Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

• Delhi demolitions: Under the cloak of law

GS Paper 2

GS Paper 3

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

Delhi demolitions: Under the cloak of law

News– The periodic drama of demolitions of illegal construction has become the unfortunate event of Delhi’s development.

What are issues with demolition drives in Delhi?

The need to demolish is portrayed as a law and order issue, not the failure of urban planning.

The judiciary has emerged as the arbiter in the field because the demolition is presented as the illegal use of land defined by the Master Plan of Delhi.

This hides the inadequacies of MPD. It is unable to meet the needs of all the residents. These inadequacies of MPD need to be analysed by the creators of MPD, and not the judiciary.

All over the world, urban planners have shown pragmatic creativity to resolve problems related to the management of their cities. They have not used the police powers of the state. This is not the case with Delhi.

For example, the development of slums, mushrooming commercial, retail and industrial activities, are all evidence of a robustly developing political economy.

Urban planners of Delhi have not mediated this process by modifying the MPD in subsequent revisions. They have treated it as an urban malaise that needs to be eradicated.

As a result, the city today is not so much the product of the original vision of MPD. It is the product of the contest between the haves and the have-nots.

Those facing the police have naturally appealed to politicians for relief. They have used corrupt means to “regularise” their initiatives to survive under hostile circumstances.

As per some analysts, the process has been so pervasive that 70% of the city has been regularised. It cast doubts on the efficacy of demolition as an urban planning strategy. Demolitions have only shifted the focus from the original source of the problem, that is flawed MPD.

What are issues with urban planning in India?

The spatial norms, development controls, and even the basic planning ideology that are the basis of the Master Plan of Indian cities are modelled on urban development strategies of Europe and the US. They have different social, economic and cultural circumstances.

These were adopted after Independence by the governing elite because they matched with their aspirations for creating modern Indian cities.

This model has proved inadequate to handle the complex problems of Indian urbanisation. It is unable to deal with the nature of indigenous urbanism that fulfils the expectations of new migrants:

What is the way forward for urban planning in India?

The mindset of urban planners, civic authorities and the police must change. They must understand that they are dealing with an ethical, not legal issue.

The success of urban planning should not be contingent on the outcome of the contest between the haves and the have-nots.

Aborting the attempts of the have-nots to fulfil their basic needs is not the efficacious strategy to ensure the success of urban planning. The have-nots have a legitimate status and rights to the city.

GS Paper 2

Switching on India’s smart electricity future

News– The article explains the smart meter initiative of the government.

What is the progress level of the country on smart metrers?

More than 5.5 million smart metres have been installed in India, and over 100 million sanctioned.

The target is to replace 250 million conventional electric meters with prepaid smart meters by 2025-26.

India is supporting this initiative through a results-linked grant-cum-financing to help power distribution companies become financially sound and efficient to deliver better services to consumers.

What are the benefits associated with smart meters?

A recent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) found that the majority of smart meter users have already begun to experience some of the technology benefits.

The study covered about 2,700 urban households that use prepaid or postpaid smart meters across six States. Half the users reported improvements in billing regularity, and two-thirds said paying bills had become easier.

Around 40% of users alluded to multiple co-benefits such as a greater sense of control over their electricity expenses, a drop in instances of electricity theft, and improved power supply to the locality.

In fact, 70% of prepaid smart meter users said they would recommend the technology to their friends and relatives. These findings give confidence that India’s smart metering transition is heading in the right direction.

What are issues with the use of smart meters?

Half the users were not using the smart meter mobile app. Many were unable to access detailed electricity bills. It leaves them doubtful about their bill computation and deductions.

What is the way forward for the success of smart meters?

The Ministry of Power should drive a nationwide campaign to educate consumers about smart meter benefits and improve the uptake of smart metre apps.

The apps should be accessible to users from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and provide actionable tips and information.

High-user satisfaction in Assam and high uptake of the mobile app in Bihar indicate learning opportunities on how to scale smart meter usage for discoms in other States.

Discoms must co-own the programme and take the driving seat. The majority of smart meters in India are being deployed by the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Providers.

