitution.
The founders of the Indian Republic adopted Articles 25, 26,
and 27 with the explicit intention of furthering and promoting
the philosophy of secularism in the Constitution.
The 42nd Amendment only formally inserted the word into the
Constitution and made explicit what was already implicit in
various provisions and overall philosophy of the founding
document of the Republic.
In fact, the Constituent Assembly specifically discussed the
inclusion of these words in the Preamble, and decided not to do so.
Source: IE
Pink Diamonds
Why in news?
The researchers have found the “missing ingredient” for pink
diamonds by measuring the age of elements of the crystals of an
Argyle rock sample.
Background
Pink diamonds are some of the world’s most expensive stones
due their rarity and beauty.
More than 90% of all the pink diamonds ever found were
discovered at the Argyle mine in the remote northwest of
Australia. However most other diamond mines are located in the middle of
a continent.
Ingredients for Forming Pink Diamonds
For formation of the pink diamond three ingredients are needed.
Two of the three ingredients for forming pink diamonds had
already been known.
The first ingredient is carbon, and it must be more than 150 km
deep. The second is the right amount of pressure, to give the color to
the diamonds.
The third and missing ingredient was the event that sent the
diamonds shooting up to the surface.
The immense pressure that twisted color into the diamonds
occurred during collisions between western Australia and
northern Australia 1.8 billion years ago.
The Missing Ingredient
According to the study published in the journal Nature
Communications, the pink diamonds were brought to the earth’s
surface by the break-up of the first supercontinent Nuna around
1.3 billion years ago. When Nuna started to break up it re-aggravated the “scar” from
that event. Magma shot up through this old scar and took the
diamonds along for the ride.
Significance
Knowing the “missing ingredient” for pink diamonds could
assist future efforts to find the rare stones.
Also, old mountain belts marking Nuna’s breakup near the
edges of continents i.e., Canada, Russia, southern Africa and
Australia have the potential to be home to a new “pink diamond
paradise”.
Source: The Hindu