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How IBS is making its students Industry ready

By CL -
0
 

The success of any B-School lies in preparing its students for industry. In this regard, IBS has consistently stayed ahead of most of the competition.  Here are some of the contributing factors in the efforts of IBS in making its students industry-ready.

  • Case method of teaching
  • Summer Internship program
  • Role of Alumni
  • Seminars and Guest lectures by Industry experts
  • Contemporary courses and partnered programs
  • Visiting faculty from industry
  • Career Management Center
  • International Immersion Programs
  • Industry Visits
  • Academic Advisory Committee

Case method of teaching

Case method of teaching is a study of real-life scenarios faced by industry and discussion on the approach taken, its outcome and analysis. Each case exposes students to a variety of issues faced by industry. Student learns by taking the role of a decision-maker in real organizations, which helps them understand issues faced by managers and helps them to bridge the gap between theoretical approach and practical handling of situations.

At IBS, almost all courses are taught through real-life cases.

Summer Internship program

SIP is an integral part of the curriculum of IBS with close supervision from the faculty. SIP was institutionalized as a very important process which provides a platform for students to tackle real-life projects. The 14 week-long format gives enough scope for students to learn more by taking up and completing a meaningful, valued project for the company. Such efforts have strengthened IBS relationship with the industry and paved the way for pre-placement offers.

Role of Alumni

IBS has a growing alumni base of around 54,000+ who are currently pursuing fast track careers with 1000 plus companies in India and abroad. Their success in the corporate area is an eloquent testimony to their skills, abilities and hard work, stemming from the quality and rigor of business education at IBS. This strong network of alumni is one of the strengths of IBS. The alumni remain in touch with their alma mater, IBS through IBS Alumni Federation (IBSAF), and also the current students of IBS. This network of alumni is a point of strength in interfacing IBS with Industry.

Seminars and Guest lectures

Industry interaction programs are organized by IBS campuses with a cross-section of professionals from various sectors and functional areas like financial services, marketing, human resource management, operations, information technology etc. A range of professional development seminars are also organized with the industry to facilitate regular job placements. Contemporary topics like Big Data Analytics and Block Chain are also covered by experienced professionals from the industry.

Contemporary courses and partnered programs

IBS is in constant touch with the current industry needs. Students are exposed to the latest body of knowledge through contemporary, market-oriented curriculum. IBS is in collaboration with several national and international organizations to train its students in specialized areas such as information technology and business analysis & research. The partnerships include:

  • Microsoft – IT academy program
  • SAS – The power to know
  • SPSS
  • A joint certification program by HDFC which is helping students in placements.

Visiting faculty from industry

IBS acknowledges the fact that most of contemporary and specialized courses are best handled by industry professionals, with relevant field experience who bring their expertise into the classroom. Their experience would help the students immensely.  Hence wherever there is such need, services of visiting faculty are availed.

Career Management Center

IBS has set up the Career Management Center (CMC) which looks after the placement activities of its students throughout the year. CMC operates under the overall guidance of a Faculty Coordinator who heads a team of Corporate Relationship Executives with strong industry connect, established since 1995. The main objective of CMC is to enhance the placement prospects of the students. CMC personnel visit potential employers in various corporates and appraise them of the ample talent available at our business school. Over the years they have developed a mutually beneficial relationships with over 4000 companies in India and abroad.  CMC also arranges training in soft skills, group discussions and mock interviews by industry professionals for final placements. Through PACT (Placement Advisory Counselling and Training) Teams and with active collaboration with Industry experts, students are administered specific skill development programs. This is a unique concept available at all IBS Campuses. The best of companies recruit from IBS every year and this trend continues. Students are offered training in personality development and sensitized to the importance of entrepreneurship and leadership and adaptability to environment in ensuring organizational success. Click here for final placements for the year 2020.

International Immersion programs

IBS campus teams venture out on international immersion programs periodically. This aims at first-hand experience of the business practices in different countries and developing global and cross-cultural competence.

Industry Visits

As part corporate exposure, regular visits to manufacturing facilities, corporate offices and retail outlets are organized as part of various courses. During these visits, students are able to relate to the concepts and connect back to the theories, making the learning holistic. Students get to interact with senior executives of the organizations.

Academic Advisory Boards

IBS campuses constitute an Advisory committee comprising of five active senior-most employees from the corporate sector to meet once in a semester, along with Campus Head & Academic Coordinator to discuss various issues related to current market needs, changes that are needed to be made in the curriculum and making it more dynamic compared to other B-Schools.

To apply for the IBS Programs click here

Balancing your Prep Plan for Boards & Entrance Exams

By CL -
0
 

The much-awaited announcement of the CBSE 10th and 12th exams was made in the wee hours of the dying 2020 year!

The year 2020 was in every way an unprecedented year for all students but especially those who are studying the 10th and 12th standards! The marks in 10th and 12th and subsequent entrance exams that these students take up decide their entire career and future. It is not an exaggeration if one were to say that these two years are the most important years of their education. The pandemic has wreaked havoc in the lives of the students and therefore the parents and teachers too and the year 2021 brings new hope and hopefully happy tidings.

However, given that the government has announced that the CBSE board exams would start from the first week of May (4th May), there is suddenly a huge apprehension as to how students would cope-up for their entrance exams.

Traditionally, the Board exams get over by mid-March and there is sufficient (if not long enough) time to prepare for the entrances for the students giving their 12th std exams. Almost all the important exams viz., JEE, NEET, Law entrances (CLAT, AILET), UG Management entrances (IPMAT, DUJAT), and many other state entrances are conducted in the month of April and May and this leaves the students enough time to concentrate on their boards till mid-March and then give complete focus on the entrance examinations.

This year there is no such luxury. CLAT Consortium has announced that the CLAT will be held on 9th May, AILET exam is going to be held on 2nd May. It is expected that all other entrances would also be bang in the middle of the CBSE 12th class final exams!

Q. How should the student and the parent cope up with this sudden change?

Firstly, there are 4 months to the CBSE boards and an equal number of months or slightly more for some entrance exams.

These four months have to be properly utilized to not only ensure top marks in CBSE boards or for that matter any 12th std exams but also to ensure that one is prepared for the entrance exams.

The above is possible if one starts (assuming one has not started preparing) right away while giving time to the board preparation too!

There is still enough time for students starting their entrance exam preparation. Most of the entrance exams focus on aptitude (except the JEE and NEET exams). The aptitude level that is asked is of the 8th, 9th and 10th standard levels and practice is the key to scoring well in these exams.

Also, the parent has to support so that the student is not overwhelmed with all the expectations.

Q. What should be the time-line for the preparation for entrance exams and the boards

Since there are 4 months to the board, the month of January 75% of the time to be given to the entrance exam prep with about quarter of the time for the boards. In the month of February and March 50% time to be spent on Entrance Exams and 50% time on board prep.  In April, the entire focus (90%) to be on the board preparation while taking Mock Exams for the entrance exams and keeping in touch with the prep.

Q. How is Career Launcher going to help the students of 12th to prepare for the entrances as well as the board exams?

Career Launcher has always put the interests of the students above all else. We would have started the preparation classes for the entrance exams immediately post the board exams. Given the new situation, we plan to launch new batches in January itself wherein the syllabus for the exam will be covered by end of March. In addition, Full length Mock Exams will be provided to the students along with strategy sessions for cracking these entrance exams.

Since Career Launcher also caters to the needs of the 10th and 12th class students for their board exam preparation, we plan to ensure that model papers for various subjects are made available so as to double up their preparation along with the entrance preparation!

Q. How many hours per day would these classes be? And what is the mode of delivery?

Since the Govt. has not given the nod to conduct physical classes, and also owing to the need of the students, Career Launcher will conduct the classes in the digital (online live) mode. Where-ever possible, the centres will cater to the individual needs of the student by conducting doubt clearing either online or face to face at the centre as per the convenience of the student and the faculty members.

The classes may be conducted for about 75 min to 90 min per day and for 4 to 5 days a week till the end of March.

Visit www.careerlauncher.com for more information

IAS Officers: Transfers and Posting Policy

By Himanshu Tyagi -
0
 

The roles and responsibilities of an IAS officer are indeed extremely important. Another important element that one should keep in mind is the fact that it is an all-India transferable job. You can be posted anywhere across the country. Hence, it becomes important to know the transfer and posting policies of IAS officers.

IAS Transfer Rules: Important Points

Some of the important points that should be noted with reference to transfer rules of IAS officers are:

  • Only the central government can make the rules for the transfer of IAS officers.
  • However, the central government consults with the state governments for the formation of these rules.
  • The power of transfer of cadre of IAS officers lies solely with the Central government.
  • Majorly, the cadre changes happen in the case of the marriage of two IAS officers. Either one of them is sent to the cadre of another or both of them are transferred to some other third cadre.

