Meghalaya Launched the National Milk Mission to Promote Dairy Production

The North Eastern state of Meghalaya has launched the National Milk Mission to promote dairy production and become self sufficient in terms of milk production by 2022.

• According to the livestock census of 2012, Meghalaya has about a million cattle with considerable milch cows (cross-bred), which contributes to almost 60 percent of the dairy production in the state.
• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,while launching the Meghalaya Milk Mission (2018-22) pressed its concern regarding the lesser number of milk cooperatives in the state as compared to other states in the country.

Key Facts

• The National Co-operative Development Corporation has sanctioned a Rs 215-crore project under the milk mission to train people in dairy farms, to set up chilling centres and to purchase milch animals, among others.
• The state government through the mission is planning to develop community ranches at the village level by inducting indigenous cattle breeds like Sahiwal, Gir, Rathi and Red Sindhi.
• The State government opines that the promotion of community ranches will help in solving the land related problems being faced by the small and marginal farmers of the state.
• The State government through the mission also envisages to increase district level milk cooperative unions to eleven from the current three in Jaintia Hills, West Garo Hills and East Khasi Hills.
• It will help in achieving Centre’s goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 through promotion of milk business in the state.

Meghalaya Milk Mission

• It aims to plug the demand and supply gap in the availability of per capita milk in the state.
• To generate alternate livelihood opportunities for the rural people through the dairy sector and to create and revive dairy co-operatives.
• There is also a provision of Rs 1 crore for the training of farmers under the project.
• The Mission is expected to benefit 2,000 farmers in the next four years.

Advantages of Ranching

• It makes use of marginal or range areas that cannot support any meaningful crop farming.
• It leads to the production of healthier animals.
• It creates employment opportunities.
• It leads to the protection of animals from predators.
• It adds value to the farm products.

Govt. to get Rs. 50,000 cr. from RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will transfer ₹50,000 crore dividend to the government in line with the Union Budget provisions, which is the highest since 2015-16.

• The transfer gives the government more room to infuse capital into the public sector banks. Earlier in October 2017, the government had decided to infuse Rs. 2.11 trillion into public sector banks through a mix of recapitalization bonds (Rs. 1.35 trillion), direct infusion from budgetary allocations (Rs. 18,000 crore) and market borrowing (Rs. 58,000 crore).

• In FY17, the central bank had transferred a lower surplus owing to the huge costs it incurred in managing the demonetization exercise.
• Under the RBI Act, 1934, the central bank is required to pay the government its surplus after making provisions for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets and, contribution to staff and superannuation fund among others.

Economic Survey Take

• Since, the RBI is one of the most highly capitalized central banks in the world. So, redeployment of excess capital from RBI to the government will be more productive.
• The surplus could be used to recapitalize public sector banks and improve the government’s fiscal position.
• However, it had also warned that the surplus transfer exercise should not undermine the central bank’s independence.

Government launches Niryat Mitra App

Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched the Niryat Mitra Mobile App which has been developed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the largest exporters’ organisation of the country.

Niryat Mitra mobile App

• The App provides wide range of information relating to import-export, rates of GST, concessions available for export, fees and the necessary points for reaching markets.
• The app works internally to map the ITC HS code of other countries with that of India and provides all the required data without the users bothering about the HS code of any country.

• Its most important feature is that all information related to the tariff is available.
• The app is available on both Android and on IOS platforms.
• Presently, the app comes with the data of 87 countries.
• The app will help to create export culture in the country and encourage the artisans,cottage Micro,small nad medium enterprises to plan for exports.
• It will furthur increase the Ease of Doing Business and is a step towards Digital India.

Invasive Agricultural Pest: Fall Armyworm

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has raised an alarm after the invasive agricultural pest Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) was recently found in Karnataka. The discovery of pest in Karnataka is the first report of the pest in Asia.

• Fall Armyworm is a major maize pest in North America, which arrived in Africa in 2016. Since then, it has threatened the continent’s maize crop which is a staple food and feeds 300 million people.
• Africa’s experience shows that the pest can quickly colonise a new continent. First reported in Central and Western Africa in 2016, it has spread to 44 African countries today and has proved hard to control.

Concerns

• Although the pests reported in Karnataka, are only feeding on maize and sorghum at the moment, they are likely to spread to other crops. The pest feeds on around 100 different crops, such as vegetables, rice, and sugarcane.
• The pest can easily spread from Karnataka to the rest of the country and further to the neighbouring countries. States like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are at immediate risk.

Past Incidences

• India has seen dozens of invasive species arrive in the last decade, reflecting poor quarantine measures (the legal enforcement of the measures aimed to prevent pests from spreading in case they have already gained entry and have established in new restricted areas) at entry points like ports.
• In 2008, the Papaya Mealybug, a Central American native, was reported in Tamil Nadu. Eventually, it spread across the country, destroying papaya crop. Eventually it was contained by bio-control measures.