Discoms must closely work with AMISPs to ensure a smooth installation and recharge experience for users. For this, discoms will need to strengthen their internal capacity through suitable staffing and training interventions.

Discoms, system integrators and technology providers should collaborate to devise innovative and scalable data solutions. Effective use of smart meter data is fundamental to unlocking their true value proposition.

This would require an ecosystem that fosters innovation in analytics, data hosting and sharing platforms, and enables key actors to collaboratively test and scale new solutions.

Policymakers and regulators must strengthen regulations to empower consumers to unlock new retail markets.

Currently, important provisions concerning phase-out of paper bills, arrear adjustment, frequency of recharge alerts, buffer time, rebates, and data privacy are scattered across different regulatory orders or simply missing.

Their incorporation within existing State frameworks will be crucial for a positive technology experience for end users.

Regulators must also enable simplification and innovation in tariff design and open the retail market to new business models and consumers.

Delhi University ad hoc teacher suicide: Chronicle of a tragedy foretold

News– Recently, an ad-hoc professor of Delhi University committed suicide after he was not given permanent appointment after 5 years of service.

What are the issues related to recruitment of permanent teachers by Delhi university that are relevant for other educational institutions also?

There had been no permanent appointments in most of the colleges for over a decade or more. So, there were thousands of applicants for the jobs.

Unlike the usual practice of shortlisting candidates for the interviews based on their credentials, everyone who had more than a certain number of regulation-demanded points in their API score was called.

API is the Academic Performance Index. It is a metric devised by the UGC to decide academic merit. But, a single metric cannot capture the total capabilities of a teacher.

The lower standards meant that every college had to interview hundreds and in some cases thousands of candidates. One college had more than 1,500 candidates in physics.

Each candidate was interviewed for only a few minutes by the board. Based on this limited interaction, candidates were selected for the appointment.

The criteria of academic merit was neglected. The candidate was recommended by certain “social and cultural organisations”.

What are the challenges faced by adhoc teachers of the university?

The ad-hoc teachers who had been teaching for more than 15 years, were not selected and were left without a job. College had renewed their contract year after year. So, there is less doubt about their competence in teaching.

A more sympathetic and humane administration could have devised creative ways for giving preference to existing ad-hoc teachers.

The chances of getting a teaching job for these displaced teachers in the future are very bleak. The government has decided that the expansion of institutions of higher education is no longer a priority. Instead, students are now encouraged to opt for online courses.

What are the limitations of online teaching?

Online teaching can at best supplement classroom interaction. The interaction with a teacher in a classroom, the peer group interaction plays a decisive role in learning and developing the “soft skills”. A video can never replicate that experience.

Why we must focus on curing, not criminalising drug users

News- There are reports that Himachal Pradesh is considering joining Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh as states that have legalised cannabis cultivation.

The production, manufacturing, possession, consumption, sale, purchase, transport and use of cannabis is prohibited and criminalised by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985.

What are issues with the current approach to deal with drug abuse?

Criminalisation is used to deter the use of drugs. However, drug dependence has increased over the years across the world.

In India, 3.1 crore people are reported to have used a cannabis product in the last 12 months and about 72 lakh people required help to address their cannabis dependency-related problems.

Criminalisation means long pre-trial incarceration and stigmatisation of users. They lack access to de-addiction centres.

The 2001 amendment to the law differentiates between those who possess a “small quantity” of the drug and those found storing it in “commercial quantities’ ‘. This is a welcome step in distinguishing between “drug users” and “drug traffickers”.

However, possession of the drug for personal consumption or consuming it for recreational purposes remains an offence under the Act. Such cases constitute 60% of the total NDPS cases reported in India .

People who end up in jail often belong to the socially and economically vulnerable class. They constitute the majority of the undertrial prisoners under the NDPS Act.

Putting drug users behind bars makes their rehabilitation difficult and exposes them to the risk of becoming peddlers.

Rehabilitation of drug users is systematically replaced by the denial of bail and enforcement of jail terms and penalties.

The bail provision of the NDPS Act makes jail a rule, and bail an exception. The moral panic in society relating to drug use and abuse has an impact on the pre-trial procedure.

The over-criminalisation of drug users undermines their social well-being. It results in the wastage of precious time of the criminal justice machinery.

