UPSC PIB Summary Analysis Nov15

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Mega Food Park in Aurangabad District

Context:

• Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal today inaugurated the second Mega Food Park in Maharashtra.
• A 3rdMega Food Park has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in Maharashtra and is under implementation in Wardha District while the first Park was inaugurated  in Satara district.

It is aimed at giving a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country.

Swadesh Darshan Scheme

Context:

Two important projects under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, were inaugurated at PTSO Lake in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh .

These projects are “Development of North East Circuits”:

“Bhalukpong- Bomdila – Tawang Project”

• Under this project the Ministry has developed facilities like Accommodation, Cafeteria, wayside Amenities, last Mile Connectivity, Pathways, Toilets, Multipurpose Hall at Jang

Nafra- Seppa- Pappu, Pasa, Pakke Valleys- Sangdupota- New Sagalee- Ziro- Yomcha Project

• The facilities developed under this project includes Helipad, Wayside amenities, trekking trails, Rafting Centre, Log Huts, craft bazaar, Eco Park, Tourist facilitation centres, parking, multipurpose Hall, festival ground etc.

Ministry has given great impetus to the tourism infrastructure in the region under its flagship schemes of Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD.

Development of agriculture sector

 Context:

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh on the occasion of the first convocation ceremony of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University in Bihar said that it has begun work on five new themes targeted by Union Agriculture Ministry for the development of agriculture sector. These include “har khet ko pani”, increase the production of pulses, soil health, doubling farmers’ income and more crop per drop.

Highlights:

• Four new projects to accelerate the ‘Lab to Farm’ programme for all-round development of agriculture has been launched by the government.
• In order to increase the connectivity of farmers with scientists, technical assessment, evaluation, training and capacity building, the government has initiated the Farmer First program.
• Considering the importance of capacity development for entrepreneurship in rural youth, Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana) program has been started.
• In order to create new opportunities of employment generation for the youth in agriculture and to prevent their migrations, Attracting and Retaining of Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) has been started.
• Under the “Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav” program, agricultural experts of agricultural universities and ICAR have been given the responsibility of a village in order to create awareness among farmers about scientific farming.

Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana):

• Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana) programme is a new initiative of Indian Council of Agricultural Research to reorient graduates of Agriculture and allied subjects for ensuring and assuring employability and develop entrepreneurs for emerging knowledge intensive agriculture.
• This envisages the introduction of the programme in all the Agricultural Universities as an essential prerequisite for the award of degree to ensure hands on experience and practical training depending on the requirements of respective discipline and local demands.
• This programme includes five components:

1. Experiential Learning,
2. Rural Awareness Works Experience,
3. In-Plant Training /Industrial attachment
4. Hands-on training (HOT) / Skill development training
5. Students Projects.

Attracting and Retaining of Youth in Agriculture (ARYA):

Realizing the importance of rural youth in agricultural development of the country, ICAR has initiated a programme on “Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture”.

Objectives:

(i) To attract and empower the Youth in Rural Areas to take up various Agriculture, allied and service sector enterprises for sustainable income and gainful employment in selected districts.

(ii) to enable the Farm Youth to establish network groups to take up resource and capital intensive activities like processing, value addition and marketing.

(iii) To demonstrate functional linkage with different institutions and stakeholders for convergence of opportunities available under various schemes/program for sustainable development of youth

World Standards Day 2018

Context:

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) organised a seminar on “International Standards and the Fourth Industrial Revolution” in New Delhi to celebrate the World Standards Day 2018.

World Standards Day:

• World Standards Day, is an international day of observance recognized world over since 1970. 
• This annual event is celebrated across the globe jointly with the International Electro-technical (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• This occasion provides a perfect opportunity to reflect how Standards work in the real world, and the benefits they bring to business, society and the environment.
• Each year, ISO decides a theme of the World Standards Day based on a current aspects of standardization. 
• The theme of this year “International Standards and Industrial Revolution 4.0” is very relevant as the industry is embracing new technologies for automation along with artificial intelligence making use of advanced communication modes.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS):

• BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 1986 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways – providing safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing.

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