Inter-state Transfer Rules For IAS Officers

  • The interstate transfer of IAS officers is permitted only in the case of the marriage of IAS officers. In such a case, both should be a member of Indian Administrative Services and must apply for cadre change citing the reason.
  • In the rarest of rare cases, some officers may also get transferred because of the hardships in certain areas. ‘Extreme hardship’ for inter-cadre transfer requests include the threat to the life of the IAS officer or his immediate family or severe health problems to the officer or his immediate family due to the climate or environment of the State to which he is allotted.
  • In both the cases, i.e, of request on grounds of threat or health, the Central Government shall have the authenticity of the request assessed by an independent Central agency or group of at least two independent experts.
  • If such requests are to be genuine, the Central government may initially send the officer on a three years deputation to a State of its choice. The situation may be reassessed after the three year period and if the situation so warrants, the Central Government may permanently transfer the officer to that State.
  • The inter-cadre transfer is not permitted to the home-state of IAS officers.
  • In the case of inter-cadre transfer on the grounds of marriage, in the first instance, efforts should be made to ensure that the cadre of one officer accepts another officer.
  • If both the states refuse to do so, then the government of India decides the third cadre for the couple.

Deputation for Cadre Officers

  • Cadre officers are appointed for service under the Central Government or another State Government, or through an association or body of individuals, that belongs entirely or substantially to the Central Government or by another State Government. This commission is subjected to any disagreement state between the Company and cadre officer. In that case, the Central Government and the State Governments concerned will come to a decision.
  •  A cadre officer may also be commissioned through an alternate provision under a company, association or body of individuals, whether embodied or not, which is totally or essentially governed by a State Government, a Municipal Corporation or a Local Body, by the State Government on whose cadre he is borne.
  • Another deputation by an autonomous body is under an international organization, not checked by the Government, or a private body, by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government on whose cadre he is borne but given that no cadre officer shall be delegated to any organization.
  • The above commission is bound to terms that no cadre officer shall be delegated to a post beside a post bearing a prescribed pay which is below, or a pay scale, the maximum of which is below, the basic pay he allegedly reserved in the cadre post but for his commission.

Postings of cadre officers

  • All deputations to the State cadre posts and Joint Cadre posts are conducted by the State Government and the State Government concerned respectively.
  • The Central Government consulting with the concerned State Governments set the term of the cadre posts mentioned for the State involved in item 1 of the Schedule to the Indian Administrative Service (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Regulation, 1955.
  • A cadre officer maintains the minimum prescribed tenure excluding the event of deputation outside the State, training exceeding two months, promotion, or retirement.
  • Following the recommendation of a Committee on Minimum Tenure, an officer may be relocated before the minimum prescribed tenure, based on the Schedule annexed to these rules.
  • A cadre officer may be deployed by the State Government to take an ex-cadre post while the authorization of the Central Government remains valid, and the mentioned ex-cadre post will be regarded as an extension to the number defined in item 5 of the indicated Schedule.
  • Intending to assist leave schemes for not more than 6 months period, the State Government relative to the post borne on the State Cadre or the Joint Cadre, require that any two cadre posts or a cadre post coupled with a parallel post may be kept concurrently by one solo cadre officer.
  • One who is not a cadre officer cannot accommodate a cadre post in a state unless there is no befitting cadre officer for the post or in case the vacancy is unlikely to last beyond three months.
  • Additionally, the State Government shall secure the prior consent of the Central Government for keeping the individual who is not a cadre officer for more than three months period.
  • No cadre posts shall be held unfilled or in suspension for more than six months period without the acceptance of the Central Government.
  • Therefore, the State Government shall notify the Central Government concerning the following issues, specifically: – The duration for which the State Government keeps the post vacant or suspended; the motives behind the proposals; the provision, if exists, meant for the obligation of the post; and if suggested to create any measures for the operation of the responsibilities of the post to be held unfilled or on hold, and if yes, the specifics of such proceedings.

Conclusion

The purposeful quest behind the entire procedure of postings, deputations, and transfers is to procure the excellent IAS officers along the lines of integrity and operation wherever they can deliver their best work.

Previously, the political references for postings and relocations of IAS Officers were a potential medium for governing political parties to display favouritism over the Officers. However, according to the recent reform system, the officer’s duty areas have been stated distinctly from that of the political government, and the citizens believe that the bureaucrats do not owe their posts to anyone.

Book List That Toppers Recommend For The Preparation of UPSC Civil Services Exam

By Himanshu Tyagi -
0
 

“How many books are too many books?” is one thought that resonates with almost all the aspirants irrespective of which exam you’re preparing for! And especially, when it comes to booklist for UPSC CSE, you may find yourself buying every book that is present on the UPSC Preparation Section in the book store. So, when you sit with those books to finally read, many-a-times thoughts like “too many books, too less time” make you feel distraught!

Hence, to make you worry a little less and study a little more, we have compiled an exhaustive booklist for UPSC that is recommended by toppers. You should follow only specific books for UPSC in order to ensure you’re not digressing too much from the core syllabus.

Let’s have a list of UPSC booklist that is sure to help you with an exhaustive preparation of UPSC.

Booklist for UPSC & Preparation Material For CSE Prelims Examination | Books for UPSC

Although the booklist for UPSC may vary in accordance with your previous knowledge and expertise, here is an exhaustive UPSC booklist that both fresh aspirants and experienced ones can refer to for their UPSC Preparation needs. Some of the books may be relevant for both Prelims and Mains.Before checking out the booklist, it is important that you know the syllabus and exam pattern well. Check out this article to know about UPSC CSE Exam Pattern & Syllabus

Check out the table below to know about which UPSC books to study for qualifying Prelims

Paper

Booklist

General Studies (Paper I)

  1. NCERTs of History, Geography & Polity Class 8th-12th

  2. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra

  3. Certificate of Physical Geography by GC Leong

  4. Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth

  5. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

  6. Current Affairs – The Hindu, Yojna Magazine, Kurukshetra Magazine

  7. Oxford World Atlas

  8. International Relations NCERT XI and XII

  9. Indian Culture- Spectrum

  10. NIOS Course Materials

CSAT

  1. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – RS Agarwal

  2. TMH CSAT Manual

  3. Quicker Maths by M.Tyra

  4. English Grammar & Composition Wren & Martin

Booklist for UPSC Mains & Preparation Material For CSE Mains Examination

Here is the list of UPSC Books that you should be reading while preparing for UPSC CSE Mains:

Paper

Booklist

General Studies – 1

  1. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra

  2. India After Independence by Bipan Chandra

  3. Ancient India by RS Sharma

  4. History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra

  5. From Plassey To Partition And After by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay

  6. Introduction to Indian Art for Class XI (NCERT)

  7. Geography of India – Majid Hussain

  8. World Geography- Majid Hussain

  9. Oxford Atlas

  10. Central Physical and Human Geography by GC Leong

  11. Geography NCERTs (Class XI  and XII)

General Studies -2

  1. Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth

  2. Constitution of India by DD Basu

  3. India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

General Studies-3

  1. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

General Studies- 4

  1. Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude by Subba Rao and PN Rao Chaudhry

NCERT Booklist for UPSC

Here is a list of all the titles of NCERT books that UPSC aspirants should read for the preparation of this exam:

History

  • History: NCERT Class VI – Our Past
  • History: NCERT Class VII – Our Past -I
  • History: NCERT Class VIII – Our Past II and III
  • History: NCERT Class IX – India and the Contemporary World – I
  • History: NCERT Class X – India and the Contemporary World – II
  • History: NCERT Class XI – Themes In World History
  • History: NCERT Class XII – Themes In Indian History – I
  • History: NCERT Class XII – Themes in Indian History – II
  • History: NCERT Class XII – Themes In Indian History – III

Art & Culture

  • Art & Culture: NCERT Class XI – An Introduction to Indian Art,
  • Art & Culture: NCERT Class XI – Living Craft Traditions of India (Chapters 9 & 10)

Polity

  • Polity: NCERT Class IX – Political Science: Democratic Politics Part – I
  • Polity: NCERT Class X – Political Science: Democratic Politics Part – II
  • Polity: NCERT Class XI – Political Science: Indian Constitution at Work
  • Polity: NCERT Class XI – Political Science: Political Theory
  • Polity: NCERT Class XII – Political Science I: Contemporary World Politics
  • Polity: NCERT Class XII – Political Science II: Politics in India since Independence

Geography

  • Geography: NCERT Class VI – The Earth Our Habitat
  • Geography: NCERT Class VII – Our Environment
  • Geography: NCERT Class VIII – Resource and Development
  • Geography: NCERT Class IX – Contemporary India – I
  • Geography: NCERT Class X – Contemporary India – II
  • Geography: NCERT Class XI – Fundamentals of Physical Geography
  • Geography: NCERT Class XI – India – Physical Environment
  • Geography: NCERT Class XII – Fundamentals of Human Geography
  • Geography: NCERT Class XII – India – People and Economy

Economy

  • Economy: NCERT Class IX – Economics
  • Economy: NCERT Class X – Understanding Economic Development
  • Economy: NCERT Class XI – Indian Economic Development
  • Economy: NCERT Class XII – Introductory Microeconomics
  • Economy: NCERT Class XII – Introductory Macroeconomics

Environment and Ecology

  • Biology: NCERT Class XII (Last 4 chapters)

This booklist for UPSC is recommended by almost all the toppers as well as UPSC experts. Now, that you have an entire list with you, there should be no worrying about what to read! You can also enroll in our NCERT course to get compilations of all NCERTs in one place.

However, if you’re a time-crunch and still want to put your best effort, you can check out the UPSC Study Material curated by the expert team at Career Launcher. The course material incorporates the essence of all these books thereby providing the aspirants with a panacea to all their reading woes. Reach out to our expert counselors to know more about our study materials!

