10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : December 13, 2018

Government generally increases the MSPs of all notified crops which provide adequate return over cost of production. Government has increased MSPs substantially for all mandated crops for the season 2018-19. This decision of the Government was a historic one as it fulfills the commitment to the farmers to provide 50 percent return over cost of production for the first time for all mandated crops.

While recommending MSPs, CACP considers a host of factors including all India weighted average cost of production of crops. The costs considered are comprehensive and include all paid out costs such as those incurred on account of hired human labour, bullock labour/machine labour, rent paid for leased in land, expenses incurred in cash and kind on use of material inputs like seeds, fertilizers, manures, irrigation charges, depreciation on implements and farm buildings, interest on working capital, diesel/electricity for operation of pump sets etc, miscellaneous expenses and imputed value of family labour.

REDUCING EVAPORATION LOSSES

Soil moisture is the most limiting factor in dryland agriculture. It is lost as evaporation from the soil surface and as transpiration from the plant surfaces. Evaporation has to be arrested as it is not directly related to productivity whereas transpiration can be reduced to some extent without affecting productivity of plants. The evaporation losses can be reduced by:

Antitranspirants – are compounds applied to the leaves of plants to reduce transpiration. They are used from Christmas trees, on cut flowers, on newly transplanted shrubs, and in other applications to preserve and protect plants from drying out too quickly.

Dryland farming demands a great deal of effort to ensure that the soil is not deprived of moisture. Formation of soil crust at the surface is prevented by tillage to allow rainwater to seep in and reach the plant roots. Water runoff from crop fields is checked by leveling the fields and establishing bunds or contour strips. Soil water evaporation is inhibited by mulching and the planting of shelterbelts of trees and shrubs.

Dryland farming also involves the planting of crops in a more dispersed manner, and in less numbers overall, than what is seen in “wet” farming methods. Weeds are completely destroyed so that these insignificant plants do not compete with the crop plants for water. Strip cropping is also commonly practiced in dryland agriculture. During the fallow periods in dryland agriculture, no crops are grown in the fields to allow the soil to absorb and retain moisture and recharge their nutritional capacities.

The objective of the Dam Safety Bill 2018, is to provide uniform, countrywide procedures for ensuring the safety of all dams. India has 5254 large dams which are in operation. In addition to this, there are thousands of medium and small dams. Statement 1 is incorrect

Water storage fall under the State List under Schedule 7 of the Indian Constitution.

“Water, that is to say, water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power subject to the provisions of entry 56 of List I.” Therefore, statement 2 is correct.

Current account measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country.

The components of current account includes:

Trade in goods

Factor trade in services ( Compensation-Investment Income ie. interests, dividends etc)

Non-factor trade in services ( shipping, banking, software etc)

transfer payment (gifts, grants, remittances)

Foreign Investment and Commercial borrowing are components of capital account. Therefore statement 2 is incorrect

One of the important features of the revised guidelines is the introduction of the concept of Water Conservation Fee (WCF). The WCF payable varies with the category of the area, type of industry and the quantum of ground water extraction and is designed to progressively increase from safe to over-exploited areas and from low to high water consuming industries as well as with increasing quantum of ground water extraction.

As per the revised guidelines, exemption from requirement of NOC has been given to agricultural users, users employing non-energised means to extract water, individual households (using less than 1 inch diameter delivery pipe) and Armed Forces Establishments during operational deployment or during mobilization in forward locations. Other exemptions (with certain requirements) have been granted to strategic and operational infrastructure projects for Armed Forces, Defence and Paramilitary Forces Establishments and Government water supply agencies.

An Indian private project, HelpUsGreen recently received  UN climate action award for collection of flowers from temples and mosques and recycling them to produce natural incense, organic fertilizers and biodegradable packaging material.

It has been identified for its drive to clean up river Ganga and empower thousands of women by giving them a secure life by engaging them into an eco-friendly recycling works.t currently works in Uttar Pradesh and plans to expand to Bangladesh, and Nepal.