Daily Prelims Notes 15 September 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

15 September 2023

Table Of Contents

1. 15 NBFCs in RBI’s ‘upper layer scale’; will face stiffer regulations
2. At ­0.52%, WPI for August stays negative for 5th month in a row
3. Unhappy with broker partners (APs), SEBI may tighten regulations
4. Green groups protest against World Bank funding of projects.
5. Neural implants remedy hearing loss by integrating with the nervous system
6. New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo, feted as ‘green,’ will be powered by coal, report says
7. Does vagus nerve dysfunction have a connection with COVID-19?
8. India can now issue OIML certificates
9. Govt considering making NavIC mandatory:
10. SC IS NOW PART OF INDIA’S JUDICIAL DATAGRID:
11. All reported births, deaths to be digitally registered from October 1
12. Rubber Board to increase area under rubber in Northeast
13. Scrub typhus in Odisha: Changing climate may have a role behind outbreak, says expert
14. Will the Centre’s first-of-its-kind Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules 2023 be a winner or a greenwash?
15. Land the size of Central Asia lost since 2015 due to degradation
16. PMMSY: bridging gaps in the fisheries sector

1. 15 NBFCs in RBI’s ‘upper layer scale’; will face stiffer regulations

Subject :Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

In News: RBI places 15 NBFCs in the Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) under Scale Based Regulations (SBR) for non-bank lenders.

Key Points:

• RBI has zeroed in on 15 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including LIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Tata Sons, and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, placing them in the Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) under Scale Based Regulations (SBR) for non-bank lenders.
• These NBFCs, which belong to various categoriesdeposit-taking housing finance companies (HFC), non-deposit-taking HFC, deposit-taking NBFC-ICC (Investment and Credit Company), Non-deposit-taking NBFC-ICC, and core investment companies — will be subject to enhanced regulatory requirements, at least for a period of five years from their classification in the layer.

Why did RBI take this measure?

• With many entities growing and becoming systemically significant, there was a need to align the regulatory framework for NBFCs, keeping in view their changing risk profiles. Hence, SBR has been brought in.

2. At ­0.52%, WPI for August stays negative for 5th month in a row

Subject :Economy

Section: Inflation

In News: India’s wholesale prices remained in deflationary mode for the fifth month in a row in August, as per Ministry of Commerce.

Key Points:

• India’s wholesale prices remained in deflationary mode for the fifth month in a row in August.
•  But the decline in prices eased to -0.52%from -1.36% in July, even as inflation in food and primary articles moderated to about 6% from over 7.5% in the previous month.

What components of WPI reduced the deflation?

• The dip in the deflation rate was largely driven by fuel and power prices, whose year-on-year decline more than halved from -12.8% in July to -6% in August.
• Deflation in manufactured products dropped fractionally from -2.5% in the previous month to -2.4% in August.
• On a month-on-month basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) moved up for the second successive month, rising 0.33% in August compared to 2.01% in July.
• Fuel and power costs actually rose 3% after several months of declines, while manufactured products prices rose for the first time in four months, at a marginal pace of 0.14%.
• The Commerce and Industry Ministry attributed the negative rate of inflation “primarily to the fall in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemical & chemical products, textiles and food products”.

What about food?

• While the wholesale food index was up 5.6%,primary food articles inflation remained elevated at 10.6% in August after hitting a decade-high of 14.25% in July, with vegetable prices rising 48.4% compared to 62.1% in July.

Overall inflation outlook?

• Economists expect wholesale inflation to rebound from the deflationary trend in coming months, which would also feed into pressures on inflation in consumer prices, which remained elevated at 6.83% in August.
• Prices of crude oil, cereals and pulses are rising and industrial as well as consumer demand is holding up.
• This would keep CPI inflation in the range of 5.5%-6.5% over the next two quarters and not allow it to come down sharply.

3. Unhappy with broker partners (APs), SEBI may tighten regulations

Subject :Economy

Section: Capital Market

Context: SEBI may tighten norms for broker partners/APs to curb unauthorised trades, misselling.