What is the way forward to deal with drug abuse?

In 2021, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment recommended the decriminalisation of the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal consumption. Drug consumers should be treated as victims rather than culprits.

The Ministry also suggested mandatory de-addiction and rehab facility for 30 days followed by mandatory community service for one year for drug addicts. The ministry’s position was along the lines of the approach advocated by UN human rights experts.

There is a need to focus on a public health approach to deal with drug addiction. Countries such as Portugal and Canada have demonstrated the efficacy of the public health approach.

Law enforcement agencies view drug users as offenders, whereas the public health systems focus on their well-being.

In India, Sikkim has tried to tackle the drug problem by differentiating between peddlers and consumers. It has tried to advance healthcare services to the most vulnerable drug users. The state’s model of decriminalisation can be replicated at the national level.

Yes, Kids Are Born Digital

News: Tim Cook, CEO of Apple who recently visited India, advised parents to limit the screen time for children. Even various surveys on Indian children show alarming findings.

What are the findings of various surveys on the use of mobile phones by Indian children?

A survey by Saurashtra University in Rajkot finds that 92% students prefer playing mobile games over playing outside and 78% students are habituated to having their phone while having meals.

Another survey finds that nearly 55% of parents admit that their children aged 9-13 have access to a smartphone throughout the day.

As per the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, 24% of children use smartphones while they are in bed, which increases with age and 37% of children frequently experience reduced levels of concentration due to smartphone use.

What are the concerns with children using smartphones?

Science has found that these phones have the same effects on the brain like other addictive substances such as drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol.

Excessive use of phones also causes bad effects like loss of concentration, lethargy, strain on the eyes and wastage of time.

Children have now become addicted to smartphones to get pleasure and enjoyment. Hence, whenever our brain gets any form of pleasure, a neurochemical called dopamine is released in our brain. 

Dopamine makes us want more of the same pleasurable experience. This is the same as the dopamine released when getting addicted to narcotic drugs.

Hence, this dopamine is also released in the children causing them to want more and ultimately affecting them and making them feel uncomfortable when phones are taken away.

Furthermore, our brains also become habituated and after some time we develop tolerance to any pleasure. Hence, our addiction no longer gives us pleasure and we are only left with pain.

And if the phone is taken away from us, our pain manifests as anxiety, low motivation, depression, irritability and an inability to feel joy in anything. The same things happen with the children.

What can be the solution for children addicted to phones?

Ideally, a child should be removed from their phone or minimise its usage for 30 days. 

Movement, such as exercise or sports, should be a daily part of a child’s life. Only activities that require some effort such as reading, playing an instrument, sport or art should be the activities of choice for relaxation.

This would prevent any kind of addiction and the release of dopamine while enhancing their extracurricular activities and developing their brain in a good way.

Perils of new multilateralism

News: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting was held recently in Goa. This SCO meeting serves to underline India’s current geopolitical dilemma.

What are the issues with India’s participation in multilateral institutions?

Issues with India’s participation in Western institutions: Not only western institutions but also the western governments’ are criticising India’s record on human rights, civil liberties and minorities.

The only places India can seek refuge are the organisations China founded or dominates.

Issues with India’s participation in China-dominated institutions: China, Russia, and India are common to SCO, BRICS and RIC (Russia-India-China) groups. All these three multilateral organisations have come up in the two decades when both India and China have grown phenomenally.

The common factor in all three forums is the pre-eminence of China and Russia as its loyal follower. This highlights the quality of multilateralism and multilateral institutions India is part of.

This is because, a) India is forced to spend so much time and energy, and invest so much political capital, in a grouping where it has so many serious clashes of interest, b) On border debates, India would be seen as rude to Pakistan as China itself have border disputes with India, c) These bodies, the SCO in particular, given its military-strategic priorities, do not help India’s quest for strategic autonomy. Instead, they only limit that.

Other regional institutions: Over the decades, India has failed even to build a regional forum of its own to create a sense of geopolitically limited multilateralism. For instance, the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has been rendered mostly defunct.

What should be done to revive India’s participation in multilateral institutions?