Farm Laws and Farmer’s Protest

By Himanshu Tyagi -
0
 

The current stand­off between farmers and the government still continued even after a few rounds of discussion. The latest proposal by the government indicates its willingness to amend the three agriculture-related Acts passed in the month of September. On the contentious issues of registration of private traders, levy of taxes on trade outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis, the government has proposed amendments which will empower the States to frame rules on these issues. Similar assurances have been given on access to the judiciary for dispute resolution and continuation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism. However, farmer unions have rejected the proposal and continue to demand complete withdrawal of the three Acts along with making MSP a guarantee.

About Farm Laws and its contentious provisions

Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation Act, 2020

Provisions

  • To create an ecosystem where farmers and traders enjoy the freedom to sell and purchase farm produce outside registered ‘mandis’ under States’ APMCs.
  • To promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade of farmer’s produce
  • To reduce marketing/transportation costs and help farmers in getting better prices
  • To provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading

Opposition

  • Revenue loss to states as they won’t be able to collect ‘mandi fees’ if farmers sell their produce outside registered APMC markets.
  • It may eventually end the MSP based procurement system
  • Electronic trading line in e-NAM uses physical ‘mandi’ structure

On contract farming: The Farmer (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Service Act, 2020

Provisions

  • Farmers can enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price
  • Marginal and small farmers, with land less than five hectares, to gain via aggregation and contract (Marginal and small farmers account for 86% of total farmers in India)
  • To transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors
  • To enable farmers to access modern tech and get better inputs
  • To reduce cost of marketing and boost farmer’s income
  • Farmers can engage in direct marketing by eliminating intermediaries for full price realization
  • Effective dispute resolution mechanism with redressal timeliness

Opposition

  • Farmers in contract farming arrangements will be the weaker players in terms of their ability to negotiate what they need
  • The sponsors may not like to deal with a multitude of small and marginal farmers
  • Being big private companies, exporters, wholesalers and processors, the sponsors will have an edge in disputes

Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

Provisions

  • To remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion and potatoes from the essential commodities. It will do away with the imposition of stock holding limits on such items except under ‘extraordinary circumstances’ like war.
  • This provision will attract private sector/FDI into farm sector as it will remove fears of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in business operations
  • To bring investment for farm infrastructure like cold storages, and modernizing food supply chain
  • To help both farmers and consumers by bringing in price stability
  • To create a competitive market environment and cut wastage of farm produce

Opposition

  • Price limits for “extraordinary circumstances” are so high that they are likely to be never triggered

Reasons for Protest

Definition of Trade area

  • Section 2(m) of The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 defines “trade area” as any area or location, place of production, collection and aggregation including (a) farm gates; (b) factory premises; (c) warehouses; (d) silos; (e) cold storages; or (f) any other structures or places, from where the trade of farmers’ produce may be undertaken in the territory of India.
  • The definition does not, include “the premises, enclosures and structures constituting (i) physical boundaries of principal market yards, sub-market yards and market sub-yards managed and run by the market committees formed under each state APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) Act”.
  • It also excludes “private market yards, private market sub-yards, direct marketing collection centres, and private farmer-consumer market yards managed by persons holding licences or any warehouses, silos, cold storages or other structures notified as markets or deemed markets under each State APMC Act in force in India”.
  • In effect, existing mandis established under APMC Acts have been excluded from the definition of trade area under the new legislation.
  • The government says the creation of an additional trade area outside of mandis will provide farmers with the freedom of choice to conduct trade in their produce.
  • The protesters say this provision will confine APMC mandis to their physical boundaries and give a free hand to big corporate buyers.

Traders and protest

  • Section 2(n) of the first ordinance defines a “trader” as “a person who buys farmers’ produce by way of inter-State trade or intra-State trade or a combination thereof, either for self or on behalf of one or more persons for the purpose of wholesale trade, retail, end-use, value addition, processing, manufacturing, export, consumption or for such other purpose”. Thus, it includes processor, exporter, wholesaler, miller, and retailer.
  • According to the Ministry of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, “Any trader with a PAN card can buy the farmers’ produce in the trade area.”
  • A trader can operate in both an APMC mandi and a trade area. However, for trading in the mandi, the trader would require a licence/registration as provided for in the State APMC Act. In the present mandi system, arhatiyas (commission agents) have to get a licence to trade in a mandi.
  • The protesters say arhatiyas have credibility as their financial status is verified during the licence approval process.
  • Section 6 states that “no market fee or cess or levy, by whatever name called, under any State APMC Act or any other State law, shall be levied on any farmer or trader or electronic trading and transaction platform for trade and commerce in scheduled farmers’ produces in a trade area”.
  • Government officials say this provision will reduce the cost of the transaction and will benefit both the farmers and the traders.
  • Under the existing system, such charges in states like Punjab come to around 8.5% — a market fee of 3%, a rural development charge of 3% and the arhatiya’s commission of about 2.5%.
  • Farmers fear the proposed system of conciliation can be misused against them. They say the ordinance does not allow farmers to approach a civil court.

Agriculture Crisis Created by Government

  • The current crisis is entirely a creation of the government at a time when the country was struggling with novel coronavirus-caused lockdowns, supply disruptions, job losses and falling incomes in an economy which was already slowing down even before the pandemic.
  • While the reforms embedded in the three Acts are unlikely to help resolve the structural issues facing Indian agriculture, even their withdrawal is unlikely to change the ground reality which has existed even before the Acts were passed.
  • It is precisely because of this that withdrawal of the three Acts by the government will only offer a temporary truce.
  • Such a step is unlikely to contain farmers’ anger and unrest which is likely to increase with a slowing economy and falling demand for agricultural commodities.

Reasons of the Crisis in Agriculture

  • The real issue is the lack of remunerative prices for a majority of agricultural commodities, a sharp increase in price variability in recent years, and an unpredictable and arbitrary government policy regime, none of which is likely to change in the near future.
  • It is these which have led to a recurrence of distress in the agricultural sector with regular farmers’ protests which have only grown in frequency in recent years.
  • Part of the problem is the changing nature of agriculture which has seen increased dependence on markets, increasing mechanization along with increasing monetization of the agrarian economy.
  • The increased dependence on markets has contributed to increasing variability in output prices.
  • With limited intervention by the government in protecting farmers’ income and stabilizing prices through MSP-led procurement operations, the variability has increased in frequency as well as the spread of it.
  • Other than rice and wheat and to some sporadic instances, of pulses, most crops suffer from inadequate intervention from MSP operations.
  • However, even these procurement operations are unable to stabilize prices with falling demand and a slowing economy.
  • Not only has the procurement operation failed to arrest the decline in prices, the uneven nature of procurement has meant that in many States of eastern India, wheat is sold at 20­40% lower prices compared to MSP.
  • It is the same in the case of paddy where most States have seen market prices significantly lower than the MSP.
  • The situation is far more worrying for crops such as maize which sold at 40­60% lower than the MSP in most States.
  • Unfortunately, none of this is new. In the last five years, three years have witnessed negative inflation for cereals.
  • While the withdrawal of the Acts is unlikely to ensure price stability, even the demand of making MSP a guarantee for private trade is meaningless if the government is unable to ensure procurement for a majority of the 23 crops for which it announces MSP.
  • Crops such as wheat and paddy for which there is procurement, the regional concentration makes it irrelevant for most of the eastern and southern States.

Long Term Resolution is Required

  • Even if the current impasse due to the farmers’ agitation gets resolved, there is no certainty that the structural factors which have contributed to the farmers’ unrest will get resolved.
  • The existing policy framework with an excessive focus on inflation management and obsession with the fiscal deficit will likely lead to lower support from the government either in price stabilization or reduction in the cost of cultivation through fiscal spending.
  • The agricultural sector needs a comprehensive policy overhaul to recognize the new challenges of agriculture which are diversifying and getting integrated with the non­agricultural sector.
  • This not only entails a better understanding of the structural issues but also innovative thinking to protect farmers’ livelihood from the uncertainty of these changes.

Source: The Hindu; Times of India and PRS

MBA: CAREER CHOICE AFTER GRADUATION

By CL -
0
 

On the off chance that one wants to make an effective career in management, one should proceed with MBA or PGDM course from an established B-School. The individuals who choose to take up management as a profession should start working on it from the undergraduate level. In the wake of thinking about MBA as a profession, the time has come to pick the perfect place to seek after training. Gujarat is coming up as an education central in India and is home to some best B-Schools like NIRMA University, IIM Ahmedabad etc. These schools are positioned at higher levels for their quality training and extraordinary opportunities to the students. With regard to picking MBA schools in Gujarat, there are some essential interesting points to be considered to pick the correct B-School from the various choices accessible:

