Daily Practice Sheet 8 September 2021

Palm Oil:

Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research estimates the country’s oil palm cultivation potential at 28 lakh ha. India is currently the largest importer and the second-largest consumer of palm oil globally.
However, it has lagged Nigeria, Guatemala, and Papua New Guinea in palm oil production. India imports about 7.1 million tonnes of palm oil (55 per cent of 13 million tonnes of edible oil imports).
India imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for 85-90 per cent of the world’s palm oil production.
On average, 2.5-3 tonnes of more oil can be extracted from oil palm as compared to] sunflower, soyabean, and rapeseed, that yield roughly 0.5, 0.4, and 0.7 tonnes of oil per hectare, which is about 4-7 times higher

Labour force participation:

The PLFS data shows that the share of the labour force engaged in agriculture rose to 45.6 per cent in 2019-20, up from 42.5 per cent in 2018-19 — an abrupt reversal of the decades-long decline in the labour force participation in agriculture

Human Capital Formation:

Low research and development expenditure at 0.8% of GDP, vis-àvis higher value for other fast emerging economies such as South Korea (4.5%), China (2.1%) and Taiwan (3.3%), is resulting in lower capacity for innovation in technologies and reduced ‘technology readiness’, especially for manufacturing.

GS 1: Geography

Poor regulation of flood plain has made India more vulnerable to floods. [Reference: Mongabay]

GS 2: Polity

GS 2: IR

What do you understand y soft power? Examine India’s soft power potential with relevant examples. [Reference: Indian Express]

GS 3: Economy