Miscellanous Quiz: Schemes & Miscellaneous |2 Apr, 2021

KCC aims to provide adequate and timely credit support from the banking systemunder single window. The beneficiaries are:

· All farmers’ individuals/Joint borrowers who are owner cultivators.

· Tenant farmers, Oral lessees and Share Croppers etc.

· SHGs or Joint Liability Groups of farmers including tenant farmers, share croppers etc.

Source: The Hindu

The GOI launched ARYA – “Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture” in 2015.

· It is implemented through Krishi Vigyan Kendra in one district from each State.

· KVKs will involve the Agricultural Universities and ICAR Institutes as Technology Partners.

· In one district, 200-300 rural youths will be identified for their skill development in entrepreneurial activities and establishment of related micro-enterprise units.

· At KVKs also one or two enterprise units will be established so that they serve as entrepreneurial training units for farmers.

Source: PIB

The objectives of NAHEP are:

· Accentuate the relevance and quality of higher agricultural education in selected AUs

· Student and faculty development

· Improve learning outcomes, employability and entrepreneurship; and

· Enhancing institutional and system management effectiveness

It will be funded by the World Bank and the Indian Government on a 50:50 basis.

Source: PIB

Accelerated Pulses Production Program aims to demonstrate plant nutrients and plant protection centric improved technologies and management practices in compact units of 1000 hectares each for five major pulse crops viz. Bengal gram, Black gram (Urdbean), Red gram (Arhar), Green gram (Moongbean), and Lentil (Masur)

· It is 100 % funding by Union Ministry of Agriculture and implemented under the NFSM-Pulses.

· It has been conceptualised to take up the active propagation of key technologies such as Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

· Department of Agriculture Cooperation and farmer welfare is implementing this programme through i) Commissioners/Directors of Agriculture of pulse producing states, and ii) Central Government Institutes: NCIPM of ICAR.

Source: PIB

The output gap is an economic measure of the difference between the actual output of an economy and its potential output.

· Potential output is the maximum amount of goods and services an economy can turn out when it is most efficient—that is, at full capacity.

· Often, potential output is referred to as the production capacity of the economy.­

· Policymakers often use potential output to gauge inflation and typically define it as the level of output consistent with no pressure for prices to rise or fall.

· In this context, the output gap is a summary indicator of the relative demand and supply components of economic activity.

· As such, the output gap measures the degree of inflation pressure in the economy and is an important link between the real sides of the economy—which produces goods and services—and inflation.

· All else equal, if the output gap is positive over time, so that actual output is greater than potential output, prices will begin to rise in response to demand pressure in key markets.

· Similarly, if actual output falls below potential output over time, prices will begin to fall to reflect weak demand.­

Source: Economic Survey

the Union Cabinet approved a new hydroelectricity policy that, among other things, included large hydro projects within the ambit of renewable energy.

· Prior to the policy, only small hydro projects of a capacity of less than 25 MW were treated as renewable energy. Large hydro projects were treated as a separate source of energy.

· India’s renewable energy sector had an installed capacity of 75,055.92 MW as of February 2019, according to data with the Central Electricity Authority.

· This made up about 21.4% of the overall energy mix, with the rest coming from thermal, nuclear and large hydro sources.

· With the inclusion of large hydro in renewable energy, the energy mix changes drastically.

· Renewable energy capacity would now be 1,20,455.14 MW or 34.4% of the overall energy mix.

It must be noted that this is a purely cosmetic change. No additional resources have been created through this policy. It is a reclassification of existing capacity.

Source: The Hindu

A variety of evidence was offered in support of the continental drift. Some of these are given below.

The Matching of Continents (Jig-Saw-Fit): The shorelines of Africa and South America facing each other have a remarkable and unmistakable match.

· It may be noted that a map produced using a computer programme to find the best fit of the Atlantic margin was presented by Bullard in 1964.

· It proved to be quite perfect. The match was tried at 1,000- fathom line instead of the present shoreline.

Tillite: It is the sedimentary rock formed out of deposits of glaciers.

· The Gondawana system of sediments from India is known to have its counterparts in six different landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere.

· At the base, the system has thick tillite indicating extensive and prolonged glaciation.

· The glacial tillite provides unambiguous evidence of palaeo-climates and also of drifting of continents.

Placer Deposits: The occurrence of rich placer deposits of gold in the Ghana coast and the absolute absence of source rock in the region is an amazing fact.

The gold bearing veins are in Brazil and it is obvious that the gold deposits of the Ghana are derived from the Brazil plateau when the two continents lay side by side.

Source: NCERT

There are 50 tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

India is home to 70% of tigers in the world. In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers which increased to 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in 2014, according to the NTCA.

Source: The Hindu

Chirand: Chirand is a place in Saran district of bihar and has significant importance archaeological and historical study of bihar as well as India.

· In Chapra-Sonpur road, Chirand Village is situated near Doriiganj has its unprecedented archaeological, historical and cultural heritage.

· This region was dominated by Charo Dynasty hence it was named Chirand.

· In 1871, Sir W. W Hunter brought light to the archaeological significance of this area.

Daojali Hading: The excavation site at Daojali Hading (Assam) occupies an important place in the archaeological history of India as the first evidence of an Eastern Asiatic Neolithic complex of double-shouldered Celts and cord-marked pottery in India was reported from there.

· The discovery had put Northeast India on the Neolithic map of the world for the first time.

· However, the precise age of the artifacts were not known.

Koldihwa: Belan Valley in Uttar Pradesh near Prayag in Uttar Pradesh is one site where evidences of Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic sites have been found in sequence.

· The prehistoric sites of Belan valley include Mahgara, Chopani Mando, and Koldihwa.

· Koldihwa in Belan valley has provided earliest evidence of rice cultivation.

Source: The Hindu

The Supreme Court (under Article 32) and the high courts (under Article 226) can issue the writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo-warranto.

· Further, the Parliament (under Article 32) can empower any other court to issue these writs.

· Since no such provision has been made so far, only the Supreme Court and the high courts can issue the writs and not any other court.

Source: Laxmikanth