  1. Placements: There are numerous MBA schools bestowing training in Gujarat. The best MBA universities have an arrangement cell that deals with the general identity advancement and temporary jobs and additionally positions of the understudies. They have tie-ups with some enormous names of the corporate world and also give chances to strive for their preferred organizations.
  2. Choice of specialization: Which MBA schools you might want to run with? This all relies upon your chosen specialization. A portion of the best schools with incredible placement records will get your eyes, however, if it doesn’t encourage you what you are searching for then it isn’t generally great. Along these lines, it is in every case better to limit your examination of good universities, giving your required specialization.
  3. Internship opportunities: The best universities in Gujarat for MBA offer the best educational modules involving summer internships. These schools have tie-ups with outside colleges and some enormous industry players and offer temporary jobs to the understudies. The temporary positions let understudies comprehend the business bitterly and assist them with learning from the encounters.
  4. Faculty: Faculty is one of the important aspects to consider while finding the right college across India. The best institutes have the faculty from the top industries and colleges across the world. These faculties help students to understand the concepts via their real-world experiences. Unique teaching methodologies are used by them that help students to learn the concepts in deep.
  5. Reputation and ranking: This is an important thing to consider while finding the right college for studies. There are various ways to assess the reputation of any college. You must always check whether the institute is accredited by the internationally recognized body. Apart from this, also look at the curriculum, infrastructure and placement record of the institute. Choosing the top-ranked colleges is the best option and you can also take part in online forums or discuss with the previous batch students to get more details.
  6. International accreditation: If the MBA college teaches a course with international accreditation, it means students of that institute are going to learn and share knowledge as per the global standards. An MBA course with international accreditation is going to add more value to your resume and develop your personality in a manner that you can seek jobs in popular overseas companies. Top MBA colleges in India offers best courses with international accreditation for their courses.
  7. Student-teacher ratio: Teachers are the pillars of the educational institutes who work for the success of students. The faculties at the top MBA institutes guide you to shape and build your career. So, it is really important to keep an eye on the student-teacher ratio of the institute you are choosing. A bigger classroom full of students will not help one to express oneself properly.  Apart from this, top institutes have highly skilled and expert faculties that help candidates to understand the concepts properly in a practical manner. Guest lectures are also provided to the students at top MBA colleges by the industry experts who share their experiences to let them understand the industry nuances in deep.
  8. Infrastructure: A good learning environment is what a student needs to indulge while pursuing an MBA degree. If the institute has state-of-the-art infrastructure, that means you will be given access to the best learning features, well-equipped computer labs, workshops and multiple activities.
  9. Global experience and internships: The employers seek students with international experience and there are plenty of options available to broaden your horizons. The best MBA universities in India have tie-ups with international colleges and universities. Studying and undertaking the internships abroad will help candidates to improve their understanding of the global business market. So, it is always better to choose colleges that have overseas partnerships.

UPSC MAP Series

By Himanshu Tyagi -
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For UPSC Civil Services exam, you should prepare maps because its coverage in prelims & Main questions is very vast. Maps form a very crucial part of UPSC preparation. Questions are directly asked in Prelims, Main examination. They help in learning to the data related information of current affairs.

We are providing you marked location on map which will help you to understand the location and give you extra edge in your preparation.

Caspian Sea Map

Caspian Sea Map

Countries Europe Map

Countries Europe Map

Japan Map

Japan Map

Middle East Map

Middle East Map

Political Mediterranean Region Map

Political Mediterranean Region Map

Scandinavia Map

Scandinavia Map

Sinai Peninsula Map

Sinai Peninsula Map

South East Asia Map

South East Asia Map

India Passes

India Passes

Indian Ocean Political Map

Indian Ocean Political Map

National Park Part-1

 Read more…

National Park Part-2

 Read more…

Indian Mountains Map

Indian Mountains

Indian Mountains Peaks Map

Indian Mountains Peaks

National Park and Wild Life Sanctuary

By Himanshu Tyagi -
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AGASTHYA NATIONAL PARK

Located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) District of Kerala, it is a dense forest area. Now it is protected to conserve biodiversity. Its lakes and ponds attract birds and mammals. Its surroundings are known for high relative humidity throughout the year. It attracts domestic and international tourists, especially during the winter season.

ANAMALAI NATIONAL Park

Situated in the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu, it is a national park and wildlife sanctuary. The main fauna includes tiger, leopard, elephant, civet cat, and lion-tailed macaque. Thousands of domestic and international tourists visit Anamalai every year. However, in the name of eco-tourism, there is environmental degradation in the surroundings of this national park.

ANSHI NATIONAL Park (1987)

Located near the city of Dandeli in the Uttara-Kannada District of Karnataka along the border of Goa, it is a habitat of Bengal tigers, black panthers and elephants. It has moist deciduous forests. The species of flora include true cinnamon, bamboo, bauhinia, eucalyptus, silver oak, teak and Jamba.

ARALAM

It is a wildlife sanctuary in the Kannur district of Kerala, about 45 km from Kannur City. Elephant, Sambar, and Barking Deer may be seen in this national park. Thousands of domestic and international tourists visit this national park.

BALPAKRAM (1988)

Located near Tura the Headquarters of the Garo Hills (Meghalaya), Balpakram is a National Park. The highest peak Balpakram is often referred to as the ‘abode of perpetual winds’ as well as the land of ‘land of spirits’. The main fauna of this National Park includes wild water-buffalo, red panda, elephant, several species of cats, monkeys, baboons and barking deer. It is also famous for pitcher plant and many medicinal herbs. The National Park is full of sprawling vegetation consisting of sub-tropical and deciduous trees.

BANDHAVGARH NATIONAL Park (1968)

Located in the Umaria District of Madhya Pradesh, it sprawls over an area of 105 km’. It has the highest density of Bengal-tigers in India. The park has a large breeding population of leopards and various species of deer. It also has white tigers. The white tiger, Mohan, is now stuffed and on display in the palace of the Maharaja of Rewa. Rising mining activities around the park are putting the tigers at risk. Among other species are sambar, barking-deer, nilgai, gaur etc.

BANDIPUR NATIONAL Park (1974)

Located about 80 km from the city of Mysore in Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka, it was once a private hunting reserve of the Maharaja of Mysore. At present, it is upgraded as Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Bandipur supports a wide range of timber trees including teak, rosewood, sandalwood, Indian laurel, Indian kino tree, giant clumping bamboo and Grewia- tiliaefolia. In addition to these, there are Kadam tree, Indian gooseberry, axelwood, golden shower tree, satinwood, black cutch, etc. The fauna of the National Park includes tigers, leopards, Indian elephant, gaur, chital, sambhar, sloth bear, four-horned antelope, gray-langur, wild-boar and muntjac. The main birds include buzzards, red-headed vultures, Indian vultures, flower-peckers, hoopoes, Indian rollers, brown fish-owl, crested serpent eagle, bee-eaters and kingfisher. The main reptiles are cobra, python, rat-snake, muggers, monitor lizards, Indian chameleon and flying lizards.

BANNERGHATTA NATIONAL Park (1974)

Located near the city of Bangalore (Karnataka), it is a popular tourist destination with a zoo, a pet corner, an animal rescue centre and a butterfly enclosure. The main fauna includes sandalwood, neem, arjun, tamarind, bamboo and Eucalyptus. Elephants, gaur, leopard, jackal, wild boar, sloth bear, sambar, chital, hippopotamus spotted deer, common langur, porcupine, hare, monitor-lizard, cobras, krait and zebra are important.

BETLA NATIONAL Park (1989)

Located in the Latehar District (Jharkhand) of the Chotanagpur Plateau, the Betla National Park has vast areas of vegetation of tropical wet evergreen forests in the lower reaches (moist and dry) deciduous forests in the middle and temperate alpine forests in the upper reaches. The main species include sal, mahua, bamboo and grasses. It is famous for bison, elephants, tigers and leopards. Among other wild animals hyena, panther, sloth bear and wolf are common. Other animals include deer, sambar, four-horned antelope, nilgai, kakar, civet, porcupine and mongoose.

BUAPRA TIGER RESERVE (1974)

Located in the Western Ghats in the state of Goa, it is famous for the tropical evergreen forests and moist deciduous forests. The main fauna of the sanctuary includes Bengal tiger, black panther, leopard, barking deer, macaque, langur, civet, flying squirrel, giant squirrel, gaur, mouse deer, porcupine, slender loris, sambar, spotted deer and wild dog. In addition to these, there are emerald dove, blue-bird, greater Indian hornbill, black woodpecker, grey-headed myna, jungle fowl, yellow bulbul and kingfisher. The Dudhsagar waterfall is a tiered waterfall located on the Mandvi River at the Karnataka border in the southwestern part of the park. Drango, emerald dove, fairy bluebird, hornbill woodpecker, grey-headed myna jungle fowl, and bulbuls are important.

BHAGWAN MAHAVIR SANCTUARY AND MOLLEM NATIONAL Park (1978)

Situated near the town of Molem, it is a sanctuary and National Park in Goa. It has several important temples of the Kadamba Dynasty and Dudhsagar Waterfalls. It is the home of nomadic buffalo herders known as Dhangar tribe. This National Park contains deciduous and moist deciduous forests. The predominant species are Terminalia and Dalbergia. The forest canopy is almost closed and the availability of grass is very limited. Wild mammals include black panther, barking deer, gaur, Malabar giant squirrel, mouse deer, pangolin, porcupine, slender loris, sambar, spotted deer, wild boar and wild dog.

BHITARKANIKA (1975)

Located in the Kendrapara District of Odisha, it is surrounded by the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and the Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary. The park is a home of the endangered Saltwater Crocodile, White Crocodile, Indian Python, King Cobra and Black Ibis. The vegetation species include mangroves (Sundari, thespian, grasses and indigo- bush). Every year about 80,000 migratory birds arrive in this park for nesting during monsoon season.

BLACKBUCK NATIONAL Park

Situated in the vicinity of Gulf of Khambat, this national park lies in Bhavnagar District of Gujarat. It was established in 1976. It has blackbuck, wolf, bustard, deers, and nilgai. Thousands of nature lovers visit this national park annually.

