Daily Prelims Notes 16 July 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

16 July 2022

Table Of Contents

1. The political tussle over podu cultivation and forest lands in Telangana
2. G 20 Finance Track and Public Goods
3. National Agriculture Market (eNAM) 
4. The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to rejoin the ambitious Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana (PMFBY) 
5. Dalai lama visits Ladakh
6. DGTR mulling anti-dumping duty on VSF
7. Shanghai- other cities in Yangtze Basin issue red alerts
8. Does tropical ozone hole exist?
9. Sustainable Development Goal 15: World off track on protecting life on land, finds UN report
10. Three million children in India missed DPT dose in 2020 because of pandemic: Unicef
11. Gandhi memorial museum puts out special magazine issue on Savarkar
12. Assam and Arunachal CMs sign pact to resolve border dispute
13. Increased onion stock to regulate prices: Centre
14. An upcoming port in Karnataka is shrinking space for olive ridley turtles

1. The political tussle over podu cultivation and forest lands in Telangana

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic Geography

Context:

The Telangana government has decided to move landless, non-tribal farmers engaged in shifting cultivation inside forests to peripheral areas as it looks to combat deforestation.

Concept –

• Telangana government has red-flagged encroachment of forests by non-tribals, who are indulging in the practice of shifting agriculture (podu).
• The government now wants to shift out all farmers from the forests to the periphery by allotting lands to them for cultivation.
• Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades will not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers. The government has, in fact, given land ownership titles to tribals.

Shifting Cultivation –

• Jhum (Shifting) cultivation is a primitive practice of cultivation in States of North Eastern Hill Region of India and people involved in such cultivation are called Jhumia
• The practice involves clearing vegetative/forest cover on land/slopes of hills, drying and burning it before onset of monsoon and cropping on it thereafter. After harvest, this land is left fallow and vegetative regeneration is allowed on it till the plot becomes reusable for same purpose in a cycle. Meanwhile, the process is repeated in a new plot designated for Jhum cultivation during next year. Initially, when Jhum cycle was long and ranged from 20 to 30 years, the process worked well
• However, with increase in human population and increasing pressure on land, Jhum cycle reduced progressively (5-6 years) causing problem of land degradation and threat to ecology of the region at large.
• As per report of Ministry of Rural Development, only 5 per cent of households have been reportedly engaged in shiting cultivation in the country.
• The percentage of area under jhum cultivation is 5 in North-Eastern region, while it is 0.5 per cent for central tribal belt.

World

2. G 20 Finance Track and Public Goods

Subject: Economy

Section: External Sector

Context:

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday impressed upon the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to permit India to ship out grains from its official granaries to help nations that are facing a food crisis.

Details:

• At a seminar on ‘Strengthening global collaboration for tackling food insecurity’ on the sidelines of the third meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bali, she also stressed that food, fuel and fertiliser are “global public goods” and ensuring access of these products to developing countries is critical.
  • The world is going to celebrate 2023 as the international year of millets and given that India is a major millet-producing country, it can make valuable contributions to global food security.
• Ministers also exchanged thoughts on important issues like–G20 Finance track and global economic outlook.

Concept:

G 20 Finance Track:

• The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• The work of G20 is divided into two tracks:
  • The Sherpa track focuses on broader issues such as political engagement, anti-corruption, development, energy, etc.
  • The finance track comprises all meetings with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors and their deputies.
    • The focus of the issues discussed in this stream is economics and finance, such as: fiscal, monetary and real policies, infrastructure investment, financial regulation, financial inclusion, and international taxation.
    • G20 decisions may not be legally binding, but they do have a strong political influence and can provide impetus for reforms on the national and multinational level.
    • The Finance Track is structured into six separate working groups, dedicated to sustainable and inclusive growth, international financial architecture, infrastructure, sustainable finance, financial inclusion and Africa.