Key Points:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has raised concerns on the proliferation of authorised persons (AP) and has asked brokers to keep a closer tab on their activities.
• Several large brokers now have thousands of APs, which can make compliance and oversight on these entities difficult.
• Stockbrokers have to conduct periodic inspection of branches assigned to APs, according to current SEBI norms, along with an annual audit.

What is SEBI planning to do?

• The regulator may bring out tighter norms for these entities given the increasing complaints about APs offering assured returns, taking payment in cash, carrying out unauthorised trades, non-payment to brokers and absconding with client money, said two people familiar with the matter.
• Any changes may jack up compliance costs for APs and brokers.

Why this surge in number of APs?

• The market rally in the aftermath of the pandemic and higher retail participation has led to a commensurate rise in the number of APs, also known as franchisees, in industry parlance.

Why is the huge number of APs a matter of concern?

• There have been instances of APs promising high returns, trading on clients’ behalf or using their money for own trades, indulging in dabba trading, accepting cash and shutting shop after making losses.
• In some cases, APs have not passed on the client payment to the broker, resulting in disputes between the broker and the client.
• APs have access to a very powerful thing called an equity terminal. A lot of money can be made or lost at the press of a button. There’s a bit of concern as to whether the APs are professionally qualified to do the business.

4. Green groups protest against World Bank funding of projects.

Subject :IR

Section: International Organisation

In News: Environmental groups have submitted a formal complaint to the World Bank for providing financial support for two coal-fired power plants in Indonesia.

Key Points:

• Environmental groups have submitted a formal complaint to the World Bank for providing financial support for two coal-fired power plants in Indonesia, violating a pledge to stop backing fossil fuels.
• The World Bank’s private sector subsidiary, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), is an indirect backer of a coal-fired power complex via an equity investment in one of the project’s financiers, Hana Bank.

• The power plant would emit 250 million metric tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• The IFC vowed to stop investing in coal in 2020, but it continues to hold stakes in financial institutions with coal investments, like Hana Bank, as long as they have plans to phase out their exposure.
• Last November, Indonesia became the second country to enter into a Just Energy Transition Partnership that will deliver $20 billion in funds to help reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, but its announcement of investment plans has been delayed.
• The JETP compels Indonesia to impose a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants, though there are exemptions for “captive” plants that serve other industrial facilities.

5. Neural implants remedy hearing loss by integrating with the nervous system

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Health

Introduction:

• Hearing loss is a significant issue globally, with severe consequences for those affected.
• In India, the problem is particularly pronounced, impacting newborns due to genetic factors and consanguineous marriages.
• The World Health Organization estimates that severe to profound hearing loss affects nearly 2-3 per 1000 live births, making it the most common congenital anomaly worldwide.

Advances in Biomedical Engineering:

• Cochlear implants (CIs) have emerged as a solution, bypassing damaged hair cells in the inner ear.
• CIs electronically stimulate the cochlear nerve, allowing them to restore hearing by connecting external circuitry with the peripheral hearing apparatus and the central circuitry of the brain.

Components of Cochlear Implants:

• CIs comprise both external and internal components.
• They detect mechanical sound energy and convert it into electrical signals that can be delivered to the cochlear nerve.
• These electrical signals are processed by an external speech processor and transmitted through a radiofrequency interface into an array of electrodes implanted surgically within the cochlea (inner ear).

Post-Implantation Process:

• Activation of the CI occurs approximately three weeks after surgery once the wound has healed.
• Frequent mapping sessions and intensive habilitation efforts are essential to develop receptive and expressive language skills.

CI program in India:

• In Tamil Nadu, a highly successful CI program provides free cochlear implants to children below the age of six who are living below the poverty line, resulting in over 5000 surgeries performed under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.

Cochlear nerve:

• Part of cranial nerve VIII, the cochlear nerve carries auditory signals.
• Located in the inner ear, it transmits sound data to the brain.
• Crucial for sound perception, it processes pitch, volume, and location.
• There are two cochlear nerves, one for each ear, facilitating stereo hearing and sound localization.
• Damage can lead to hearing loss, often caused by various factors.

6. New Indonesian industrial park on Borneo, feted as ‘green,’ will be powered by coal, report says

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• A vast industrial park being built on the tropical island of Borneo that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment is damaging the environment in an area where endangered animals live and migrate.