BORI NATIONAL Park (1977)

Located in the Hoshingabad District of Madhya Pradesh, Bori Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1977. It is a part of the Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve. The Tawa River lies to the west of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is mostly covered by mixed deciduous and bamboo forests. The dominant species include teak dhaora, tendu etc.

BUXA TIGER RESERVE (1983)

Located in the Alipurduar District of West Bengal, to the south of Bhutan, it is National Park and a Tiger Reserve. It has the species of Eastern Bhabhar and Tarai-Sal, Eastern Himalayan Moist Deciduous Forest, Moist Sal, Northern Dry Deciduous, Sub-Himalayan Mixed Deciduous, and Northern Tropical Evergreen Forests. The main trees are sal, champa, gamar, simul and chikrasi. The fauna includes Rhino, Asian elephant, tiger, gaur, wild boar, sambhar.

CHANDOLI NATIONAL Park (2004)

The Chandoli National Park is located in the Sangli District of Maharashtra State. Chandoli National Park is notable as the southern portion of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, with Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary forming the northern part of the reserve. The main flora of this National Park includes moist deciduous forest and the dwarf evergreen forests. Its fauna consists of iron-wood, jamun, pisa, fig, olea, katak, kanjal, kokum, phanasi-false, Indian laurel, amla, umber and grasses. The main fauna includes tigers, leopards, gaur, barking deer, mouse-deer, sloth-bears and black-buck.

CORTICAL NATIONAL Park

It is a national park located in the South District of Goa. The main fauna of this peak includes leopard, gaur, sambar, chital, mouse deer, civet, toddy cat, wild boar, monkeys, and langur. Thousands of nature lovers visit this national park annually.

DACHIGAM NATIONAL Park (1981)

Located about 22 km from the city of Srinagar (J & K), it sprawls over an area of about 141 km”. It is located in the Zabarwan Range of the Western Himalayas its altitudinal variation is between 1700 to 4300 meters above the sea level. The mountainsides below tree line are heavily wooded. Most of the coniferous forests consist of broad leaf species. Interspersed between these are alpine pastures and meadows. The main animal species in the Dachigam National park are musk-deer, leopard, Himalayan serow, Himalayan grey-langur, leopard-cat, Himalayan brown bear, jackal, hill-fox, Himalayan weasel, Yellow-throated marten, jungle-cat, otter and long-tailed marmot. The main birds include cinnamon sparrow, black bulbul pygmy owlet, woodpecker, babbler, Himalayan vultures, bearded vultures, wall-creeper and chough.

DAMPHA TIGER RESERVE (1985)

Situated in the western part of Mizoram at the international border of Bangladesh about 127 km from Aizawl. It covers an area of 550 sq km. It is the natural home of leopards, Indian bison, barking deer, sloth bear, gibbons, langurs, slow loris, Indian python, wild boar, and a variety of birds. Tigers’ population is insignificant in this sanctuary.

DARANGHATI NATIONAL Park

It is a national park in the Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh. The main fauna includes leopard, ibex, musk deer, and peacock. Thousands of domestic and international tourists visit this national park annually.

DESERT NATIONAL Park (1992)

Located near the city of Jaisalmer, it is one of the largest National Parks of India. It is a typical example of the ecosystem of Thar Desert. About 20 per cent of its area is covered by sand-dunes. The National Park is a heaven for the migratory birds. Many eagles, harriers, falcons, buzzards, kestrels and vultures can be seen in this National Park. The endangered great Indian bustard is a magnificent bird found in relatively fair numbers. The Indian bustard migrates locally in different seasons. The Desert National Park has a collection of fossils of animals and plants of 180 million years old. Some fossils of dinosaurs of about 6 million years old have been found in the area.

DUDHWA NATIONAL Park (1977)

This National Park is located in the Kheri-Lakhimpur District of Uttar Pradesh. The main species of vegetation include moist deciduous, tropical seasonal swamp forests and tropical dry deciduous forests. The main flora includes sal, asna, shisham, jamun, gular, sehore bahera and numerous grasses. The major attractions of the Dudhwa National Park are the tigers and swamp deer. In 1980, Indian rhinoceros was introduced into Dudhwa from Assam and Nepal.

ERAVIKULAM NATIONAL Park

This is a national park in the Idukki District of Kerala. It lies near the Anamudi Shola National Park. The main fauna of this national park includes tiger, leopard, elephant, civet, sambar, barking deer, and numerous birds. This is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a world heritage site.

FOSSIL NATIONAL Park (MANDLA-M.P.)

Located in the Mandla District of Madhya Pradesh, it has the fossils of plants that existed in India between 40 million and 150 million years back. These fossils are spread over seven villages (Barbaspur, Chanti-Hills, Chargaon, Deorakhurd, Deori- Kohani, Ghuguwa, and Umaria). The National Park is spread over agricultural fields in the seven above given villages. The fossils look like ordinary rocks and are either removed from the field unwittingly by the farmers or are damaged by the tourists and other unscrupulous people.

GAHIRMATHA Wildlife Sanctuary

in Odisha, known for the protection of sea turtles. It is the world’s most important nesting beach for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.

GAJNER NATIONAL Park

It is a national park in the district of Bikaner of Rajasthan. The main fauna of this national park consists of blackbuck, antelope, and chinkara. Thousands of domestic and international tourists visit this park, especially during the winter season.

GALATHEA NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The total area of this national park is 110 sq km. It forms a part of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. Many unique and rare species of plants and animals are found in this park, a number of which are endemic to the island

GANGOTRI NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand. It stretches over an area of 1153 sq km. This park provides majestic beauty of coniferous forests and grandeur of the glacial world, combined with lush green meadows. It is one of the fourteen biosphere reserves of India. Thousands of nature lovers and educationists visit the Gangotri National Park for education, research, and enjoyment, especially during the summer season.

Gir NATIONAL Park (1965)

This National park and Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the state of Gujarat. It is the sole home of Asiatic lions. It is traversed by the seven major perennial rivers of Gir region. These rivers are Hiran, Shetrunji, Datardi, Shingoda, Machhundri, Godavari and Raval. The Kamleshwar Dam is a located in the Gir National Park. Teak occurs mixed with dry deciduous species. The savannahs of this National Park are known as ‘vidis’. It is the largest deciduous forest in Western India. The main fauna includes Asiatic lion, Indian leopard, Indian cobras, jungle cat, striped hyena, golden jackal, Indian mongoose, India palm-civet, and ratles. Moreover, there are chital, nilgai, sambar, four-horned antelopes, chinkara, blackbuck, wild-boa and python.

GORUMARA NATIONAL Park

This is a national park in the northern part of West Bengal. Located in the Terai region of the Himalayan foothills, it is a medium-sized park with grasslands and forests. It is primarily known for its population of Indian Rhinoceros. Among other animals, elephants, bear, leopard, wolf, deer, monkeys, langurs, and numerous birds are important.

GOVIND PASHU VIHAR

This is a wildlife sanctuary located in Uttar Kashi, Uttarakhand. The park was established on March 1, 1955, and covers about 957 sq km of area. The Indian Government initiated the Snow Leopard Project in Govind Pashu Vihar. Other fauna of this sanctuary includes the black bear, the brown bear, common leopard, serow, golden eagle, bearded vulture, snow cock, steppe eagle, and the black eagle.

GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh. The Great Himalayan National Park is a habitat of more than 375 fauna species that include 31 mammals, 181 birds, 3 reptiles, and 9 amphibians. The main fauna of this national park includes serow, musk-deer, bharal, leopard, wolf, and flying squirrel. It also supports a great variety of plant life which is scattered over the park. The park is visited by thousands of domestic and international tourists annually.

GUGAMAL NATIONAL Park

Located in the Amravati District of Maharashtra, this national park was built in 1974. It protects a large number of fauna and flora, especially leopard, wolf, fox, wild cats, antelopes, deers, nilgai, and numerous birds and flora.

GUNDIY National Park

has a dry evergreen scrub and thorn forest, grasslands, shrubs, climbers and herbs. Its vegetation also consists of sugar-apple, wood-apple and Neem trees. There are 14 species of mammals including blackbuck, chital, or spotted deer, jackal, small Indian civet, palm civet, macaque, hyena, hedgehog, common mongoose and striped palm squirrel. Guindy Snake Park is famous for king cobra, python, vipers and other reptiles.

HEMIS NATIONAL Park (1981)

Located in the Leh District of the Jammu and Kashmir State, it is a high altitude and the largest National Park of India. It is world-famous for the highest density of snow-leopards. The Rumbak stream flows through the National Park. It also has a small population of Asiatic Ibex, Bharal (Blue Sheep) and Argali (Tibetan-sheep). The endangered Tibetan wolf and the Eurasian brown bear are also found in the National Park. The Rumbak Valley offers good opportunities for bird-watching. The main vegetation includes juniper, sub-alpine dry birch and fir

INDIAN WILD ASS Sanctuary (1972)

The Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary is located in the Little Rann of Kachchh in Gujarat. In Gujarati, Rann stands for desert. The Rann gets flooded for a period of about one month during monsoon and is spotted with about 74 elevated islands (plateaus) locally called ‘bets’. These bets are covered with grasses and feed the population of animals. It has the world’s last population of Khur sub-species of the wild ass.

INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL Park AND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (1974)

Located in the Anaimalai Hills (Coimbatore District) of Tamil Nadu it is a wildlife sanctuary and National Park. It has the unique Karian Shola vegetation, hills grasses. The National Park and Sanctuary are under consideration by the UNESCO as part of the Western Ghats World Heritage site. It is often called ‘Topslip’ a name derived from the local 19th-century practice of sliding teak-logs down from the hills in the Anaimalai Hills. The wild animals of the sanctuary include the threatened species of Bengal Tiger, Indian elephant, dhole, and lion-tailed macaque. In addition to these, there are jackals, leopards, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, common langur, Asian Palm civet, sambar, giant squirrel, Indian porcupine and stripped squirrel.

INDRAVATI NATIONAL Park (1982)

Located along the bank of Indravati River in the Bijaipur District of Chhattisgarh, it is home to one of the last populations of rare wild buffalo. It derives its name from the Indravati River which flows from west to east. The flora in the Indravati National Park consists mainly of tropical moist deciduous type with predominance of sal, teak, bamboo, mahua, tendu, semal, haldu, jamun, ber, salai, and trees. There are also rich patches of excellent grasslands providing much-required fodder to buffalos, chital, barking deer, nilgai, gaur (Indian bison) and other herbivores of the park. It is one of the last habitats for the endangered wild buffalo. Moreover, there are nilgai, blackbuck, chausingha (four-horned antelope), sambar, chital, wild boar, tigers, leopards, sloth bear, dhole (wild dog) and striped hyena. Freshwater crocodiles, lizards, Indian chameleon, common krait, Indian rock-python, cobra are also found. The park also gives shelter to a large variety of birds of which Hill -myna is the most important.

KALAKAD MUNDANTHURAI TIGER RESERVE

Located in the southern-western Ghats in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu, the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve was established in 1988. It has 150 endemic plants, 33 fish, 37 amphibians, 81 reptiles and 273 birds. It has tigers, leopards, wild-cat, Nilgiri-tahr, wild pig, mouse deer sloth bear, lion-tailed macaque, langur slender loris, giant squirrel and crocodiles.

KANGER GHATI (VALLEY) NATIONAL Park (1982)

Located in the Jagdalpur district of Chhattisgarh, it is also called as the Kanger Valley National Park. The flora of the park consists of a mixed moist deciduous type of forest with a predominance of sal, teak and bamboo trees. In addition to these, the National Park is also known for medicinal plants, grasses, climbers, wild sugarcane, canes, ferns and epiphytes. The main fauna of the Kanger Valley National Park include tigers, leopards, mouse-deer, wild-cat, chital, sambar, barking deer, jackals, langurs, sloth bear, flying squirrel, wild boar, striped hyena, rabbits, pythons, cobra and crocodiles.

KANHA NATIONAL Park AND TIGER RESERVE (1955)

it is the largest National Park of Madhya Pradesh. The park has a significant population of Royal Bengal Tiger, leopards, sloth bear, swamp deer, Indian-gaur, barasingha and Indian wild dog. Kanha National park is rich in sal, and other mixed forest trees interspersed with meadows. The highland forests are tropical moist dry deciduous type. It has many open grasslands. Moreover, there are climbers, shrubs and numerous flowering plants.

KAZIRANGA NATIONAL Park (1905)

located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam; the Kaziranga National Park is a World Heritage Site. There are more than two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinocerous. According to the census of 2015, the current population of rhinocerous in Kaziranga is 2401 as published by the Forest Department, Govt. of India. Moreover, it has the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world. It is the home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deer. Kaziranga National Park has a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland and dense moist deciduous forests.

KEBUL LAMJO NATIONAL Park (1977)

Located in the Bishanpur District of Manipur, this National Park was created in 1977. It is an integral part of Loktak Lake and the only floating park in the world. The park is characterized by many floating decomposed plant materials locally called Phumdis. The park, primarily composed of moist semi-evergreen forests, has a rich amalgam of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The grassland structure of the park is aquatic flora recorded in the park which includes wild rice, reeds and grasses. The main fauna includes brown-antlered deer which is the flagship species of the park. In addition to this, hog-deer, wild boar, large Indian civet, common otter, fox, golden cat, and sambar are important. The main birds include kingfisher, black kite, lesser sky-lark, northern hill myna, crow, cranes and woodpecker.

KEOLADEO NATIONAL Park

This is a national park in the Bharatpur District of Rajasthan, famous for its indigenous and migratory birds. It was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also declared a World Heritage Site. The sanctuary hosts a small wintering population of the rare Siberian Cranes, cormorant, and stroke. Other species found in this national park include mallards, teals, gulls, coots, garganey, tufted ducks, common pochard, cormorant, stork, spoonbill, quil, heron, teal, and tern. Sambar, chital, blackbuck, wild boar, and civet cat are among the animals found in this national park.

JIM CORBETT NATIONAL Park (1936)

Located in the Nainital District of Uttarakhand, it is the oldest National Park of India. The Ramnagar River passes through the Jim Corbett National Park. Its flora consists of dense moist deciduous forest mainly sal, haldu, peepal, rohini, and mango trees. Among the fauna, Bengal Tiger, leopard, elephants, small cats, black bears, mongoose, sambar, hog-deer, langur, macaques, chital and owls are important.

MAHATMA GANDHI MARINE Park

This national park of India is located in Wandoor on the Andaman Islands. Situated about 29 km from Port Blair, it has coral reefs and associated coral fish, sea turtles, water monitor lizards, wild boar, and sea snakes. The tourists are interested in eco-tourism visit this national park in large number.

MAHAVIR HARINA VANASTHALI NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in Vanasthalipuram (Hyderabad), Telangana. The place where the park is located was a private hunting ground of the former rulers of Hyderabad, the Nizam. A deer park was set up in order to preserve this precious heritage and rehabilitate it. The main fauna in this park are blackbucks, porcupines, water monitors, short-toed eagles, kingfisher, and several other birds.

Manas National Park (1990)

Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, it is a national park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a biosphere reserve in Assam. This National Park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur, wild water buffalo, Indian tigers, rhinoceros, gaurs, clouded leopards, golden cat, macaques, gibbons, otters, barking deer, panthers sambar and Pygmy Hog. The main vegetation types include Sub-Himalayan semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests. It also has low alluvial savanna woodlands and numerous types of grasses.

MARINE NATIONAL Park

This national park lies in the Jamnagar District of Gujarat. In 1982, this park was declared the first marine park of the country, which covers about 460 sq. km. The protected areas of this park include one archipelago made up of 42 islands on the Gulf of Kachchh. The fauna found here include coral, dugong, the finless porpoise, different types of sponges, green sea turtle, ridley turtle, leatherback turtle, and olive turtle. A large number of domestic and international tourists visit this national park annually.

MUKURTHI NATIONAL Park

It lies to the west of Ootacamund in the Nilgiri District of state of Tamil Nadu. The park is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The park is characterised by Montane grasslands and shrub plants. It is home of an array of endangered wildlife including Royal Bengal Tiger and Asian Elephant. The park was previously known as the Nilgiri National Park.

NAGARHOLE NATIONAL Park (1999)

Located in the Brahmagiri Hills of Karnataka, it is located to the north-west of Bandipur National Park. The main flora includes teak and rosewood, sandalwood, silver oak and golden shower trees. The fauna of this National Park includes tiger, leopard, wild dog (Dhole), gaur, wild boar, elephant and langurs.

NAMDAPHA NATIONAL Park

This national park is located on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in the Chanland District of Arunachal Pradesh. It is close to the border between India and Myanmar. This National park is also known as a botanists dream. There are a tiger reserve and bird sanctuary in the park. Tiger, leopard, white-winged woods duck and gibbon are the important fauna of this park.

NAMERI NATIONAL Park

This is a national park located in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam. It is the habitat of leopard, bisons, sambars, wild dog, deer, wild boar, sloth bear, black bear, capped langur, and giant squirrel. There are more than 300 species of birds in this national park.

NEORA VALLEY NATIONAL Park (1986)

This National Park is located in the Kalimpong Subdivision under the District of Darjeeling. The Neora River is the major river of the National park. It is the land of the elegant panda. It has virgin natural forests, dense bamboo groves, rhododendron trees, lush green valleys. The park reaches up to an elevation of over 3500 meters above the sea level. It is characterized by tropical subtropical, temperate and alpine vegetation. The forest s consists of rhododendron, bamboo, oak, ferns, sal, etc. ‘The valley also has numerous species of orchids.

ORANG NATIONAL Park

This national park is located along the north bank of the Brahmaputra River near Tezpur District of Assam. It covers 72 sq km of area. The main fauna of this national park comprises rhinoceros, sambar deer, and barking deer. A number of water birds are also found in this national park.

PAKKE TIGER RESERVE (1966)

Located in the East Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh, the Pakhui Tiger Reserve sprawls over 862 sq km. The elevation of the reserve varies from 100 m to 2000 meters above the sea level. The sanctuary slopes southwards towards the river valley of the Brahmaputra River. The habitat types are lowland semi-evergreen, evergreen forests and broad-leaf deciduous forest. It is characterized by tigers, leopards, clouded leopards, wild dog, and jackal. In addition to these, there are elephants, barking deer, gaur, sambar, bison, monkey and capped langurs.