SAARC should be expanded to include other major nations in the region. Such as, Afghanistan, Thailand, the Central Asian republics, Iran, and Russia.

As an instinctive reaction to Western institutions and governments’ and Chinese dominant institutions, India should focus on non-alignment to attain strategic autonomy.

GS Paper 3

What critics of the govt miss: Not much is lost if the PLI scheme fails

News: The government is often criticized for staying away from regional free trade arrangements and for the introduction of a Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for the manufacturing sector.

What are the reasons behind these criticisms?

It is argued that staying away from regional free trade agreements will make India stay away from regional production and supply chain and PLI would make an uncompetitive manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing sector that thrives only with the help of subsidies is not good for long term industrial growth.

Furthermore, no economy has sustained rapid economic growth without a strong and growing export sector.

Therefore, India should get into those regional trade arrangements, and bring required changes to gain profit from becoming a part of international supply chains.

Moreover, India’s export sector has evolved with the time and critics usually miss this point.

How has India’s export sector evolved?

Merchandise exports, which is Asia’s regional trade agreements have been mostly about, are no longer the primary driver of India’s export growth.

The role has been taken over by services exports, which have grown more rapidly.

The critics want India to follow the East Asian model of export-led growth that focused on low-value, low-margin, labour-intensive exports of products like garments.

However, the operative conditions in India are different from those in East Asia and hard to change.

Labour-intensive exports can succeed in India only in those sectors where – a) the labour cost is a small part of the product price such as the assembly of products and b) the domestic market provides an incentive for localising such as mobile phones and other electronic goods.

However, the rest of manufactured goods exports is mostly capital-or knowledge-intensive such as refined petroleum products, engineering goods, etc.

How are service exports beneficial for India?

The more the services sector produces a trade surplus, the stronger the rupee will be. Hence, India’s biggest comparative advantage lies in its educated, low-cost, white-collar workforce.

Service exports accounted last year for 42 percent of total export earnings. If the similar trend continues, the figure could climb to 50 percent in a few years, and then overtake merchandise exports.

Why is the criticism over PLI not a big concern?

There is not much concern over PLI because if PLI fails, there is a little to lose. The incentives under PLI are very small in a macro-economic context.

For instance, the total PLI payout is to be under 2 trillion, over five years. This is one-tenth of 1 percent of expected GDP over that period, which is affordable.

However, if PLI succeeds, it will result in investments of 3 trillion in the five-year period, which is just 1 percent of the current year’s GDP.

The success of PLI is supposed to trigger a hike in the share of manufacturing in overall capex, achieve substantial import substitution, boost exports, and create six million jobs.

Therefore, in the case of PLI, there is much to gain and very little to lose.

Symptomatic stall – The aviation industry needs policy changes and regulatory overhaul

News: The Go Airlines, a low-cost carrier, became India’s first domestic airline since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to go into a mid-air stall and seek bankruptcy protection.

What are the reasons behind Go Air’s insolvency?

What are the challenges faced by Indian commercial aircraft operations?

India’s pandemic lockdown, the increase in crude oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar increased aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs for domestic carriers.

India’s commercial air transport industry has high capital and operational costs. So, they operate with wafer-thin profit margins.

For more than a decade, India’s budget airline sector’s rivals adopted highly aggressive pricing strategies to gain market share. That stretched balance sheets and made companies more vulnerable to shocks.

India’s tax structure keeps ATF costs prohibitive and a regulatory apparatus is outdated.

What are the government initiatives to boost India’s aviation industry?

The government should find long-term policy solutions if it wants India’s struggling airlines to be recovered.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Urban India’s 3D digital twins are on their way to be born

Source: The post is based on the article “Urban India’s 3D digital twins are on their way to be born” published in Livemint on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

India may soon join the ranks of cities and countries such as Singapore, Yingtan in China, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and US states that have built Digital Twins to enhance their efficiency, coordination and governance.

What is Digital Twin?

A Digital Twin is a three-dimensional (3D) virtual representation of an object or system that delivers real-time insights into the performance, operation or profitability of a physical object—even a city.

It is therefore essentially a virtual replica of a real city that can be used to improve its efficiency in several ways.