• The Framework Working Group (FWG) monitors the evolution of the global economic outlook, while coordinating policies
• The International Financial Architecture (IFA) Working Group works to enhance stability and cohesion of the international financial system.
• The Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) advises on policies to improve preparation, financing and management of quality infrastructure investments.
• Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion was created to advance financial inclusion globally as a means of increasing well-being and achieving sustainable and inclusive growth.
• Sustainable Finance Working Group aims to mobilize sustainable finance as a way of ensuring global growth and stability and promoting the transitions towards greener, more resilient and inclusive societies and economies
• The Africa Advisory Group (AAG) is responsible, since 2017, for leading the G20 Compact with Africa, with the aim of improving the environment for private investment in African countries and fostering growth and sustainable development.

Public goods:

• In every economy, some goods are provided by the government to the entire people. Such goods are called public goods. 
• Specifically, public good is the one that is provided to the society as a whole and consumption by one individual doesn’t reduce its availability or doesn’t exclude others from consuming it.
• Two important features for public goods-
  • non rivalry (doesn’t reduce availability for A if B consumes it) and
  • non-excludability (no one is excluded from consumption).
• Examples for public goods are national defense, public parks, street lights, and other basic societal goods.
• The expense for providing public goods are met by the government out of taxes. This means that an individual (with the ability to pay taxes) who avoids or evades taxes enjoys public goods and he becomes a ‘free rider’.
• Free rider problem says that a rational person will not contribute to the provision of public good because he does not need to contribute to the benefit of it.
• If a commodity is provided free to the public by the government then the opportunity cost is transferred from the consumers of the product to the tax-paying public.

3. National Agriculture Market (eNAM)

Subject: Agriculture

Context:

The government on Thursday announced integration of trading, transportation, logistics, warehousing, assaying, packaging, weather forecast and fintech services provided by 41 private entities with its electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM).

Concept:

National Agriculture Market (eNAM) 

• It is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
• Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
• Launched on April 14, 2016, by PM Narendra Modi for digital transformation of mandi operations to achieve “One Nation One Market”, for the trading of agricultural commodities in India.
• A robust mobile app & website is available in 12 languages and equipped with a GPS-based mandi locator for searching mandis within 100 km radius.
• Features:
  • Farmers can track the progress of bids for their lot through mobile.
  • They can also get real-time information about prevailing commodity prices in nearby mandis.
  • It is also enabled with advanced gate entry, sampling and assaying reports.
  • Weighbridges & electronic weighing scales have been integrated with e-NAM to ensure transparency and error-free weighing of commodities.
  • Payment to farmers by traders can also be made electronically.
  • Traders can use advanced features like viewing quality certificates, push notification, bunching of invoices, shopping carts, etc.
  • A360-degree image of the commodity lots via mobile is made available for better decision making.
  • Business intelligence dashboard is also available for better monitoring and decision making for the APMC officials.
• Currently, 1,000 mandis in 22 states and Union territories are integrated into the e-NAM platform, which was launched in April 2016.
• SFAC has empaneled private banks such as Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Indusind Bank and ICICI Bank for provisioning of payment and settlement services for e-NAM transactions.

Latest development—e-NAM platform linked to private agri-services providers

• Entities whose digital platforms which have been integrated with eNAM include Star Agrobazaar Technology, Kisan Network, FPO Bazaar, Arya collateral, Aryadhan, Intello Lab, Bijak and Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority.
• The aim behind this integration of platforms by private players under e-NAM is to make available end-to-end services to farmers along with providing a platform for price discovery.
• Farmers, farmer producer organisations (FPOs), traders, commission agents and other stakeholders registered with the eNAM platform can avail these services provided by these private enterprises.
• Integration of embedded fintech platforms with eNAM will also enable access to finance for historically excluded small farmers and strengthen them socioeconomically.

Related developments

Integration of Negotiable Warehouse Receipt System (e-NWRs) Module with e-NAM

• It will enable small and marginal farmers to directly trade their stored produce from selected Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) registered warehouses which are declared deemed market by the State.