About the kalimantan industrial park:

• It is a “national strategic project” meant to make Indonesia a major producer of strategic resources.
• Plans call for eventually doubling its size to some 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres), making it one of the world’s biggest industrial zones.
• It will be initially powered by coal.
• The project’s blueprint includes a smelter to make aluminum for electric vehicles and other factories to produce petrochemicals, batteries for EVs and polycrystalline materials used in solar panels.
• A port will accommodate ships hauling materials and goods to and from the zone.
• The environmental impact assessment was commissioned by PT Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia.
• The project’s coastal zone is a conservation and migration area for green turtles,hawksbill turtles and killer whales.
  • Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while green turtles are considered endangered.
• A hydropower plant along the Kayan River in North Kalimantan is due to be finished in 2030.
• Indonesia has received the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership deal with the U.S., Japan and other major economies.

Impact:

• Dust and pollution
• Impact on paddy field
• Increased ship traffic
• Reduced in fishing and fish production
• Loss of traditional livelihood
• Danger of how water waste contamination
• Coal-fired power plant fly ash
• Rising air temperature

Why is Indonesia establishing an industrial park?

• Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer and has major reserves of aluminum, tin and copper.
• All are used in technologies vital to the green energy transition, such as electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
• To build its own industrial base, the country has phased out exports of most raw materials for processing and downstream manufacturing.
• The government has banned nickel ore exports, requiring it be processed domestically.
• The Green Industrial Park is an extension of that ambition.

7. Does vagus nerve dysfunction have a connection with COVID-19?

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Health

Introduction:

• There’s increasing interest in vagus nerve stimulation for health benefits, from anxiety to obesity.
• Methods like yoga and devices delivering electrical impulses are being explored.
• Recent research suggests a connection between vagus nerve dysfunction and long COVID.
  • Long COVID is broadly defined as signs, symptoms, and conditions that continue or develop after acute COVID-19 infection.

Vagus Nerve:

• The vagus nerve consists of a pair of nerves on each side, running from the brainstem to the chest and stomach.
• It’s a key part of the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for relaxation and vital functions like heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.
• This nerve is both sensory and motor, facilitating communication between the brain and the body.
• It also plays a role in immune system regulation.

Why Researchers Are Interested:

• Vagal nerves are the longest cranial nerves, connecting various essential body parts.
• They contain 75% of parasympathetic nervous system fibers, facilitating communication between the brain and body.
• Stimulation of these nerves may trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, offering potential health benefits.

Conditions Treatable with Vagus Nerve Stimulation:

• Implantable vagus nerve stimulators treat epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression.
• Non-invasive devices for skin stimulation are emerging.
• Vagus nerve’s role in regulating inflammation is explored for treating various conditions.

Natural Vagus Nerve Stimulation:

• Methods like meditation, exercise, massage, humming, singing, and cold water immersion are suggested for natural stimulation.

8. India can now issue OIML certificates

Subject: Schemes

Section: Msc

Context

• India is now officially authorized to issue OIML (International Organisation of Legal Metrology) certificates, a significant development announced by the Union Consumer Affairs Secretary.

Understanding the OIML: International Organisation of Legal Metrology

• The OIML, established in 1955 and headquartered in Paris, is a global standard-setting body.
• It focuses on creating regulations and standards for legal metrology authorities and industries.
• These standards cover measuring instruments like clinical thermometers, alcohol breath analyzers, radar speed measuring devices, ship tanks, and petrol dispensing units.

India’s OIML Membership and Metric Convention

• India became an OIML member in 1956, coinciding with its signing of the metric convention.
• The Metric Convention, signed in 1875 in Paris, established the modern metric system, promoting standardized measurements worldwide.
  • Origin: Born during the French Revolution, it aimed to replace diverse regional measurement systems.
  • Fundamental Units: Introduced the meter (length), kilogram (mass), and second (time) as base units.
  • International Bureau: Created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) for system maintenance.
  • Non-Adoption: While most nations embrace metrics, some, like the U.S., maintain alternative systems.

