North East India might witness another dry monsoon: Skymet Weather - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

North East India might witness another dry monsoon: Skymet Weather.

This would be the region's 20th dry monsoon in the last 21 years if the prediction holds true

Some parts of North East India might witness another dry southwest monsoon season, according to Skymet Weather, a private weather forecasting company based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

“In terms of geographical risk, Skymet expects that the plains of north India, along with a few parts of the north-east region, are likely to be at risk of being rain deficient through the season,” stated a report from the company on its website.

Skymet has forecast a ‘healthy normal’ countrywide rainfall during the monsoon season. The company predicts that the overall rainfall over India in the monsoon season might be 103 per cent of the long period average (LPA), which is considered the normal rainfall.

This prediction has a 60 per cent chance of being true. There is a 15 per cent chance of above-normal rainfall, a 15 per cent chance of below-normal rainfall and a 10 per cent chance of excess rainfall during the season, the agency said.

The northeastern region receives 90 per cent of its rainfall during the monsoon months of June to September.

If Skymet’s prediction comes through, this would be the 20th year in the last 21 years when the region has received below-normal monsoon rainfall, according to data from India Meteorological Department (IMD). Last year, the deficit was 16 per cent.

In 2007, the region had received excess rainfall.

Some states like Meghalaya (40 per cent excess) and Sikkim (60 per cent excess) had rainfall much above their normal quota last monsoon season. Others like Manipur (46 per cent deficit), Mizoram (34 per cent deficit) and Nagaland (29 per cent deficit) saw a severe shortfall, according IMD.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which had above average rainfall, and Tripura, which had below average rainfall, were between the two extremes.

This skewed distribution of rainfall among the states meant that at the end of the season, a third of the region’s 86 districts were left with either deficient or large deficient rainfall. Of the 29 extremely dry districts, 20 were in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

Many of the states with deficit rainfall during the monsoon season, recovered in the post-monsoon and winter months. Nagaland, for instance, received an excess rainfall of 30 per cent from October 1 to December 6; Tripura, which had a 10 per cent deficit during monsoon, had 21 per cent excess precipitation since October; Manipur and Mizoram also received rainfall which was much closer to the average.

On the other hand, some states like Meghalaya and Sikkim, which had received excess rainfall during the monsoon, went into deficit in the post monsoon period.

Assam was the only state to have fared well throughout.

The region, once again, recorded a whopping 78 per cent rainfall deficit in the winter months of January and February. The situation has not improved since. Between March 1 and March 31, the region had a deficit in rainfall of 47 percent.

India’s north-east region could suffer a drought or drought-like conditions if the rest of the pre-monsoon period and upcoming the monsoon period remain rainless.

The forecast is ominous for a region that mostly depends on agriculture and allied activities and hosts some of the most bio-diverse forests and wetlands on the planet. (Source: downtoearth)

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North East India might witness another dry monsoon: Skymet Weather.

2021 Global Food Policy Report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

2021 Global Food Policy Report.

Lessons from COVID crisis for reducing inequities and enhancing resilience of food systems

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The severe health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted food systems and upended livelihoods. Yet pandemic responses have demonstrated the power of well-crafted policies to blunt the impact of major shocks while laying the groundwork for stronger, more resilient food systems, according to the 2021 Global Food Policy Report, released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The report provides lessons drawn from the current crisis that can help us transform food systems to reduce the impact of the ongoing pandemic, better prepare for future shocks, and address longstanding weaknesses and inequalities.

"We have known for a while now that there are major problems with our food systems, that they are unequal and unsustainable," said Johan Swinnen, director general of IFPRI. "This crisis has revealed these problems in a way that none of us can ignore, but it has also demonstrated that we have effective ways to address these problems."

The report draws on evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across the globe to analyze both the impacts of and the policy responses to the crisis, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups, who have suffered disproportionately. The report details how livelihoods, food security, and nutrition have been affected; how and why impacts have varied across regions and countries; and what our food systems and food supply chains need to look like to better absorb such shocks in the coming years.

Unsurprisingly, the report finds that COVID-19 and restrictions on social interactions and business operations have disproportionately affected marginalized people in LMICs, driving up poverty -- by as much as 20%, according to IFPRI estimates -- and malnutrition. Supply chain disruptions have also taken a toll on dietary quality and diversity, leading to increased nutritional deficiencies, particularly among vulnerable groups. IFPRI projections suggest that the declines in food security and proper nutrition from the pandemic could cause an additional 6.7 million children to experience wasting in 2020 alone.