FPO trading Module

• It will enable Farmer Producers’ Organisations (FPOs) to upload the picture of their produce and quality parameters from their premise/collection centres for bidding.
• Launch of Logistic Module
• A provision has been made for linking large logistic aggregator platforms providing choices to users.

4. The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to rejoin the ambitious Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana (PMFBY)

Subject: Schemes

• Launched in April, 2016, after rolling back the earlier insurance schemes viz. National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS), Weather-based Crop Insurance scheme and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).
• Premium: It envisages a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops, and 1.5% for Rabi crops. The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%.
• The scheme was conceived as a milestone initiative to provide a comprehensive risk solution at the lowest uniform premium across the country for farmers.
• Premium cost over and above the farmer share is equally subsidized by States and GoI.
• However, GoI shares 90% of the premium subsidy for the North Eastern States to promote the uptake in the region.

Coverage of Risks and Exclusions:

• Following stages of the crop and risks leading to crop loss are covered under the scheme.
• Prevented Sowing/ Planting Risk: The insured area is prevented from sowing/ planting due to deficit rainfall or adverse seasonal conditions
• Standing Crop (Sowing to Harvesting): Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to non-preventable risks, viz. Drought, Dry spells, Flood, Inundation, Pests and Diseases, Landslides, Natural Fire and Lightening, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane and Tornado.
• Post-Harvest Losses: Coverage is available only up to a maximum period of two weeks from harvesting for those crops which are allowed to dry in cut and spread condition in the field after harvesting against specific perils of a cyclone and cyclonic rains and unseasonal rains.
• Localized Calamities: Loss/ damage resulting from the occurrence of identified localized risks of hailstorm, landslide, and Inundation affecting isolated farms in the notified area.

Companies:

• Agriculture Insurance Company
• Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company
• Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.
• Bajaj Allianz
• Future Generali India Insurance Co. Ltd.
• HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd.
• IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd.
• Universal Sompo General Insurance Company
• ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.
• Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd.
• SBI General Insurance
• United India Insurance Co

5. Dalai lama visits Ladakh

Subject: International relations

Concept:

Following the Buddhist belief in the principle of reincarnation, the current Dalai Lama is believed by Buddhists to be able to choose the body into which he is reincarnated.

• That person, when found, will then become the next Dalai Lama.
• According to Buddhist scholars it is the responsibility of the High Lamas of the Gelugpa tradition and the Tibetan government to seek out and find the next Dalai Lama following the death of the incumbent.
• If more than one candidate is identified, the true successor is found by officials and monks drawing lots in a public ceremony.
• Once identified, the successful candidate and his family are taken to Lhasa (or Dharamsala) where the child studies the Buddhist scriptures in order to prepare for spiritual leadership.

But, According to China, there was a well-established procedure for recognizing the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama,

• One of the conditions was that the name of the successor was pulled out of golden urns found in the Jokhang Temple (one of the most sacred monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism situated in Lhasa) and the Potala Palace which was the residence of the Dalai Lama till he fled to India in 1959.
• The second was the reincarnation getting the approval of the Chinese government.

Dalai Lama

• Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people for the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest of the classical schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
• The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso.
• The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet.
• Bodhisattvas are realized beings inspired by a wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help humanity.

6. DGTR mulling anti-dumping duty on VSF

Context:

• Less than a year after the Centre removed anti-dumping duties on imports of ViscoseStaple Fibre from Chinaand Indonesia to make the domestic yarn and garments industry more competitive, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is set to hold an oral hearing later this month to re-examine the issue and give a fresh finding.
• This follows the order given by the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) asking the designate authority to re-investigate whether the cessation of anti-dumping duty would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of injury
• so as to warrant the imposition of anti-dumping duty for a further period of five years.
• Anti-dumping duties are imposed when it is conclusively proved that a particular item is being exported at a price lower than what is prevailing in the domestic market of the exporter and is leading to disruption in the domestic market, injuring the local producers
• An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
• Dumping is a process where a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its own home market.
• The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.
• The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as Directorate General of Trade Remedies, in India.
• The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime

Sunset review investigation

• Under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, as amended from time to time and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules 1995, the Designated Authority is the Directorate General of Trade Remedies.
• Anti-Dumping Duty is applicable only for a selective period. If dumping still continues, the industry can apply for a sunset review at the end of 5 years.
• Globally, once a sunset review is applied for, the duty is extended for 1 year pending investigation.
• In India, industries have been asked to apply for sunset review 9 months before the expiry of the duty.
• This made the Indian players getting deprived of protection for a year compared to their peers across the world.

Different from Countervailing Duties – ADD is a customs duty on imports providing a protection against the dumping of goods at prices substantially lower than the normal value whereas countervailing duty is a customs duty on goods that have received government subsidies in the originating or exporting country.

7. Shanghai- other cities in Yangtze Basin issue red alerts

Subject : Geography

Section : Climatology

• The Yangtze Basin in China has been experiencing an unusual heatwave since the past one week, with mega cities in its basin ranging from Chongqing to Shanghai affected.
• Chongqing, one of the four municipalities of China directly under the rule of the central government (besides Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai) witnessed four consecutive days with temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (°C) or above.
• Only 17 red alerts have been recorded since 1873, when record-keeping began. But Shanghai was forced to issue three red alerts in the past five days.
• China’s maximum power load reached an all-time high July 12 due to increased demand for air cooling.
• The provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan as well as the autonomous region of Ningxia have also seen record-breaking high temperatures.

8. Does tropical ozone hole exist?

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate Change

Context: According to the recent study, ozone hole is located at altitudes of 10-25 km over the tropics

What is tropical ozone hole?

• A new ozone hole has been detected over the tropics, at latitudes of 30 degrees south to 30 degrees North
• The hole has become significant since the 1980s. But it was not discovered until this study
• The tropical ozone hole is about seven times larger than Antarctica
• It also appears across all seasons, unlike that of Antarctica, which is visible only in the spring
• The tropical ozone hole, which makes up 50 per cent of Earth’s surface, could cause a global concern due to the risks associated with it
• It is likely to cause skin cancer, cataracts and other negative effects on the health and ecosystems in tropical regions
• The tropical stratosphere recorded a low temperature of 190-200 Kelvin (K). This explains the tropical ozone hole is constantly formed over the seasons

What is ozone?

• Ozone is a colorless gas. Chemically, ozone is very active; it reacts readily with a great many other substances.
• Near the Earth’s surface, those reactions cause rubber to crack, hurt plant life, and damage people’s lung tissues.
• But ozone also absorbs harmful components of sunlight, known as “ultraviolet B”, or “UV-B”
• High above the surface, above even the weather systems, a tenuous layer of ozone gas absorbs UV-B, protecting living things below

What is ozone hole?

• During the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely.
• This depleted region is known as the “ozone hole”.
• An ozone hole is an area where ozone levels drop below the historical threshold of 220 Dobson Units (DU is the measure of ozone concentrations)

The Montreal Protocol

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is the landmark multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals referred to as ozone depleting substances (ODS).

Adopted on 15 September 1987, the Protocol is to date the only UN treaty ever that has been ratified every country on Earth – all 198 UN Member States

The Kigali Amendment

The Parties to the Montreal Protocol reached agreement at their on 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda to phase-down HFCs.