For instance, one can simulate the installation of mobile networks on specific rooftops and identify the obstructions within the specified parameters, thus saving time and costs.

What are the benefits of Digital Twin?

Firstly, it offers a model of urban planning and construction for future sustainable development that effectively combines innovations in digital technology with urban operational mechanisms and provides a feasible path for urban upgrading.

Secondly, it also promotes safer, more efficient urban activities and helps to create more low-carbon, sustainable environments. 

What are the challenges related to Digital Twin?

Firstly, the cost of creating and maintaining a digital twin. Digital twins require a significant investment in hardware, software, and personnel, which can be a significant burden for many cities. 

Secondly, digital twins require a large amount of data to be collected and analyzed, which can be difficult to obtain in some cities.

Thirdly, there is the complexity of digital twins. Digital twins are complex systems that require a high level of technical expertise to maintain and operate. This can be a barrier for cities that lack the necessary resources and personnel to manage digital twins.

Finally, there is the challenge of privacy and security. Digital twins can collect a large amount of sensitive data, which must be securely stored and managed. If this data is not properly protected, it could be vulnerable to misuse or exploitation.

Here is all you need to know about debt-for-climate swaps

Source: The post is based on the article “Here is all you need to know about debt-for-climate swaps” published in Down To Earth on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

In the past decade, Debt-for-climate swaps have grown relatively popular among low- and middle-income countries.

Multilateral development banks and multilateral organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have been advocating this instrument as a debt-relief measure.

What is Debt-for-climate Swap? 

The debt-for-climate swap was introduced as a debt restructuring device that aims to combat climate change by ensuring that debt-ridden countries do not incur additional debt while addressing climate change locally.

In these cases, a new agreement would be worked out with a multilateral or bilateral partner to replace the terms of the initial loan agreement which would direct the remaining debt on mutually agreed terms towards “green or blue” domestic investments—while green investments focus on projects or areas committed to preserving the environment, blue investments focus on sustainable use of ocean resources.

Objective: It possesses dual objectives: 1) to promote specific investment and policy action on the one hand and 2) some debt relief on the other. 

Historical Background: Debt-for-climate swaps are a variation of debt-for-nature swaps, which were first proposed in the 1980s as a way to conserve biodiversity and protect tropical forests in exchange for debt relief.

– Debt-for-nature swap first appears to have been used in the 1980s in Latin America, where the countries aimed to reduce unsustainable external debts and address worsening environmental conditions.

– Debt-for-climate swaps emerged in the 2000s as a broader concept that encompasses not only nature conservation but also climate mitigation and adaptation.

What are the advantages of Debt-for-climate Swaps?

Debtors: Debt swaps can help the world’s low-income countries avoid default and enable them to redeploy part of their debt repayments to invest in measures to tackle climate change or nature protection.

For creditors: Debt swaps can reduce their risk through additional guarantees and ensure that at least part of a loan is eventually repaid.

– It will also enhance their development cooperation and climate finance objectives and strengthen their diplomatic relations with debtor countries.

How can debt for climate swaps be encouraged?

A global framework or standard that sets the rules for green debt swaps would enable more creditors to join such initiatives and help increase the size of deals.

A public campaign, similar to the huge push to cut debt and poverty in the 1990s and 2000s, could also help.

Govt. programme for non-communicable diseases renamed

Source: The post is based on the article “Govt. programme for non-communicable diseases renamed” published in The Hindu on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to rename the programme for non-communicable diseases.

About National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS)

NPCDCS has now been renamed as the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases(NP-NCD) as there has been an addition of diseases to the programme.

This programme was launched in 2010 under the National Health Mission (NHM).

Purpose: The programme focuses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion & awareness generation, screening, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including Cancer. 

Under the programme, NCD Cells are being established at National, State and District levels for programme management, and NCD Clinics are being set up at District and CHC levels, to provide services for early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up for common NCDs. 

– Provision has been made under the programme to provide free diagnostic facilities and drugs for patients attending the NCD clinics. 

– Note: The application or software named Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Non-Communicable Disease (CPHC NCD IT) rolled out under the programme for screening and management has also now been renamed as ‘National NCD Portal’.