"There is no better time than now to seize the moment to start doing something about our food systems," said Agnes Kalibata, secretary general special envoy to the 2021 Food Systems Summit, at a launch event for the report. "This report is a huge tool for unlocking the evidence and actions that can help us move forward."

Among vulnerable populations, women, for example, have faced disproportionate burdens throughout the crisis, and national policy responses have largely failed to adopt gender-sensitive approaches that could narrow the gender gap. Although women make up 39% of the global workforce, they account for 54% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. The report suggests future efforts to respond to shocks include complimentary programming to increase gender equity and protections for other vulnerable groups, including refugees and displaced people.

The report also highlights key lessons from the pandemic about food systems. In general, demand-side effects, due to job losses and falling incomes, had a stronger impact on food security than supply disruptions. Food value chains, despite many disruptions, proved to be fairly resilient, albeit with variations across commodities and regions; and policies declaring agrifood workers and services as essential helped to cushion disruptions. Research findings show that food systems transitioning from traditional to modern, characterized by longer but often fragmented supply chains, proved to be most vulnerable.

Many countries invested heavily in social protection measures to help stem rising poverty and food insecurity, increasing benefits or expanding them to new recipients. Programs built on robust existing systems were the most successful, but the scale of growth in programs across the globe showed that widespread political will can rapidly grow such pro-poor programming.

"In many low- and middle-income countries, the impacts of COVID-19 have been lower than expected during most of 2020, and evolving policy responses have, in many cases, helped to mitigate damages," said John McDermott, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.

He cautioned that the pandemic is evolving quickly, however, with Africa, South Asia, and Latin America experiencing new waves of disease and vaccine delivery delays expected for many LMICs. "While we don't expect returns to strict early lockdowns in most LMICs, we are still in the middle of this crisis and do not yet know how things will play out going forward."

Learning from what has and hasn't worked can play a major role in curtailing the impacts of the ongoing pandemic and meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Major shocks like COVID-19 that disrupt food, health, and economic systems are likely to increase due to climate change and global interconnectivity, making transforming these systems imperative. The report suggests three avenues for increased resilience: limiting the frequency and magnitude of shocks; investing in early warning systems to anticipate shocks; and building capacity to adapt to and absorb shocks when they happen.

The report notes the important role of private sector innovation in times of crisis, which requires an enabling policy environment, as well as physical and digital infrastructure. Better digital infrastructure is imperative not only for a business environment that fosters innovation, but also to bridge the "digital divide" that leaves the world's most vulnerable underserved and more exposed to the impacts of crises.

COVID-19 has presented the opportunity for making these and other changes that will transform the world's food systems. Doing so, the report's contributors stress, will require multifaceted, evidence-based approaches as well as cooperation and collaboration within and across sectors and borders.

"The pandemic has shifted the political equilibrium of what is possible - showing that we have the will and capacity to make big changes to transform food systems for the better. We need to seize this opportunity at every level of policy and throughout food systems so we are better prepared to deal with the next major shock and able to transform food systems toward more inclusion, more sustainability and better health," said Swinnen.

The above Article an also be read using the link below:

2021 Global Food Policy Report.

AAHAAR KRANTI - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

AAHAAR KRANTI.

Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan will launch a new mission called Aahaar Kranti’.

✅ The mission is aimed to spread the message of the need for a nutritionally balanced diet and to understand the importance of accessible to all local fruits and vegetables.

✅ Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) and Global Indian Scientists’ and Technocrats’ Forum (GIST) have come together to launch the mission with the motto of ‘Good Diet-Good Cognition’.

✅ The Aahaar Kranti’ movement is designed to address the problem of `hunger and diseases in abundance’.

✅ Union Ministry of Science and Technology’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)’s Pravasi Bharatiya Academic and Scientific Sampark (Prabhaas) is collaborating, and various central and state government ministries and agencies are involved.

✅ The programme will focus on training teachers, who, in turn, will pass on the message to the multitudes of students, and through them to their families and finally the society at large. Such a strategy was adopted for the eradication of Polio and it turned out to be a grand success.

✅ Studies estimate that India produces as much as two times the amount of calories that it consumes. However, many in the country are still malnourished. The root cause of this strange phenomenon is a lack of nutritional awareness in all sections of our society.

▪️Important Info :

✅ The United Nations has also declared 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, which vibes very well with Aahaar Kranti. Fruits and vegetables make a large part of a balanced diet.