The Significance of OIML Certificates

• OIML certificates are part of the OIML-CS system, facilitating the issuance and registration of certifications for instruments like digital balances and clinical thermometers.
• India’s inclusion expands the number of countries authorized to issue OIML certificates to 13.
• India’s authorization means that certificates issued within the country are 

Boosting the Indian Economy

• Increased Exports: Indian manufacturers can now easily meet international standards, boosting exports.
• Foreign Exchange Earnings: India can attract manufacturers from neighboring countries, leading to foreign exchange earnings.
• Employment Generation: The influx of certification-related activities can create employment opportunities.
• Resource Efficiency: Eliminating the need for Indian manufacturers to seek certification abroad will reduce redundancy and save resources.

 9. Govt considering making NavIC mandatory:

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Context: The government has convinced Apple to adopt NavIC in some of its models and it is also planning to give incentives to manufacturers for using domestic chips that support NavIC

Uses of NavIC in India-

• It find utilisation in national projects like public vehicle safety
• Power grid synchroniztion
• Real-time train information system
• Fisherman safety
• Soon it will come with common alert protocol-based emergency warnings, time dissemination, geodetic network and Unmanned Aerial vehicles.

About NavIC-

• NavIC or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is designed with a constellation of 7 satellites and a network of ground stations operating 24×7.
• There are a total of eight satellites however only seven remain active.
• Three satellites in geostationary orbit and four satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
• The constellations’ first satellite (IRNSS-1A) was launched on 1st July 2013 and the eighth satellite IRNSS-1I was launched in April 2018.
• With the seventh launch of the constellation’s satellite (IRNSS-1G), IRNSS was renamed NavIC by India’s Prime Minister in 2016.
• It was recognised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a part of the World-Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) for operation in the Indian Ocean Region in 2020.

10. SC ISNOWPARTOF INDIA’SJUDICIAL DATAGRID:

Subject : Polity

Section: History

Context: With Supreme Court of India onboarding the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal, the flagship project of the e-Courts project completes the full circle. Now we have all three tiers of Indian judiciary on NJDG portal. NJDG is recognized as a significant innovation under the ease of doing business initiative of the Government of India.

The NJDG portal is a national repository of data relating to cases instituted, pending and disposed of by the courts across the length and breadth of the country. Now on a click of a button, one may access case related information, statistics such as institution, pendency and disposal of cases, case-types, year-wise break-up of the Supreme Court of India.

NJDG has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) in close coordination with the in-house software development team of the Computer Cell, Registry with an interactive interface and analytics dashboard. The entire database shall be periodically updated on the NJDG portal.

To date, the NJDG portal remains unparalleled, and the same is accessible at a click of a button to its citizenry. NJDG is sui generis as it has brought transparency, and accountability within the realm of the Indian judicial system by sharing all relevant data of cases instituted, pending and disposed of.

Since the launch of the NJDG portal, the benefits of the NJDG portal can be summed up as under:

1. increased transparency
2. accountability and responsibility
3. improved efficiency
4. increased coordination
5. informed decision making
6. optimum deployment of resources and manpower
7. single source of data
8. huge potential for high-quality research work

The NJDG-SCI portal can be accessed through the website of the Supreme Court of India by clicking on the tab button – NJDG

There are three main webpages of the NJDG-SCI portal

• At a glance
• Pending dashboard
• Disposed dashboard

At a Glance web page publishes:

• current year’ pendency of civil and criminal cases
• total pendency inclusive of REGISTERED and UNREGISTERED CASES
• number of cases instituted in last month
• number of cases disposed of in last month
• number of cases instituted in current year
• disposal in current year and

11. All reported births, deaths to be digitally registered from October 1

Subject: Polity

Section: Msc

Context:

• All reported births and deaths in the country will be digitally registered on the Centre’s portal from October 1, according to a government notification.

Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023:

• A single document (digital birth certificate) is to be used for admission to educational institutions, applications for driving license, government jobs, passports or Aadhaar, voter enrolment, and registration of marriage, among others.
• The power is conferred to the central government by subsection (2) of Section 1 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023.
• Notification released by: Registrar-General and Census Commissioner, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan.