PALAMAU TIGER RESERVE (1974)

The Palamau protected area was designated as the Tiger Reserve in 1974. The North Koel River runs through the reserve. The initial count in 1974 when the tiger reserve was created was only 50 tigers. In 1989, there were 65 elephants in the reserve. Apart from tigers and elephants, leopard, gaur, sambar and wild dogs are also found in the reserve. Increased pressures from human activities including illegal settlements and poaching have reduced the number of tigers.

PANNA NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. It has an area of 540 sq miles. The main animals of this national park are chital, chinkara, sambar, and sloth bear. It is also a tiger reserve. This park has a vast variety of birds also.

PENCH NATIONAL PARK AND TIGER RESERVE (1977)

This is situated in Seoni and Chhindwara Districts of Madhya Pradesh. It derives its name from the Pench River that flows through the national park from north to south dividing the park into almost two equal parts. It was declared as a sanctuary in 1977 but raised to the status of the national park in 1983. Later in 1992, it was declared as a Tiger Reserve. The main trees in the park include teak, sal, mahua, shisham, saja, bija, lendia, haldu, dhaora, salai, aonla (Embica officinalis), amaltas, etc. The main fauna of this park includes tiger, leopard, chital, sambhar, nilgai, wild boar, jackal, sloth bear, wild dog, jungle cat, fox, striped hyena, gaur, barking deer, and chausingha. ‘There are more than 170 species of birds here.

PHAWNGPUI BLUE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the Blue Mountains in southeast Mizoram close to the Myanmar border. The clouded leopard makes its home here. There are numerous species of bamboo and pine trees in this national park. The park has great attraction for the local people.

PIN VALLEY NATIONAL Park

This is a national park in the Lahul and Spiti districts in Himachal Pradesh. The main fauna of this park are snow leopard, bharal or blue-sheep, snow wolf, snow rabbit, Himalayan fox, and ibex. Birds of this park include the Himalayan snow cock, chakor, patridge, hill pigeon, yellow and red-billed chough, teal, and pintail.

RANGANATHITTU NATIONAL Park

This national park lies in the Mandya District of Karnataka. It is mainly a bird sanctuary with spoonbill and water fowls. It is visited by thousands of eco- tourists and visitors annually. A tourist complex has been developed here to accommodate the nature lovers.

RANTHAMBORE (1980)

Situated in the Sawai-Madhopur District of south-eastern Rajasthan, Ranthambore is one of the largest National Parks in northern India. The park is bounded by the Banas River in the north and by the Chambal River in the south. The Sawai Madhopur National park is known for its tigers. Tigers can be easily spotted even in the day time. Other major animals include leopard, nilgai, sambar, sloth bear, wild- boar, grey langur, macaque and chital. The park has deciduous forests. The park has more than 500 flowering species.

SADDLE PEAK NATIONAL Park

This national park lies in the Andaman District of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has thick evergreen equatorial forests of mahogany, rosewood, ebony, rubber, and cinchona. The main fauna of this national park includes a wild pig, water monitor lizards, saltwater crocodiles, Andaman hill hyena, and the imperial pigeons. It is visited by a large number of tourists annually.

SALIM ALI NATIONAL Park

Located in the valley of Kashmir, formerly it was known as the City Forest National Park. Srinagar Airport is only 12 km away from the park. The name of the park commemorates the Indian ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali. It is visited by a large number of nature and bird lovers during the summer season.

SALIM ALI SANCTUARY

This is a bird sanctuary in the North Goa district of Goa. The name of the sanctuary commemorates the Indian ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali. It is visited by a large number of scientists, educationists, ecologists, and bird-lovers throughout the year.

SANJAY NATIONAL Park (1981)

Located in the Singrauli and Sidhi districts of Madhya Pradesh, it is a national park and tiger reserve. The main flora consists of deciduous especially sal and teak. The main animals consists of tiger, leopard, nilgai, spotted deer, chinkara, civet, lizards and more than 300 birds

SARISKA TIGER RESERVE(1955)

Located in the District of Alwar in the Aravallis of Rajasthan State, it is known for the Bengal Tigers. It is the tiger reserve in the world to have successfully relocated tigers. The other wild animals include leopard, jungle cat, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital, sambhar, nilgai, chinkara, four-horned antilope, wild boar, hare, langur and monkeys. The dominant tree in the forest are dhak, salar, kadaya, gol, ber, kair, bargad, arjun, gugal, bamboo, shrubs and jhar-ber.

SATPURA NATIONAL Park (1981)

Covering an area of about 525 sq km, this national park is situated in the Hoshingabad District of Madhya Pradesh. ‘The terrain of the national park is extremely rugged and consists of sandstone peaks, narrow gorges, ravines, and dense forests. The altitudes range here from 300 m to 1352 m. It has the Dhoopgarh Peak which is as high as 4500 m above the sea level. The fauna of this park comprises tiger, leopard, sambar, chital, bhedki, nilgai, four-horned antelope, chinkara, bison (gour), wild boar, wild dog, bear, black buck, fox, porcupine, flying squirrel, mouse deer, etc. This park has a variety of birds, like hornbills, pea fowls, etc. The flora of the national park consists mainly of teak, sal, tendu, aonla, mahua, bel, bamboo, and a variety of grasses and medicinal plants.

SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL Park (1980)

Located in the Palakkad District of Kerala, it is one of the last undisturbed tracts of the Western Ghats. The majority of the plants of this National Park are endemic. It is characterized with tropical moist evergreen forests on India. It is the core of the Nilgiri International Biosphere Reserve and a part of the Western Ghats World Heritage Site, recognized by the UNESCO in 2007. The Kunthipuzha River drains the entire 15 km length of the park. The Silent Valley has a rich diversity of fauna and flora. The threatened lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Nilgiri tahr, bats, and hairy winged bat, Malabar giant squirrel, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, elephant and gaur. Moreover, tiger, leopard (panther), leopard cat, jungle cat, fishing cat, common palm civet, small Indian civet, clawless otter, sloth bear, porcupine, wild boar, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, elephant and gaur.

SULTANPUR NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the Gurgaon District of Haryana in the vicinity of Delhi. It has more than 250 species of birds. It is known for migratory and local birds. This park is visited by a large number of tourists, especially during the winter season.

VALLEY OF FLOWERS NATIONAL Park

This national park is located in the Greater Himalayas in the Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand. Together with Nanda Devi National Park, it forms a part of the Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks World Heritage Site. The Valley of Flowers was declared a national park in 1982. This part of Uttarakhand is not easily accessible through the greater part of the year. Its highest point is the Gauri Parbat which is 6719 m above the sea level.

VALMIKI

Located in the West Champaran District in the north-west corner of Bihar, Valmiki Tiger Reserve is one of the natural virgin lands. The Gandak River forms the western boundary of Valmiki National Park. The other rivers passing through or along the borders of the national park are Burhi Gandak, Pandai, Pachnad, Sohna. The main vegetation includes champa trees, sheesham, bhabhar and terai grasses. The main fauna of the Valmiki National Park includes tiger, rhinocerous, leopard, black deer, wild dog, wild buffalo, wild boar, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sambar, neel- gai, hyena, leopard cat, wild cat, fishing cat, langur, monkeys, flying fox (a type of bat) and flying squirrel. Among the reptiles, python, king cobra, krait, do-muha snake are important.

The need for a second chamber

By Himanshu Tyagi -
0
 

This article was written by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and published in ‘The Hindu’ dated 12th May 2020. It is centred around the origin of Rajya Sabha in India preceded by lots of debates and discussions in the Constituent Assembly whether it is relevant to keep or not.

It’s been 68 years of inception of Rajya Sabha in India which came into being on 3rd April 1952 followed by its first session held on 13th May 1952. There were a detailed debate and discussions held regarding the need to have Rajya Sabha, the name given to the second chamber of the Parliament after independence. It underwent several prenatal scrutiny proposals for a bicameral central legislature for the country was discussed in detail by its proponents and opponents.

In India, the concept of Bicameral legislature was introduced by Government of India Act, 1919 with Council of States comprising 60 members and a Legislative Assembly comprising 145 members. However, the membership and voting rights were restricted for the Council of States. Only wealthy landowners, merchants and people with legislative experience were allowed to enter. Women were not given membership and voting rights.

Government of India Act, 1935 came up with some improvisation but it never came into being. Constituent Assembly after its formation in 1947 worked on Constitution-making and after the adoption of Constitution, it worked as a provisional Parliament and made laws till 1952.

Concept of Bicameralism and Federalism

Bicameralism is when there are two houses in the Parliament. It is a principle that refers to the consent of two differently constituted chambers of Parliaments of making or changing laws. Bicameralism is not a new concept, it was adopted by the US Constitution in 1787 for the very first time. Presently, 79 Parliaments in the world are having a bicameral legislature.

Federalism in the modern context is a division of power between the central and state authorities. Both the concepts are linked together because the federal character of a nation comprising Constituent units which reflects in and secured by a bicameral legislature, i.e. the centre-state relations.

Debates of Constituent Assembly over Bicameral Legislature

Debates of Opponents

  • Mohd. Tahir, a member of Constituent Assembly, asserted that an upper house was not essential and viewed it as a creation of imperialism. As. It was introduced by the British government where members belonged to the upper class of the society.
  • Professor Shibban Lal Saksena said that it will prove to be a “clog in the wheel of progress” of the nation. As this house can struck the normal procedure of lawmaking in the favour of the nation. He said that quick law-making is the need of the hour.
  • Loknath Mishra opposed the parity of powers in law-making for the upper house.