9. Sustainable Development Goal 15: World off track on protecting life on land, finds UN report

Subject: Environment

Context:The overall progress on SDG-15 in at least 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa has reversed and is trending in the wrong direction, according to the Sustainable Development Report, 2022

Sustainable Development Report, 2022:

• It is a global assessment of countries’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
• It is published by a group of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
• SDSN was launched in 2012 to mobilize global scientific and technological expertiseto promote practical problem solving for sustainable development and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Following their adoption, SDSN is now committed to supporting the implementation of the SDGsat national and international levels

SDG India Index

• It was developed by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the United Nations in India. It was first launched in the year 2018.
• It computes goal-wise scores on the 16 SDGs for each State and Union Territory
• States and Union Territories are classified as below based on their SDG India Index score:
  • Aspirant: 0–49
  • Performer: 50–64
  • Front-Runner: 65–99
  • Achiever: 100

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

It is a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all

The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UN-GA) and are intended to be achieved by 2030

They are included in a UN-GA Resolution called the 2030 Agenda

The SDGs were developed in the Post-2015 Development Agenda as the future global development framework to succeed the Millennium Development Goals which were ended in 2015.

The 17 SDGs are:

1. No poverty
2. zero hunger
3. good health and well-being
4. quality education
5. gender equality
6. clean water and sanitation
7. affordable and clean energy
8. decent work and economic growth
9. industry, innovation and infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequality
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities 
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action 
14. Life Below Water 
15. Life On Land
16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals

10. Three million children in India missed DPT dose in 2020 because of pandemic: Unicef

Subject: Governance

Context: The Covid pandemic left India’s immunisation programme in tatters, with an estimated three million children not having received the first dose of the DPT vaccine in 2020, according to Unicef

Immunization Programme in India:

• Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization’
• In 1985, the programme was modified as ‘Universal Immunization Programme’ (UIP) to be implemented in phased manner to cover all districts in the country by 1989-90 with the one of largest health programme in the world
• UIP has been able to fully immunize only 65% children in the first year of their life.

Mission Indradhanush

• To strengthen and re-energize the programme and achieve full immunization coverage for all children and pregnant women at a rapid pace Mission Indradhanush”was launched in December 2014
• The ultimate goal of Mission Indradhanush is to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines for children up to two years of age and pregnant women.
• India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases, to 26 million children annually.
• The Universal Immunization Programme provides life-saving vaccines to all children across the country free of cost to protect them against Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea. (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts)

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)

• To further intensify the immunization programme Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)on October 8, 2017
• It aims to reach each and every child up to two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme/UIP
• The focus of special drive was to improve immunisation coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunisation to more than 90% by December 2018.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0

To boost the routine immunization coverage in the country, Government has introduced Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 to ensure reaching the unreached with all available vaccines and accelerate the coverage of children and pregnant women in the identified districts and blocks from December 2019-March 2020

11. Gandhi memorial museum puts out special magazine issue on Savarkar

Subject :History

Section :Personality

The June issue of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti’s (GSDS) Hindi language magazine, Antim Jan, features Savarkar on the cover

Who was Veer Savarkar?

Birth: Born on 28^th May, 1883 in Bhagur, a village near Nashik in Maharashtra.

Related Organisations and Work:

• Founded a secret society called Abhinav Bharat Society.
• Went to the United Kingdom and was involved with organizations such as India House and the Free India Society.
• Involved in the formation of Hindu Mahasabha.
• He was the president of Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943.
• Savarkar wrote a book titled ‘The History of the War of Indian Independence’ in which he wrote about the guerilla warfare tricks used in 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.
• He also wrote the book ‘Hindutva: who is hindu?’.

Trial and Sentences:

• Arrested in 1909 on charges of plotting an armed revolt against the Morley-Minto reform (Indian Councils Act 1909).
• Arrested in 1910 for his connections with the revolutionary group India House.
• One of the charges on Savarkar was abetment to murder of Nashik Collector Jackson and the second was waging a conspiracy under Indian Penal Code 121-A against the King emperor.
• Following the two trials, Savarkar was convicted and sentenced to 50-years imprisonment also known as Kala Pani and transported in 1911 to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Savarkar’s political life and role as social reformer