Key features of the act:

• The Act grants authority to the Registrar General of India to oversee a national registry of births and deaths.State-appointed Chief Registrars and Registrars will be obligated to contribute data to this national database, while Chief Registrars maintain similar databases at the state level.
  • Earlier, there was a requirement for certain persons to report births and deaths to the Registrar.
• The rule also applied to cases of births in a jail, a hotel or lodge. Herein, the jailor and the hotel manager need to provide all the relevant information.
• Under the new Act, the list has been further expanded and will now include  adoptive parents for non-institutional adoption, biological parents for births through surrogacy, and the parent in case of birth of a child to a single parent or unwed mother.
• The new legislation allows sharing of the national database with authorized authorities like population registers, electoral rolls, and others, subject to central government approval. Similarly, state databases can be shared with state-approved authorities.
• As per the Act, any person aggrieved by any action or order of the Registrar or District Registrar may appeal to the District Registrar or Chief Registrar, respectively. Such an appeal must be made within 30 days from receipt of such action or order. The District Registrar or Chief Registrar must give their decision within 90 days from the date of appeal.
• It will be compulsory for States to register births and deaths on the Centre’s Civil Registration System (CRS) portal and share data with the RGI which functions under the Union Home Ministry.
• The Act authorizes the government to “collect Aadhaar numbers of parents and informants, if available, in case of birth registration.” Presently, either parent voluntarily provides an Aadhaar number for a newborn’s birth certificate generated through the CRS.

National Population Register (NPR):

• The centralized database will also update the National Population Register (NPR), ration cards, property registration and electoral rolls.
• NPR, first collected in 2010 and updated in 2015 through door-to-door enumeration, already has a database of 119 crore residents.
• NPR is the first step to the creation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), as per the Citizenship Act.

12. Rubber Board to increase area under rubber in Northeast

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context:

• The Rubber Board, jointly with the Central government and the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, is implementing a project to expand the area under natural rubber in the Northeastern States.

Details:

• Of the 8.5 lakh hectares under rubber in the country, almost 5 lakh hectares was in Kerala and Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and 1 lakh hectares was in Tripura.
• To expand the area in non-traditional States, the Rubber Board was implementing a project to bring 2 lakh hectares under natural rubber in the Northeastern States, except Sikkim, but including West Bengal.
• The tyre manufacturers, who were the main consumers of rubber, were investing ₹1,000 crore in the five-year project that commenced in 2021.

Natural Rubber:

• Polymer of isoprene, an organic compound obtained from latex of a tropical tree Hevea Brasiliensis.
• Soil type: Well drained and well weathered soils, eg. Laterite, alluvial and sedimentary type soils.
• Precipitation and temperature: Evenly distributed rainfall with at least 100 rainy days, temperature range should be 20-34^oC.
• Other conditions required: Humidity of around 80%, 2000 hrs of sunshine and absence of strong winds.
• World’s major producer: Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
  • India: Kerala (.75% of total production), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka.
  • Tripura, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar, Goa etc are some other rubber-producing States.
  • India is the 5th largest producer and 2nd largest consumer of natural rubber in the world. India imports 40% of its total rubber consumption.
• The first rubber plantations in India were set up in 1895 on the hill slopes of Kerala. However, rubber cultivation on a commercial scale was introduced in 1902.
• Natural rubber is preferred over synthetic rubber due to its high tensile strength and vibration-dampening properties, along with tear resistance. This makes it important for the construction and automobile industries.
• Rubber Board:
  • Established: 1955
  • HQ: Kottayam, Kerala
  • Under: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• Rubber board is responsible for the development of the rubber industry in India.
• Rubber Research Institute (RRI) is under the Rubber Board.

Rubber consumption in India:

• Automotive tyre sector: 50% (all kind of rubbers)
• Bicycle tyre and tubes: 15%
• Footwear: 12%
• Belts and hoses: 6%
• Camelback and latex production: 7%
• Other products: 10%

13. Scrub typhus in Odisha: Changing climate may have a role behind outbreak, says expert

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Health

Context:

• A resurgence of scrub typhus cases in Odisha has brought forward the role of climate in driving up the rate of the highly infectious disease.
• Also reported from Himachal Pradesh.