Views of Proponents

  • Nizamuddin Ahmed felt that it would introduce the element of sobriety (restraint) and second thought on the matters of law-making.
  • M Ananathsayanam Ayyangar argued that this chamber would enable the genius of the people to have a second check on hasty legislation.
  • N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar made a strong case for the second chamber and argued on its importance in dignified debates over important issues and take part in legislation.
  • Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the first Chairman of Rajya Sabha said that Parliament is not only a law making body but also a deliberative one which allows members to debate over important issues of public importance.

Importance of Rajya Sabha

  • Lok Sabha is susceptible to passions of the moment and electoral considerations. The legislation needs to be checked by the second chamber whose members are sober, wise and well-informed with domain knowledge.
  • It is a deliberative body which holds high-quality debates on important issues.
  • Rajya Sabha has some special powers as required to adopt a resolution allowing Parliament to legislate on subjects in State List (Schedule VII), creating All India Service (Art. 312), besides approving proclamations of Emergency and Presidents’ Rule when Lok Sabha is dissolved.

Constitutional Provisons of Rajya Sabha

  • In India, regions or parts having a larger population would have more representatives in the second chamber than regions having less population
  • The number of members to be elected from each State has been fixed by the fourth schedule of the Constitution
  • Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a term of six years
  • They can get re-elected. All members of the Rajya Sabha do not complete their terms at the same time.
  • Every two years, one-third members of the Rajya Sabha complete their term and elections are held for those one-third seats only.
  • Thus, the Rajya Sabha is never fully dissolved and called the permanent house of the Parliament The advantage of this arrangement is that even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved and elections are yet to take place, the meeting of the Rajya Sabha can be called and urgent business can be conducted The maximum strength of the house has been fixed to 245 (233+12) by the Vajpayee Government in 2001 for next 25 years ie. Up to 2025.
  • Apart from the elected members, Rajya Sabha also has twelve nominated members. The President nominates these members. These nominations are made from among those persons who have made their mark in the fields of literature, science, art and social service.

Rajya Sabha’s Position on Various Bills

  • Any ordinary bill can be introduced either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha
  • It can be amended or rejected by the Rajya Sabha
  • It can be detained by the Rajya Sabha for a maximum period of six months.
  • It does not require the certification of the Speaker when transmitted to the Rajya Sabha
  • It is sent for the President’s assent only after being approved by both the Houses. In case of a deadlock due to disagreement between the two Houses, a joint sitting of both the houses can be summoned by the president to resolve the deadlock
  • Money Bill and Finance Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha, however, Rajya Sabha can take money bill for 14 days, but after the duration, it seems to be passed.

Position of Rajya Sabha

  • When it treated as equal to Lok Sabha
  • Introduction and passage of ordinary bills.
  • Introduction and passage of Constitutional amendment bills.
  • Introduction and passage of financial bills involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.
  • Election and impeachment of the president.
  • Election and removal of the Vice-President. However, Rajya Sabha alone can initiate the removal of the vice-president. He is removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha by a special majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.
  • Making recommendation to the President for the removal of Chief Justice and judges of Supreme Court and high courts, chief election commissioner and comptroller and auditor general.
  • Approval of ordinances issued by the President.
  • Approval of proclamation of all three types of emergencies by the President.
  • Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister. Under the Constitution, the ministers including the Prime Minister can be members of either House. However, irrespective of their membership, they are responsible only to the Lok Sabha.
  • Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies like Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, comptroller and auditor general, etc.
  • Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Union Public Service Commission.

II. Special Powers of Rajya Sabha

  • It can authorise the Parliament to make a law on a subject enumerated in the State List (Article 249)
  • It can authorise the Parliament to create new All-India Services common to both the Centre and states (Article 312)
  • It maintains the federal equilibrium by protecting the interests of the states against the undue interference of the Centre
  • It facilitates giving representation to eminent professionals and experts who cannot face the direct election. The President nominates 12 such persons to the Rajya Sabha
  • It checks hasty, defective, careless and ill-considered legislation made by the Lok Sabha by making provision of revision and thought

Hence, this article is important for prelims as well as mains about its powers, mechanism, functions, privileges, etc.

Recent Agricultural sector reforms in India

By Himanshu Tyagi -
0
 

Agriculture is a state subject as per our Indian Constitution, however, Central government also take measures so that agricultural production can be improved and so the lives of the farmers. We come across many instances like farmer’s suicide due to failures of crops in a particular year other problems faced by farmers such as post-harvest losses, crop loss due to change in rainfall pattern, flood, drought, etc. The central government always comes up with the solution of all such problems so that the farming community as a whole can get the benefits. Also, the present government has set a target of doubling the farmer’s income by 2022 which is yet to achieve and on the road towards this they have come up with many of the initiatives and the recent one is amendments in Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Government’s Initiatives

E-NAM

  • Electronic National Agricultural Market works as a pan-India electronic trading portal which has connected all the existing APMC mandis and provides a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
  • Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the leading agency who implements e-NAM under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Government of India.
  • This portal provides uniformity in the agriculture market, removes the asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promotes real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)

  • The vision of this scheme is “Har Khet ko Pani”.
  • This scheme enshrines its priority towards conservation and management of water.
  • This scheme is formulated with the vision of extending the coverage of irrigation ‘Har Khet ko Pani’ and improving water use efficiency ‘More crop per drop’.
  • It also provides end to end solution on source creation, distribution, management, field application and extension activities.
  • It has been formulated by amalgamating ongoing schemes like Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

  • It is an initiative to promote organic farming in the country.
  • In this scheme, farmers are encouraged to form groups or clusters and take to organic farming methods over large areas in the country.
  • The produce will be pesticide residue free and will contribute to improving the health of the consumer.
  • The aim is to form 1,000 clusters and bring up to 5 lakh acres of agricultural area under organic farming.
  • PKVY also aims at empowering farmers through institutional development through clusters approach not only in farm practice management, input production, quality assurance but also in value addition and direct marketing through innovative means.
  • It aims to promote natural resource-based integrated and climate-resilient sustainable farming systems that ensure the maintenance and increase soil fertility, natural resource conservation, on-farm nutrient recycling and minimize the dependence of farmers on external inputs.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

    It is unique of its kind of an insurance scheme that integrates multiple stakeholders on a single platform. It provides insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases. It aims to stabilize the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming. It encourages farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices. A uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In the case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%. The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.

PM-KISAN (Kisan Samman Nidhi) Yojana

    It is a direct cash transfer scheme with 100% funding from the Government of India. Income support of Rs. 6,000 per year is provided to all farmer families (including famer, wife and minor children) across the country in three equal instalments of Rs. 2000 each at every four months.

PM-KISAN Maan Dhan Yojana

    It is a pension scheme for small and marginal farmers of the country. This scheme is voluntary and contribution-based for farmers at the entry of between 18-40 years of age. In this, farmers will get Rs 3,000 as monthly pension after attaining the age of 60 years. This scheme is launched to provide income support after a certain age to give them financial freedom.

Essential Commodities Act, 1955 – Amendments

  • Recently, three ordinances aiming at lifting restrictions on key commodities like cereals, pulses, onion and potato and gives freedom to sell their products directly or through e-trading platforms.
  • Under this, a legal framework has enabled farmers to enter into an “agreement” with private sector players on pricing and purchase which is a step to provide contract farming.
  • The Essential Commodities Act was enacted at a time of food scarcity in the country and allowed the government to notify a commodity as “essential” under section 2(A), take control of its production, supply and distribution, and impose a stock limit.
  • The amended law provides a mechanism for the “regulation” of agricultural foodstuffs, namely cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, potato, and supplies under extraordinary circumstances, which include extraordinary price rise, war, famine, and natural calamity of a severe nature.
  • The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance promotes “trade and commerce” outside the physical premises of markets covered by State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislation.
  • It allows any trader to engage in interstate and intra-state trade of scheduled agricultural produce with a farmer or another trader in a trade area.
  • A trade area is defined as any area, which is outside the APMC acts and existing private mandis Till now the farmers had to sell their produce only at Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis. The ordinance also provides for an “electronic trading” transaction platform for agricultural commodities.
  • The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 will allow farmers to engage directly with processors, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers and exporters.
  • In case of the contract farming ordinance which is promulgated recently by the President, called The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020, will allows any company, or processors, or FPO, or Cooperative Society to enter into a contract farming arrangement for a minimum of one crop cycle in case of crops, or one production cycle, in case of livestock.
  • The maximum period for such an arrangement will be five years. The price to paid to the farmer in such a contract farming arrangement shall be mutually decided. In case of volatility, a minimum price has to be paid on top of which a premium also need to paid by the company.

There are many agricultural reforms took place by the government to provide a standard lifestyle to farmers and bring equal socio-economic facilities to them. As India’s agriculture sector remained sort of distress due to natural calamities, failure of monsoon, lack of technology, lack of proper education in terms of farming, which many a time leads to harsh steps taken by farmers in form of life loss.

And, due to present outbreak of pandemic, farming society faced many issues during post-harvest season of wheat crop. Due to migration of labors, farmers were not able to harvest crops on time and due to lockdown imposed in the country, they were not able to sell their produce in the market. Hence, government suggested to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 which would provide them an opportunity to sell produce on electronic platform and at higher cost. The target set by present government is to double the farmer’s income by 2022 and above mentioned schemes or programs are steps and measures towards it.

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