About Non-Communicable Diseases(NCD) Burden in India

A study ‘India: Health of the Nation’s States – The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative in 2017’ by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimated that the proportion of deaths due to NCDs in India have increased from 37.9% in 1990 to 61.8% in 2016.

The four major NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and diabetes which share four behavioural risk factors – unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, and use of tobacco and alcohol.

COVID pandemic is no longer an emergency, declares WHO

Source: The post is based on the article “COVID pandemic is no longer an emergency, declares WHO” published in The Hindu on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that Covid-19 no longer represents a global emergency status – ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ or ‘PHEIC’.

What is the Public Health Emergency of International Concern(PHEIC)?

Click Here to read

Why is Covid-19 no longer a PHEIC?

For over 12 months, Covid-19 has been on a downward trend with immunity increasing due to the highly effective vaccines developed in record time to fight the disease, and infections. 

Death rates have also decreased and the pressure on once-overwhelmed health systems has eased. This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as it were before COVID-19. 

What are the mistakes made while combating Covid-19?

Many mistakes were made, including a lack of coordination, equity and solidarity, which meant that existing tools and technologies were not best used to combat the virus.

What are the recommendations given by WHO?

– Sustain the national capacity gains and prepare for future events to avoid the occurrence of a cycle of panic and neglect. 

– Integrate COVID-19 vaccination into life course vaccination programmes.

– Bring together information from diverse respiratory pathogen surveillance data sources to allow for comprehensive situational awareness.

– Continue to support research to improve vaccines that reduce transmission and have broad applicability.

Real-time, operational picture among several automation initiatives of Army

Source: The post is based on the article “Real-time, operational picture among several automation initiatives of Army” published in The Hindu on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

The Indian Army is working on a number of key tech-driven projects that will bring in a real-time, common operating picture with information and data from various sensors and inputs fused into one comprehensive image for quick decision-making. 

What are the tech-driven projects the government is working on?

About Battlefield Surveillance System(BSS):

It has been launched under Project Sanjay.

It aims to have surveillance centers for all field formations by December 2025. 

It will integrate thousands of sensors which will enable the provision of an integrated surveillance picture to commanders and staff at all levels.

The system also integrates data on the movements of India’s adversaries received from various sources across borders, including sensors, satellites, UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles and patrols.

Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), Ghaziabad is the project’s system integrator.

About Army Information and Decision Support System:

It is an upgraded and redesigned version of the erstwhile Combat Information Decision Support System.

It will integrate inputs from all operational and managerial information systems.

Union Agriculture Minister inaugurates the Krishi MApper, an integrated app for Geospatial Data in Agriculture

Source: The post is based on the article “Union Agriculture Minister also inaugurates the Krishi MApper, an integrated app for Geospatial Data in Agriculture” published in PIB on 6th May 2023

What is the News?

At the National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign 2023-24, the Union Agriculture Minister of India launched Krishi MApper.

What is Krishi MApper?

Krishi MApper is an integrated app for Geospatial Data in Agriculture.

The app covers monitoring of all land-interventions-based schemes/programs such as Digital Crop Survey, Natural Farming, Seed Production and Distribution, NFSM Horticulture, Agroforestry & other related schemes.

Significance: The app will help minimize the duplication of efforts and provide ready-to-analysis data products to innovators in India. 

– Also, it will facilitate Ease of access to credit, near Real-time stress watches for the sector at various levels of granularity with the ability to drill down to individual land parcels under stress and Near Real-time assessment and processing of claims.

About Agriculture Sector in India

Agriculture remains the prime pulse of the Indian economy and is at the core of the socio-economic development of the country.

It accounts for around 19 per cent of the GDP and about two-thirds of the population is dependent on the sector.

What are the steps taken by government?

For the modernization of agriculture, the government has launched the SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) Portal and Mobile App. It is a Centralized Online System for seed traceability, authentication and inventory designed to deal with the challenges of seed production, quality seed identification and seed certification.

The government also announced plans to convert more than 3.25 lakh fertilizer shops across the country as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras. These will be centres where farmers can buy not only fertilizers and seeds but also implement soil testing and avail useful information about farming techniques.