Possible Solutions

• The first line of defence against the Fall Armyworm can be insecticides like lambda-cyhalothrin.
• Some natural predators such as coccinellid beetles have also been found that can aid biological control.
• A fungal species called Nomuraea rileyi have been found to infect the Fall Armyworm. However, these natural enemies may not be as effective as insecticides.
• Predators such as stem borer, which feed on this worm, will also help in keeping its population in check.
• The mechanical and chemical methods adopted by farmers are also working effectively at the moment.

Khangchendzonga To Be Included In The World Network of Biosphere Reserves

The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve has become the 11th Biosphere Reserve from India that has been included in the UNESCO designated World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).

• The decision was taken at the 30th Session of International Coordinating Council (ICC) of Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO held at Palembang, Indonesia.
• India has 18 Biosphere Reserves and with the inclusion of Khangchendzonga, the number of internationally designated WNBR has become 11, with 7 Biosphere Reserves being domestic Biosphere Reserves.

List of Biosphere Reserves in India
Name	State	Geography
Great Rann of Kutch	Gujarat	Desert
Gulf of Mannar	Tamil Nadu	Coasts
Sundarbans	West Bengal	Gangetic Delta
Cold Desert	Himachal Pradesh	Western Himalayas
Nanda Devi	Uttarakhand	Western Himalayas
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve	Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka	Western Ghats
Dihang-Dibang	Arunachal Pradesh	Eastern Himalaya
Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve	Madhya Pradesh	SemiArid
Seshachalam Hills	Andhra Pradesh	Eastern Ghats
Simlipal	Odisha	Deccan Peninsula
Achanakamar Amarkantak	Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh	Maikala Hills
Manas	Assam	East Himalayas
Khangchendzonga	Sikkim	East Himalayas
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve	Kerala, Tamil Nadu	Western Ghats
Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Islands
Nokrek	Meghalaya	East Himalayas
Dibru-Saikhowa	Assam	East Himalayas
Panna	Madhya Pradesh	Ken River

Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve

• Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve which is located in Sikkim is one of the highest ecosystems in the world, reaching elevations of 1, 220 metres above sea-level.
• It includes a range of ecoclines (a gradation from one ecosystem to another, with no abrupt boundary between the two), varying from sub-tropic to Arctic, as well as natural forests in different biomes, that support an immensely rich diversity of forest types and habitats.
  Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) was designated a World Heritage Site in 2016 under the ‘mixed’ category (Mixed heritage sites contain elements of both natural and cultural significance).
• World’s third highest peak, Mt. Khangchendzonga, is situated within the Park. Numerous lakes and glaciers, including the 26 km long Zemu Glacier are a part of the Biosphere reserve.
• Many of the mountains, peaks, lakes, caves, rocks, Stupas (shrines) and hot springs function as pilgrimage sites.
• Over 118 species of the large number of medicinal plants found in Dzongu Valley in north Sikkim are of ethno-medical utility.
• The transition zone of the Biosphere Reserve is targeted for eco-development activities, afforestation, plantation of medicinal herbs and soil conservation measures.
• The core area of the Biosphere Reserve is a major transboundary Wildlife Protected Area and is largely situated in the Greater Himalayas.
• The northern part of the area is characterized by trans-Himalayan features.
• Buffer zones are being developed in the Park to promote eco-tourism activities.

Cultural Significance of Khangchendzonga National Park

• KNP is home to a sacred site of one of the world's leading religious traditions. The notion of beyul or hidden sacred land, which extends to all of Sikkim, but has its heart in the territory of Khangchendzonga National Park, is important in Tibetan Buddhism, not only intrinsic to Sikkim, but in the neighbouring countries and beyond.
• The multi-layered sacred landscape of Khangchendzonga and the cultural and religious relevance of the hidden land (beyul in Tibetan Buddhism and Mayel Lyang, in Lepcha tradition) is specific to Sikkim and is a unique example of co-existence and exchange between different religious traditions and people.
• The indigenous religious and cultural practices of the Lepcha with regard to the ecology and the specific properties of local plants, stands as an example of traditional knowledge and environmental preservation.

NITI Aayog and CII Launch Partnership on SDGs

The NITI Aayog entered into a three-year partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to develop vision and action agenda for the industry to contribute towards sustainable development goals (SDGs).

• The partnership focuses on specific activities that seeks to develop:
  • Vision and Action Agenda for businesses and industries to contribute to SDGs,
  • Annual Status Reports,
  • Sector-specific Best Practise Documents.
• The Government reiterated that India will achieve its clean energy goals even earlier than 2022 and the only way to grow and develop sustainably is to use technology to leapfrog, use new and renewable energy and push for R&D and innovation to generate demand for electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, etc. and to find local solutions to the diversity of challenges.