• During his incarceration in Ratnagiri jail in 1922, he wrote his “Essentials of Hindutva” that formulated his theory of Hindutva.
• He advocated for the use of Hindi as a national language. He also fought against untouchability and caste-based discrimination.
• He later joined Tilak’s Swaraj Party and gave instigating patriotic speeches against the British Government. As a result, the British Government withdrew his B.A. degree.
• According to Savarkar, the rigid caste system “deserves to be thrown into the dustbins of history”.
• Savarkar wanted to break away from caste-based vocational rigidity and encourage persons to pursue any vocation of their choice based on aptitude and ability.
• Savarkar as president of the Hindu Mahasabha decided to support the British war effort in India seeking military training for the Hindus during the Second World War
• Under Savarkar, the Hindu Mahasabha openly opposed the call for the Quit India Movement and boycotted it officially.
• Hindu Mahasabha also opposed Gandhi’s initiative to hold talks with Jinnah in 1944.
• When he gave ‘the two nations in one country’ theory, he propounded that the Hindus and Muslims, though different can bury their differences and unite for India.
• That’s the reason he had opposed INC’s acceptance of the partition of India.

Some of his other literary works include:

• Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History
• My Transportation for Life
• Kale Pani
• 1857 cheSvatantrya Samar
• MaaziJanmathep
• Moplyanche Banda (about Moplah rebellion of 1921)
• Hindu Rashtra Darshan

Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India Society)

• It was a secret society founded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar in
• Initially founded at Nasik as Mitra Mela, the society was associated with several revolutionaries and political activists with branches in various parts of India and London.

India House

• It was founded by Shyamji Kishan Verma in 1905 in London.
• It was opened to promote nationalist views among Indian students in London.

Free India Society

• It was a political organization of Indian students in England, committed to obtaining the independence of India from British rule.
• Initially an intellectual group, it became a revolutionary outfit under its founding leader, Madam BhikajiCama.

Hindu Mahasabha

• It was a political party formed in 1933.
• It was founded by Veer Damodar Savarkar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malviya.
• The organisation was formed to protect the rights of the Hindu community, after the formation of the All India Muslim League in 1906 and the British India government’s creation of separate Muslim electorate under the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909.

12. Assam and Arunachal CMs sign pact to resolve border dispute

Subject : Geography

• Assam Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu on Friday signed the Namsai Declaration for minimising the inter-State boundary dispute involving 123 villages.
• Present-day Arunachal Pradesh, which attained Statehood in February 1987, used to be the North East Frontier Tract, administered by the Governor of Assam as an agent of the President of India. It was renamed North East Frontier Agency and brought under the Central government’s control in 1954.
• When new states were carved out of Assam (Nagaland in 1963, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur in 1972, and Arunachal Pradesh in 1987), border disputes was still not addressed.
• Other major disputes are

Maharashtra-Karnataka: Belgaum

Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh: Sarchu

Haryana-Himachal Pradesh: Parwanoo region

Assam-Meghalaya:  Blocks I and II of the Mikir Hills or present-day Karbi Anglong district to Assam.

Assam-Nagaland:North Cachar and Nagaon districts.

Assam-Mizoram:Lushai Hills and Manipur boundary region

New services under e-NAM to help farmers access more markets

• Agriculture ministry launches ‘platform of platforms’ under eNAM to facilitate sale of products in other states
• The PoP will increase farmers’ digital access to multiple markets, buyers and service providers and bring transparency to business transactions with the aim of improving price search mechanism and quality commensurate price realisation.
• Under the new initiative, services such as assaying, storage,warehousing, sorting and grading among others will be provided through e-NAM

13. Increased onion stock to regulate prices: Centre

Subject : Schemes

Areas of Cultivation:

The Major Onion producing states area Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Telangana. Maharashtra ranks first in Onion production with a share of 28.32%.

Climate

• Onion is a temperate crop but can be grown under a wide range of climatic conditions such as temperate, tropical and subtropical climate. The best performance can be obtained in a mild weather without the extremes of cold and heat and excessive rainfall
• It requires about 70% relative humidity for good growth. It can grow well in places where the average annual rainfall is 650-750 mm with good distribution during the monsoon period. Areas with low (< 650 mm) or heavy rainfall (>750 mm) are not particularly suitable for rain-fed crop.