✅ Further, UN sustainable goal # 3 that emphasizes on human well-being reads, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” This goal too makes Aahaar Kranti more meaningful. Diet and well-being are inseparable partners

The above Article can also be read using the link below:

AAHAAR KRANTI.

Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.

▪️Why in News

✅ Recently, the government has extended the Rs. 3-lakh-crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) until 30th June 2021, and also widened its scope to new sectors, including hospitality, travel and tourism.

✅ ECLGS was rolled out in May 2020 as part of the Centre’s Atmanirbhar package in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

🔸The objective was to support small businesses struggling to meet their operational liabilities due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown.

Key Points

▪️ECLGS 1.0:

✅ To provide fully guaranteed and collateral free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, MUDRA borrowers and individual loans for business purposes to the extent of 20% of their credit outstanding as on 29th February, 2020.

✅ MSMEs with up to Rs 25. crore outstanding and Rs. 100 crore turnover were eligible.

✅ However, the turnover cap was removed post amendment to ECLGS 2.0 in November 2020.

▪️ECLGS 2.0:

✅ The amended version focused on entities in 26 stressed sectors identified by the Kamath Committee along with the healthcare sector with credit outstanding of more than Rs. 50 crore and up to Rs. 500 crore as of 29th February, 2020.

✅ The scheme also mandated borrower accounts to be less than or equal to 30 days past due as of 29th February, 2020, that is, they should not have been classified as SMA 1, SMA 2, or NPA by any of the lenders as of 29th February 2020.

🔸SMAs are special mention accounts, which show signs of incipient stress, that lead to the borrower defaulting in servicing the debt.

🔸While SMA-0 are accounts having payments partially or wholly overdue for 1-30 days, SMA-1 and SMA-2 accounts have payments overdue for 31-60 days and 61-90 days respectively.

🔸The revised scheme also has a five-year repayment window up from four years in ECLGS 1.0.

▪️ECLGS 3.0:

✅ It involves extending credit of up to 40% of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions as on 29th February 2020.

✅ The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 would be 6 years, including a moratorium period of 2 years.

✅ Covers business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors,Which had, as on 29th february 2020.

🔸Total credit outstanding not exceeding Rs. 500 crore and overdues, if any, were for 60 days or less.

✅ National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) is the guarantee provider under the ECLGS scheme.

The above Article can also be read using the link below:

Expansion of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.

Multifunctional Electronic Materials & Processing- 2021 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Multifunctional Electronic Materials & Processing- 2021.

▪️Why in News

✅ On the occasion of 30th foundation day of Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Shri Sanjay Dhotre, the Union Minister of State for Education, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, has inaugurated the International Conference on Multifunctional Electronic Materials & Processing (MEMP 2021).

▪️Background

✅ Electronic materials and components are core of all electronic devices.

✅ Materials are the back-bone of capacity and functionality of any electronic gadget.

✅ The performance of electronic products is directly dependent on the components used.

✅ Substantial financial support in Research & Development on emerging materials has continuously been provided, although commercialization of the R&D outcome is a challenge. C-MET was, hence, established in 1990 to fill th gap between R&D and production of critical electronic materials.

✅ C-MET has been producing Hafnium and Silicon Carbide for strategic sectors (DRDO and ISRO) for years.

▪️About C-MET

✅ The Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), functions as an scientific society under the aegis of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India.

✅ Besides augmenting care competence, C-MET envisions attainment of self- sufficiency in the sphere of Electronic materials, components and devices to cater to India's strategic and industrial applications, exploiting indigenous resources of raw materials.

✅ R&D activities in C-MET include development of polymer glasses for electronics, specialty chemicals, ultra high purity and refractory metals, semiconductors, photovoltaic materials and Quantum Materials, C-MET has core competence in all kind of nanostructured materials for electrochemical energy storage (L-ion, Na-ion batteries), solar Hydrogen generation, fuel cells and Hydrogen storage C-MET has Centre of Excellences in Rechargeable Battery Technology and Additive Manufacturing.

✅ C-MET undertakes joint R&D, sponsored research, technology transfer and consultancy projects and provides technical services.

▪️About MEMP

✅ Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Pune is organizing an International Conference on Multifunctional Electronic Materials & Processing (MEMP 2021) at Pune, India during 8-10 March 2021.

✅ MEMP-2021 will provide an opportunity to scientists, researchers, academicians and young students to interact with eminent scientists technologists working in the field of multifunctional electronic materials for various applications & their processing for making devices.

