26 Dec 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Year End Review - 2022 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare
2. Veer Bal Diwas

1. Year End Review – 2022 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

Syllabus: GS2, Agriculture -government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.

Prelims: Major schemes initiated by the GoI in the field of agriculture.

Context – Year End Review – 2022 of the Agriculture Ministry.

Some of the major initiatives in the field of Agriculture by the GoI-

• Unprecedented enhancement in Budget Allocation (1,24,000 cr in  2022-23).
• Highest ever food grain and horticulture production.
• NMEO-OP – The National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) has been launched with the aim to augment the availability of edible oil in the country by harnessing area expansion, increasing crude palm oil production with the aim to reduce the import burden. 
  • The total approved cost of the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) Scheme is ₹ 11,040 crore, out of which ₹ 8844 crore is Central share and ₹ 2196 crore state share.
• PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) – An income support scheme for farmers launched in 2019.
  • Under this scheme, all small and marginal farmers are provided with income support of Rs.6,000 per year in three instalments which will be deposited directly to their bank accounts.
  • More than Rs. 2 lakh crores have been released so far to more than 11 crore eligible farmers till December 2022.
• PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana) – launched in 2016, is designed to reduce the burden of crop insurance on farmers.
• Institutional credit for the agriculture sector – It was Rs 16.5 lakh cr in January 2022 which has increased to Rs 18.5 Lakh cr. in December 2022.
• Soil Health Card Scheme – It was introduced in the year 2014-15 to optimise the usage of nutrients. Under this card, the farmer’s soil complete information is available.
• Organic Farming –
  • Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) was initiated in 2015-16 to promote organic farming in the country.
  • Bhartiya Prakratik Krishi Padhati (BPKP) was proposed by the GoI to promote sustainable natural farming systems.
  • Read more on Organic Farming in the link.
• Agri Infrastructure Fund – till December 2022 the scheme sanctioned Rs. 13,681 Crore worth of agriculture infrastructure in the country for more than 18133 projects.
  • The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) was announced in May 2020 by the Government of India for farm-gate infrastructure for farmers.
  • Read more on Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF).
• A National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) has been launched in 2020 as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. 114 projects (till December 2022) have been approved with the assistance of about Rs. 139.23 cr under NBHM.
• Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) – launched during 2015-16 aims to increase water use efficiency through micro-irrigation technologies.
  • Till December 2022, 69.55 lakh hectares have been covered under this scheme.
• E- NAM Platform – was launched in  April 2016 as a pan-India electronic trade portal linking agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) across all states.
  • Till December 2022, 1.74 Crore Farmers and 2.37 Lakh traders have been registered.
• The agri and allied commodities export has increased by 19.9 % ( 41.86 billion USD in 2020-21 to 50.24 billion USD in 2021-22 ).

2. Veer Bal Diwas

Syllabus: GS1, Indian History

Prelims: Veer Bal Diwas – December 26.

Context – A historic programme organised by the Ministry of Culture – Veer Bal Diwas.

Details –

• On 9th January 2022, the day of the Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the Prime Minister had announced that 26th December would be observed as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’, to mark the martyrdom of the sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh – Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji (youngest of the four sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji).
• Shri Narendra Modi participated in the ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi. Veer Bal Diwas will remind us of the immense contribution of the ten Sikh gurus and the sacrifice of the Sikh tradition for protecting the honour of the nation, the PM said.
• The day marks when Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh attained martyrdom when they were executed by the Mughals (1705).

About the Sahibzadas –

Guru Gobind Singh ji had four sons – Sahibzada Ajit Singh, Sahibzada Jujhar Singh, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh. All four of his sons were initiated into the Khalsa and all were executed by Mughal forces before the age of 19.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

December 26th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here