Scrub typhus:

• Scrub typhus is caused by a zoonotic rickettsial bacterium called Orientia tsutsugamushi, which is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mites in the larveal stage called chiggers.
• Mites carrying the disease are generally found in the bush, jungle and paddy areas, so the disease is also called jungle or bush typhus.
• The chiggers that transmit the disease generally live in low temperature and high humidity conditions.
• The symptoms of scrub typhus commonly include fever, headache, body ache and sometimes a rash.
• In some cases it leads to respiratory distress, brain and lung inflammation, kidney failure and multi-organ failure, ultimately resulting in death.
• Test:Elisa tests for scrub typhus.

Probable reason for outbreak:

• Odisha districts have more agricultural and forest land suitable for mites.
• Global warming and climate change.
• A study found that temperature, humidity and rainfall had a major role in the incidence of scrub typhus.
• A 2017 study looking into scrub typhus cases in China also found that a 1 degree Celsius increase in mean temperature was associated with a 3.8 per cent increase in the odds of scrub typhus cases during the same week.

14. Will the Centre’s first-of-its-kind Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules 2023 be a winner or a greenwash?

Subject: Schemes

Section: Environment

Green Credit Programme Rules 2023:

• Proposed by: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in the 2023-24 budget.
• It is a first-of-a-kind instrument that seeks to incentivise individuals, industries and local bodies to earn from environmentally positive actions.
• Green Credit is an incentive that individuals, farmer-producer organisations (FPO), industries, rural and urban local bodies, among other stakeholders, will be able to earn for environment-positive actions.
• A green credit is a singular unit of a credit provided for a specified activity undertaken.
• The draft rules identify eight sectors for these activities:
  • Tree plantation; Water; Sustainable agriculture; Waste management; Air pollution reduction; Mangrove conservation and restoration; ECO Mark (a government scheme to identify environment-friendly products); and Sustainable building and infrastructure.
• Apart from incentivising individual/community behaviour, the Green Credit Programme will encourage private sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions which are able to converge with activities relevant to generating or buying green credits.
• The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education shall be the administrator of the programme.
  • The institute will develop guidelines, processes and procedures for the implementation of the programme and develop methodologies and standards, registration process and associated measurement, reporting and verification mechanisms.
• The green credits will be tradable and those earning it will be able to put these credits up for sale on a proposed domestic market platform.

Concern include:

• Greenwashing
• Maintenance and monitoring challenges
• Fraud in utility of resources

15. Land the size of Central Asia lost since 2015 due to degradation

Subject: Environment

Section: International Convention

Context:

• Healthy and productive land the size of Central Asia has been degraded since 2015, affecting food and water security globally and directly impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people, according to latest estimates released by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD).

Findings of the report:

• At least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year between 2015 and 2019.
• This is about the combined area of five Central Asian nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

UN’s efforts to reduce land-degradation:

• The UN has set a target to achieve a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030.
• The UNCCD 2018−2030 Strategic Framework was adopted by CoP13 of UNCCD in 2017, which encouraged Parties to apply it in their national policies, programmes, plans and processes relating to desertification / land degradation and drought.
• The framework contains five strategic objectives that are meant to guide the actions of all UNCCD stakeholders and partners in the period 2018-2030:
  • To improve the condition of affected ecosystems, combat desertification/land degradation, promote sustainable land management and contribute to land degradation neutrality
  • To improve the living conditions of affected populations
  • To mitigate, adapt to and manage the effects of drought in order to enhance resilience of vulnerable populations and ecosystems
  • To generate global environmental benefits through effective implementation of the UNCCD
  • To mobilise substantial and additional financial and nonfinancial resources to support the implementation of the Convention by building effective partnerships at global and national level

Review of the actions taken by the stakeholders:

• The Parties will review the assessment of implementation of the framework along the Strategic Objectives at the 21st session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 21), to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
• CRIC 21, one of UNCCD’s official meetings, will review progress in implementing strategic objectives on the following:
  • Promoting sustainable land management
  • Building drought resilience
  • Supporting women’s leadership in sustainable agriculture
  • Addressing forced migration due to land degradation and climate change.