Soil

• Onion can be grown in all types of soils such as sandy loam, clay loam, silt loam and heavy soils. However, the best soil for successful onion cultivation is deep, friable loam and alluvial soils with good drainage, moisture holding capacity and sufficient organic matter.

China was the largest producer of onions in the world in 2019 followed by India and the United States.

Onion buffer has been maintained by the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) with the objective of effective market intervention to moderate prices.

Key Points

• About PSF:
  • Established in 2014-15, PSF is any fund created to absorb extreme volatility in selected commodity prices.
  • Such goods will be procured directly from farmers or farmers’ organisations at the farm gate/mandi, and made available to consumers at a more affordable price.
  • Losses sustained, if any, between the Centre and the states must be shared in the operations.
  • The sum in the fund is usually used for activities aimed at bringing down/up the high/low prices say, for example, acquisition of certain goods and distribution of the same as and when appropriate so that costs remain within a range.
• Provides Loans:
  • The PSF scheme provides for the advancement of interest-free loans to State Governments/Union Territories (UTs) and Central Agencies to finance their working capital and other expenses, which they may incur in the procurement and distribution of such commodities.
  • The PSF scheme was transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution w.e.f. 1^st April, 2016.
• Fund Management:
  • It is centrally managed by a Price Stabilisation Fund Management Committee (PSFMC) that approves all State Government’s and Central Agencies’ proposals.
• Maintaining the Corpus Fund:
  • Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), a society promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for linking agriculture to private enterprises, investment, and technology, maintains the PSF as a central corpus fund.
• Related Scheme:
  • Launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Operation Green (OG) aims to build value chains of Tomatoes, Onions, and Potatoes (TOP) on the lines of “Operation Flood” (AMUL model) for milk in such a way that will ensure a higher share of consumer’s rupee goes to farmers and stabilizes their prices.
    • While presenting the Union budget 2021, the government announced that Operation Green (OG) will be expanded beyond TOP to 22 perishable commodities.

14. An upcoming port in Karnataka is shrinking space for olive ridley turtles

Subject : Environment

Section: Biodiversity

• The port could also impact the Mugali Marine Protected Area, which is Karnataka’s first marine protected area that houses over 15 species that have the highest protection under India’s wildlife law.
• The beaches of Honnavar, a sub-district in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, cover seven coastal villages — Apsarkonda in the south, Kasarkod, Karki, Mallukurva, Haldipur, Manki, and Pavinkurve in the north.
• In February 2021, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change launched the National Marine Turtle Action Plan (2021-2026). The action plan mentioned that one of the major threats to turtles is the construction of ports and jetties.

About National Marine Turtle Action Plan (NMTAP)

• The aim of the action plan is to strengthen and sustain collective and collaborative sea turtle conservation through the monitoring of key sites and a network of partners in the Indian sub-continent.
• The project contains ways and means to not only promote inter-sectoral action for conservation but also guide improved coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders.
• It highlights actions to be taken for handling stranded animals on the shore, stranded or entangled animals in the sea or on a boat, reducing threats to marine species and their habitats, rehabilitation, etc.

Marine Turtles in India:

• The Indian coastal waters supports five species of sea turtles found worldwide.
• These are the Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea),Green (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and Loggerhead (Caretta caretta).
• These five species of sea turtles that occur in Indian coastal waters are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• India is home to the largest known nesting population of olive ridley turtles. Except Loggerhead turtles, the remaining four species (Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green and Olive ridley turtles) nest along the Indian coastline and islands of India. About 40,000 to 11,00,000 turtles nest every year on the beaches of India.
• Number of turtles nesting varies between years and the success of sporadic nests have been observed to decline due to predations and habitat degradation.