13-Mar-2020: Promoting use of bio pesticides and fertilizers
To promote the use of bio pesticides in agriculture, Central Insecticide Board & Registration Committee has formulated simplified guidelines for registration of bio pesticides as compared to chemical pesticides. During provisional registration granted under Section 9 (3B) of The Insecticides Act, 1968, the applicant is allowed to commercialize the bio-pesticides, unlike chemical pesticides.
Government of India through organic farming schemes of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme (CISS) aims for sustainable agriculture production with eco-friendly process in tune with nature, promoting organic inputs and chemical free agriculture produce for improving the health condition of the people.
Under, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), assistance of Rs. 50,000 per hectare for 3 years is provided, out of which Rs. 31,000 (62%) is given to the farmers directly through DBT, for inputs (bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, vermicompost, botanical extracts, etc.) production/ procurement, post-harvest management etc.
Under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), the farmers are given assistance of Rs. 25000 per hectare for 3 years for both on-farm & off-farm organic inputs, and seeds/ planting material.
Under, Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme, Government of India promotes production of bio-fertilizers by providing 100% assistance to State Government / Government Agencies upto a maximum limit of Rs.160.00 lakh/ unit for setting up of state of art liquid/ carrier-based Bio-fertilizer units of 200 Tonnes Per Annum capacity. Similarly, for individuals/ private agencies assistance upto 25% of cost limited to Rs.40 lakh/unit as capital investment is provided through National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Amount spent under, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana during last three years (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19) and current year (2019-20) is Rs. 152.82 crore, Rs. 203.46 crore, Rs. 329.46 crore and Rs. 226.42 crore respectively.
Amount spent under, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region during last three years (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19) and current year (2019-20) is Rs. 47.63 crore, Rs. 66.22 crore, Rs. 174.78 crore and Rs. 78.83 crore respectively.
Under Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme, no amount has been disbursed to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development during 2016-17 and 2017-18; however, during 2018-19, an amount of Rs.276.168 lakh was disbursed.
Use of bio-pesticides is promoted by educating farmers through Farmer Field schools and Human Resource Development programmes (2 & 5 days) under Integrated Pest Management approach. The bio-pesticides (Trichoderma, Metazhizium, Beauveria etc.) are also multiplied in the Central and State Government laboratories and distributed to farmers. During the last 5 years (2015-16 to 2019-20), 3472 Farmer Field Schools and 647 Human Resource Development programs were conducted under Integrated Pest Management and 1,04,160 farmers and 25,880 pesticide dealers and State Extension officials have been trained.
23-Jan-2020: India’s 1st Govt-Owned Waste To Energy Plant Inaugurated In Odisha
The country’s first Government-owned Waste to Energy Plant was commissioned at Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop.
The Waste to Energy Plant, a patented technology called Polycrack, is first of its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in the country. It converts multiple feed stocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water.
Earlier, lots of non-ferrous scrap generated from the Carriage Repair Workshop had no efficient method of disposal. As a result, these elements were being disposed by landfills which had hazardous impact on the environment. The Polycrack technology does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system. The emissions from the combustion are found to be much less than prescribed environmental norms. The process will produce energy in the form of light diesel oil, which is used to light furnaces.
The plant at Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop has been constructed in a period of three months. Around Rs 2 crore has been spent for commissioning of the Polycrack plant. Waste generated from the Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop, Coaching Depot and Bhubaneswar Railway Station will be feeder materials for this plant. This plant will access 500 kg waste materials per day. About Rs 17 lakh income per annum will be generated from the byproducts.
27-Sep-2019: Climate vulnerability map of India coming soon
Rising sea levels, increasing number of extreme weather events, urban floods, changing temperature and rainfall patterns. Such impacts of climate change are being felt in many parts of the country and not just coastal areas or hilly regions. For preparing communities and people to meet the challenge arising out of such changes, information specific to a state or even district is needed because such impacts of climate change are not uniform. In order to meet this need, a pan India climate vulnerability assessment map is being developed.
The map is being developed under a joint project of the Department of Science and Technology and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Such climate vulnerability atlas has already been developed for 12 states in the Indian Himalayan Region, using a common framework. Now this methodology will be extended to non-Himalayan states so that we can have a national level climate vulnerability profile for India. The atlas is expected to be ready by the middle of 2020.
Using a common methodology for assessing vulnerability was critical for comparison and for planning adaptation strategies. It also helps in identifying what makes a state or district vulnerable to climate change.
The vulnerability map for hilly states, released in March this year, showed that while all the Himalayan states are vulnerable, Assam and Mizoram are the most vulnerable among them. The map for the Himalayan region, developed in consultation with states, has details up to the district level. The national map will also do the same, as vulnerability within a state may differ from one region or district to another. A common set of indicators will be used while making the vulnerability profile and ranking of 650 districts all over the country.
The climate change research programme of DST was being implemented as part of the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC). Among the priority areas identified for research are glaciology, climate modeling, urban climate, extreme events and Himalayan ecosystem studies. In all, climate change cells have been in 25 states in the country and centres of excellence are also being established in states for capacity building.
Climate risk is interplay of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. While the occurrence of natural hazards such as landslides, droughts and floods is projected to go up, their impact depends on the level of exposure such as presence of people and infrastructure in areas that could be adversely affected or climate-sensitive livelihood of people.
Vulnerability is the propensity to be adversely affected and can be measured in terms of both biophysical as well as socioeconomic factors. Addressing vulnerability can help reduce risk to climate change.
Among the socio-economic and demographic factors that determine vulnerability are population density; percentage marginal farmers; livestock to human ratio; per capita income; number of primary healthcare centres; and percentage of women in the overall workforce. Similarly, sensitivity of agricultural production is captured by indicators like percentage area under irrigation; yield variability; and percentage area under horticulture crops.
Some states had already started using the vulnerability assessment report, particularly while revising state climate action plans and developing adaptation projects. Mizoram has launched a state wide public awareness campaign on the basis of the assessment, while West Bengal has developed a decision support system for prioritizing springshed management project sites using the climate vulnerability map as an input.