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN):

• UNCCD defines LDN as “a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem functions and services to enhance food security remain stable, or increase, within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.”​
• The impacts of land degradation will be felt by most of the world’s population. ​Land degradation also changes and disrupts rainfall patterns, exacerbates extreme weather like droughts or floods, and drives further climate change.​ It results in social and political instability, which drives poverty, conflict, and migration. ​
• Achieving LDN requires three concurrent actions: ​
  • firstly, avoiding new degradation of land by maintaining existing healthy land; ​
  • secondly, reducing existing degradation by adopting sustainable land management practices that can slow degradation while increasing biodiversity, soil health, and food production; and ​
  • thirdly, ramping up efforts to restore and return degraded lands to a natural or more productive state.​

The UNCCD’s objectives for LDN include:​

• maintaining or improving the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services​
• maintaining or improving land productivity to enhance global food security​
• Increasing the resilience of land and the populations dependent on it​
• seeking synergies with other social, economic, and environmental objectives​
• reinforcing and promoting responsible and inclusive land governance​

16. PMMSY: bridging gaps in the fisheries sector

Subject: Schemes

Section: Agriculture

Context:

• A significant sum of ₹20,050 crore was allocated for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in 2020, committing the biggest-ever investment in the history of Indian fisheries.

PMMSY- significant milestones in three years:

• It identified key strategic priority areas: marine fisheries, inland fisheries, fishermen’s welfare, infrastructure and post-harvest management, cold water fisheries, ornamental fisheries, aquatic health management, and sea weed cultivation, among others.
• Almost 20,000 hectares of fresh pond area is being brought under inland aquaculture.
• More inclusion of women in fisheries sector.
• PMMSY has enabled 900 fish feed plants and 755 hatcheries, and is supporting research and genetic improvement of Indian White Shrimp at Chennai, the development of specific pathogen-free brood stock, and domestication of tiger shrimp in the Andaman Islands.
• India is among the world’s top three countries in fish and aquaculture production, and is also the biggest shrimp exporter in the world. 

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY):

• The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India is implementing PMMSY.
• It aims to bring about the Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of the fisheries sector in India at an estimated investment of Rs. 20050 crores for holistic development of the fisheries sector including welfare of fishers.
• Implemented in all the States and Union Territories for a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.
• PMMSY is designed to address critical gaps in the fisheries value chain from fish production, productivity and quality to technology, post-harvest infrastructure and marketing.
• It aims to modernize and strengthen the value chain, enhance traceability and establish a robust fisheries management framework while simultaneously ensuring the socio-economic welfare of fishers and fish farmers.

PMMSY Objectives:

• Harness the potential of the fisheries sector in a sustainable, responsible, inclusive and equitable manner
• Enhance fish production and productivity through expansion, intensification, diversification and productive utilization of land and water
• Modernize and strengthen the value chain including post-harvest management and quality improvement
• Double fishers and fish farmers’ incomes and generate meaningful employment
• Enhance the contribution of the fisheries sector to Agricultural GVA and exports
• Ensure social, physical and economic security for fishers and fish farmers
• Build a robust fisheries management and regulatory framework

Targets of PMMSY:

1. Fish Production and Productivity:
   • Increasing fish production to 22 million metric tons by 2024-25 from 13.75 million metric tons in 2018-19.
   • Enhancing aquaculture productivity to 5 tons per hectare from the current national average of 3 tons.
   • Augmenting domestic fish consumption from 5 kg to 12 kg per capita.
2. Economic Value Adition:
   • Increasing contribution of fisheries sector to the Agriculture GVA to about 9% by 2024-25 from 7.28% in 2018-19.
   • Doubling export earnings to Rs.1,00,000 crores by 2024-25 from Rs.46,589 crores in 2018-19.
   • Facilitating private investment and growth of entrepreneurship in the fisheries sector.
   • Reduction of post-harvest losses from the reported 20-25% to about 10%.
3. Enhancing income and employment generation:
   • Generating 55 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities along the value chain.
   • Doubling the incomes of fishers and fish farmers.

Key achievements:

• Enhancement of fish production from 10.26 Million metric tons (2014-15) to 13.75 Million metric tons (2018-19)
• Productivity increased from 2.3 tons per hectare to 3.3 per tons per hectare
• Exports increased from Rs 33,442 crore to Rs 46,589 crore (2018-19)