✅ Materials required for energy storage, energy generation, Nanostructured materials, Quantum dots, Sensors, Neutrino Energy Conversion /storage. Flexible devices, Photonic devices and processing techniques like Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) will be discussed.

✅ This transformation could become possible due to novel R&D initiatives that have occurred in above areas.

✅ MEMP 2021 will serve as a common platform for discussing the new ideas developments/ breakthroughs and future prospects pertaining to multifunctional electronic materials with some of the leading scientists technologists as well as to be acquainted with their experience and knowledge.

The above Article can also be read using the link below:

Multifunctional Electronic Materials & Processing- 2021.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

✅ The Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers has launched 8 immunity boosting products under PMBJP for sale through Janaushadhi Kendras across the country.

✅ PMBJP is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals. It was first launched in November 2008 under the name Jan Aushadhi Campaign.

✅ Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers is the implementation agency.

✅ PMBJK can be located within government hospital premises as well as private hospital premises or anywhere outside.

✅ Credit facility will be given to all Jan Aushadhi Kendras for 30 days against post dated cheques.

✅ Tendering of medicines shall be only through e-tendering.

✅ Under the Jan Aushadhi Scheme, State Governments are required to provide space in Government Hospital premises or any other suitable locations for running of Jan Aushadhi Kendra.

The above Article can also be read using the link below:

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

Incoming corporate wave in food systems will threaten farmers and consumers: Report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Incoming corporate wave in food systems will threaten farmers and consumers: Report.

This will trigger massive shift of rural dwellers to urban areas, exacerbate land and resource grabs by corporations.

An incoming ‘corporate tidal wave’ in the food industry as well as farming may threaten the interests of millions of farmers and consumers alike, a recent report has cautioned. This may trigger a massive shift of rural dwellers to urban areas, exacerbate land and resource grabs by corporations and make supply chains more susceptible to pandemics and climate change.

The report, released March 30, 2021, analysed ‘business-as-usual’ food systems and how it may evolve over the next quarter century (by 2045) as corporations and governments respond to environmental breakdown, social dislocation, geopolitical reconfiguration and a vast pipeline of technological possibilities.

The scenario will mean handing the keys of the food system over to big data, technology and e-commerce platforms, which may exacerbate food insecurity and further environmental degradation, the report said.

The report was released by International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES) and ETC group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration).

The study warned of specific threats to farming and food security if agribusiness plans come to fruition:

• Artificial intelligence is re-engineering ecosystems, and robotic tractors and drones are being rolled out as fast as digital infrastructures allow. Millions of rural dwellers will be forced to migrate to urban areas.

• Data on food is a valuable strategic asset. Peasants, whose land acquires a new value now that it is more readily accessible to robotic farm equipment, are vulnerable to fresh land grabs. The report cautioned that a new wave of land, ocean and resource grabs is imminent.

• Powerful corporations and major governments are now moving to control food supplies across vast economic corridors. Long, complex global supply chains will be more vulnerable to pandemics, climate change and critical ‘chokepoints’.

• ‘Hyper-nudging’ is on the rise. This means data from everyday transactions (digital wallets to automated food services) is getting increasingly combined with information harvested online to manipulate people’s eating habits.

“The keys of the food system are being handed over to data platforms, private equity firms, and e-commerce giants. This is the dystopian future of food and the planet, unless civil society fights back,” warned Pat Mooney, lead author of the study.

The authors stressed on the ‘Long Food Movement’ for the next 25 years — a series of strategies that could boost post-COVID-19 pandemic resilience, slash agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent, and shift $4 trillion from the industrial food chain to food sovereignty and agroecology.

The report added: “This includes $720 billion in subsidies going to big commodity production, and as much as $1.6 trillion in healthcare savings from a crackdown on junk food. The sum total of these actions could cut 75 per cent of food system emissions.”

Some of the key strategies include:

• Diverting funds from major commodity subsidies, research expenditures and ‘niche’ budget lines to small-scale food producers.

• Supporting short supply chains and territorial markets: By 2045, as much as 50 per cent of food would be sourced from local and regional supply chains. Up to 80 per cent of wealthier populations can go flexitarian.

• Levying taxes on junk food, toxins, carbon dioxide emissions and the revenues of multinationals.

• Adopting emergency food security measures that supersede trade and intellectual property rules.

• Ensuring that famine, malnutrition and environmental degradation are considered criminal violations that can be internationally prosecuted. (Source: downtoearth)

The above Article can also be read using the link below:

Incoming corporate wave in food systems will threaten farmers and consumers: Report.