Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Economy) – June 2, 2020

With a view to integrate farmers with bulk purchasers including exporters, agro- industries etc. for better price realization through mitigation of market and price risks to the farmers and ensuring smooth agro raw material supply to the agro industries, Union Finance Minister in the budget for 2017-18 announced preparation of a “Model Contract Farming Act” and circulation of the same to the States for its adoption. Salient features of the Model Contract Farming Act, 2018.

• “Registering and Agreement Recording Committee” or an “Officer” for the purpose at district/block/ taluka level for online registration of sponsor and recording of agreement provided.
• Contracted produce is to be covered under crop / livestock insurance in operation.
• Contract framing to be outside the ambit of APMC Act.
• No permanent structurecan be developed on farmers’ land/premises
• No right, title of interest of the landshall vest in the sponsor. Promotion of Farmer Producer Organization (FPOs) / Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to mobilize small and marginal farmers has been provided
• FPO/FPC can be a contracting party if so authorized by the farmers.
• No rights, title ownership or possession to be transferred or alienated or vested in the contract farming sponsor etc.
• Ensuring buying of entire pre-agreed quantityof one or more of agricultural produce, livestock or its product of contract farming producer as per contract.
• Contract Farming Facilitation Group (CFFG) for promoting contract farming and services at village / panchayat at level provided.
• Accessible and simple dispute settlementmechanism at the lowest level possible provided for quick disposal of disputes.
• It is a promotional and facilitative Act and not regulatory in its structure.

constraint/constraints for development of integrated value chain system of Agriculture sector.

1. Public and private investments in agriculture have remained low since the early 90s. Bottlenecks in implementation and a high degree of uncertainty have further reduced investor appetite for agricultural investments.
2. Inability to acquire land for setting up of market yards, resulting from the restrictions on land leasing and land acquisition, is another major constraint.
3. Even the existing marketing infrastructure suffers because of a lack of finances, manpower and proper facilities. Sub-market yards largely function as a location for government procurement and do not provide opportunities for open auction. Further, they are irregular in their operations and handle less than five per cent of the volume handled in principal yards.
4. Poor maintenance of rural roads is a major constraint as well. Linkages with local and feeder roads remain sub-optimal.
5. In the electricity sector, separate feeders for supply of power to agriculture and domestic electrification have not been carried out in many states.

Mechanization of Agriculture in India.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Effective use of agricultural machinery helps to increase productivity and production of farm output along with timely farm operations for quick rotation of crops on the same land. By raising a second crop or multi-crops from the same land, there is improvement in the cropping intensity and making agricultural land commercially more viable (NABARD, 2018). However, overall farm mechanization in India has rather been lower (40-45 per cent) compared to other countries such as USA (95 per cent), Brazil (75 per cent) and China (57 per cent).

Statement 2 is correct: Indian tractor industry is the largest in the world, accounting for one-third of the total global production. During the past four decades, the tractor industry grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent.

Micro-irrigation Development in India.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Area covered under micro-irrigation from 2010-11 to 2014-15 was declining and gradually increased from 2015-16 to 2018-19.

Statement 2 is incorrect: A dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) created with NABARD has been approved with an initial corpus of Rs. 5000 crore facilitating the States in mobilizing the resources for expanding coverage of Micro Irrigation envisaged under PMKSY-PDMC and also in bringing additional coverage through special and innovative initiatives by State Governments.

New Digital Apps have been developed for making Indian agriculture in line with Digital India theme. The DARE (Department of Agricultural Research & Education) launched the Agricultural Education Portal EKTA (Ekikrit Krishi Shiksha Takniki Ayaam) for integrated online management information system.

The Quality Council of India (QCI).

The Quality Council of India (QCI) is a pioneering experiment of the Government of India in setting up organizations in partnership with the Indian industry. A committee which included various interested ministries and stakeholders including industries was established to make suitable recommendations. The work was coordinated by the then Department of Industries (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) and the recommendations were submitted to the Cabinet in 1996. Key recommendations included the Need for establishing an organization jointly by the Government and the industry and the need for the organization to be self-sustaining and be away from the government.

Accepting the recommendations, the Cabinet Committee decided to set up Quality Council of India as a non-profit autonomous society registered under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 to establish an accreditation structure in the country and to spread quality movement in India by undertaking a National Quality Campaign. QCI is governed by a Council comprising of 38 members including the Chairman and Secretary General. The Council has an equal representation of Government, Industry and other Stakeholders. The chairman of QCI is nominated by Prime Minister of India and present chairman of QCI is Mr. Adil Zainulbhai.

The Index of Eight Core Industries measures the performance of eight core industries i.e., Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity. The industries included in the Index of Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The Government of India, in consultation with the RBI, decided to issue a new short-term instrument, known as Cash Management Bills, since August 2009 to meet the temporary cash flow mismatches of the government. The Cash Management Bills are non-standard and discounted instruments issued for maturities less than 91 days. The CMBs have the generic character of Treasury Bills (issued at discount to the face value); are tradable and qualify for ready forward facility; investment in it is considered as an eligible investment in government securities by banks for SLR.

Steel production and consumption of India.

Statement 1 is incorrect: India stood at second position in the production of crude steel. It is also the third largest consumer of the finished steel after China and USA.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The per capita consumption of steel in India is 74.1 kg during 2018-19. The per capita consumption was increased in last ten years except 2013-14.

Autarky: The idea of self-sufficiency and ‘no’ international trade by a country. None of the countries of the world has been able to produce all the goods and services required by its population at competitive prices, however, some tried to live it up at the cost of inefficiency and comparative poverty.