National Biogas and Manure Management Programme
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is implementing the National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) for setting up of family type biogas plants in rural and semi-urban areas of the country.
- The family type biogas plants generate clean gaseous fuel particularly for cooking and meeting lighting needs and replaces use of fuel wood, avoid cutting of trees thereby reducing pressure on forests.
- The programme, implemented through state nodal agencies, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), and Biogas Development & Training Centre provides a substantial subsidy for setting up biogas plants to meet the fuel needs of rural and semi-rural households.
- Biogas plants help in reducing emission of Green House Gases (GHGs).
Details
- Under the NBMMP, about 49.6 lakh Household Size Biogas Plants have been installed since the inception of the biogas programme in the country
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been implementing programmes such as NBMMP, Biogas Power (Off-grid) Generation Programme (BPGP), and Waste to Energy Programme for setting up of Biogas Plants based on cattle dung and other mixed biodegradable wastes to meet cooking, heating, lighting & small power and thermal energy needs of the people of remote and rural areas of the country.
Stats
- Among the states, the best performer in NBMMP in 2015-16 has been Uttarakhand
- Other states which have done well are Assam (which has met its target) Andhra Pradesh (67%), Telangana (62.2%), Goa (75%) and Sikkim (65%).
Narendra Jadhav Committee
- The Planning Commission set up a Task Force to Review Guidelines on Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) in June, 2010 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission.
- The terms of reference of the Task Force were: i) to re-examine and revise the extant Guidelines issued by the Planning Commission for implementation of SCSP and TSP; ii) to understand the operational difficulties in consultation with implementing Ministries and suggest remedial action so that SCSP and TSP can be implemented effectively.
Context
- Implementation of Jadhav Guidelines for Allocation of Funds
- The allocation for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes have been worked out keeping the percentage of allocation by the Ministries/Departments prescribed as per the guidelines of Dr. Narendra Jadhav Committee constituted by the erstwhile Planning Commission.
Allocation for Welfare of SCs/STs
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has developed an online web-portal e-utthaan.gov.in for monitoring of Allocation for Welfare of Scheduled Castes.
- Similarly, Ministry of Tribal Affairs has developed the online web-portal stcmis.gov.in for monitoring of Allocation for Welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
206 master trainers have been trained under the programme for training and capacity building of Women Elected Representatives
- Government of India has decided to expand Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme (BBBP) in all 640 districts (as per census 2011).
- Currently, BBBP scheme is being implemented in 161 districts with low CSR across the country.
Severe Acute Malnutrition
- Severe acute malnutrition is defined by a very low weight for height (below -3z scores of the median WHO growth standards), by visible severe wasting, or by the presence of nutritional oedema.
Stats
- Across the globe, an estimated 16 million children under the age of 5 are affected by severe acute malnutrition. This number is staggering – most importantly, because children with severe acute malnutrition are nine times more likely to die than well-nourished children.
- These deaths are the direct result of malnutrition itself, as well as the indirect result of childhood illnesses like diarrhoea and pneumonia that malnourished children are too weak to survive.
How is severe acute malnutrition prevented and treated?
- Ending acute malnutrition is a complex social and political challenge.
- Prevention and long term solutions involve dismantling unequal power structures, improving equitable access to health services and nutritious foods, promoting breastfeeding and optimal infant and young child feeding practices, improving water and sanitation, and planning for cyclic food shortages and emergencies.
- But in the short term, children with severe acute malnutrition need urgent lifesaving treatment to survive.
- Until relatively recently, these children were only treated in hospitals where they received therapeutic milks along with medical care; and many more were never reached at all. With the creation of ready-to-use-therapeutic-food however, the picture has changed dramatically.
What are the challenges?
In 2014, just over 3 million children under age 5 were treated for severe acute malnutrition. This figure had almost doubled in only a few years, yet much more remains to be done to reach the millions of remaining children with this condition worldwide.
- Governments face immense challenges in building capacity and allotting sufficient resources to prevent and treat acute malnutrition.
- There is also work to be done in making governments aware of the links between acute malnutrition (wasting) and chronic malnutrition (stunting) and the need to address these issues in tandem
Foreign Assistance for Ganga River Cleaning
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has been receiving financial (by way of loan) and technological assistance for cleaning of river Ganga from foreign countries/external agencies.
- Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has signed MoU with Netherlands with an objective to strengthen technological, scientific capabilities and to promote cooperation in the field of water management. The area of cooperation under the MoU signed with Netherlands includes “Pollution abatement for rivers including river Ganga” as one of the objectives.
- GIZ, Germany has been providing technical cooperation to the project ‘Support to Ganga Rejuvenation’ under Indo-German Bilateral Development Cooperation and has committed an amount of Euro (€) 3 million.
- The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has sanctioned two loans aggregating JPY 43.755 billion for the Ganga Action Plan II Project (Varanasi) (GAP II) and the Yamuna Action Plan Project III (YAP III) in Delhi.
- World Bank has sanctioned a loan of US $ 1 billion to Government of India (GOI) for funding the National Ganga River Basin Authority Projects. Funds under this loan are available for interalia Institutional Development Projects and Priority Infrastructure Projects undertaken on the main stem of Ganga.
Marketing of Tribal Goods
- TRIFED, a multi-State Cooperative Society under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is promoting and marketing tribal products, tribal art and crafts within the country and abroad by providing marketing support to tribal products through its network of 31 retail outlets “TRIBES INDIA”, 37 consignment outlets of various State Emporia and 16 franchisee outlets.
- It also organizes exhibitions like National Tribal Craft Expo called Aadi Mahotsav etc. in which it promotes and markets tribal products.
- It also facilitates the participation of tribal artisans to enable them to interact directly with art lovers to assess the market needs.
- TRIFED has entered into agreements with e-commerce platforms like Snapdeal and Amazon who will offer their customers various tribal products and produce through their portals www.snapdeal.com and www.amazon.com respectively to facilitate online sale.
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing a Central Sector Scheme ‘Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), under which financial assistance is provided to TRIs to carry out various activities to preserve and promote tribal culture and heritage across the country through research and documentation, maintenance and preservation of art & artifacts, setting up of tribal museum, exchange visits for the tribals to other parts of the State, organizing tribal festivals etc.
Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED)
- It was established in August 1987 by the then Ministry of Welfare, Government of India, under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act 1984 (which has now been replaced by the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002).
- The core objective was institutionalizing the trade of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and Surplus Agriculture Produce (SAP)e. ensuring remunerative prices for their minor products
- In order to prevent exploitation from private traders
- However, they did not use to get remunerative prices due to middle-men and unscrupulous traders exploiting the naiveté of Tribals.
- TRIFED also works as an agency to the FCI for procurement of Wheat and Rice.
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