PIB Analysis : 21st June

PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Technological intervention in Agriculture
2. Organic Farming in India
3. GST Council
4. Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY)
5. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)
6. Facts for Prelims : PMBJP

1 . Technological intervention in Agriculture

About Technological Intervention in Agriculture

• Kisan Suvidha mobile application : To facilitate dissemination of information to farmers on the critical parameters viz., Weather; Market Prices; Plant Protection; input Dealers (Seed, Pesticide, Fertilizer) Farm Machinery;  Soil Health Card; Cold Storages & Godowns, Veterinary Centres and Diagnostic Labs. 
• Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Mobile apps : It has compiled more than 100 mobile apps developed by ICAR, State Agricultural Universities  and Krishi Vigyan Kendras. These mobile apps developed in the areas of crops, horticulture, veterinary, dairy, poultry, fisheries, natural resources management and integrated subjects,  offer valuable information to the farmers, including package of practices, market prices of various commodities, weather related information, advisory services, etc.
• Development of mKisan Portal for sending advisories on various crop related matter to the registered farmers through SMSs.
• Launching of e-National Agriculture Market initiative to provide farmers an electronic online trading platform.
• Implementation of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, sub-scheme of Integrated Scheme of Agricultural Marketing, in order to improve/create scientific storage capacity for storing farm produce, processed farm produce and to reduce post-harvest storage loss.
• Introduction of Soil Health Card Scheme to assist State Governments in providing Soil Health Cards to all farmers across the country once in a cycle of 2 years Soil health card provides information to the farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving crop productivity and soil fertility.
• Providing subsidies under National Food Security Mission (Oil Seeds and Oil Palm) to farmers on seed components, transfer of technologies, production inputs and water carrying devices. Financial assistance is also being provided under this scheme for block demonstration, frontline demonstration, farmers training to educate farmers to adopt modern techniques of farming to yield good crop economically.
• Use of  space technology for various programmes/ areas such as Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land-based Observations project,  Coordinated programame on Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-informatics project, National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System, Rice-Fallow Area Mapping and intensification, geo tagging of infrastructure and assets created under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana,  and Crop Insurance. 
• Using machine learning process alongwith  different computer algorithm for crop classification and area estimation.

2 . Organic Farming in India

Organic Farming in India

• Government of India has been promoting organic farming under two dedicated schemes namely Mission Organic Value Chain Development North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) since 2015 through State Governments.
• Under these schemes, support has been provided for formation of farmers’ clusters/ Farmer Producer Organisation; incentives to farmers for input procurement, value addition including post harvest infrastructure creation, packaging, branding, publicity, transportation, organic fairs etc..
• Organic Farming has also been supported under other schemes viz Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Network Project on Organic Farming under ICAR. Third party certification of organic farming is promoted by Agriculture Processed Food and Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce.

About Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region

• Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER) is a Central Sector Scheme, a sub-mission under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for implementation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, during the 12th plan period.
• The scheme aims development of certified organic production in a value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, certification, to the creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing and brand building initiative.

About Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana is an elaborated component of Soil Health Management (SHM) of major project National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• Under PKVY Organic farming is promoted through adoption of organic village by cluster approach and PGS certification.

Scheme envisages

• Promotion of commercial organic production through certified organic farming.
• The produce will be pesticide residue free and will contribute to improve the health of consumer.
• It will raise farmer’s income and create potential market for traders.
• It will motivate the farmers for natural resource mobilization for input production.

3 . GST Council

Context : The 35^th GST Council Meeting was held here today under the chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

About the GST Council

• Goods & Services Tax Council is a constitutional body for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax.
• The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and Ministers in-charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.

Mandate of GST Council

The Goods and Services Tax Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the States on—

• the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services tax;
• the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from the goods and services tax;
• model Goods and Services Tax Laws, principles of levy, apportionment of Goods and Services Tax levied on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce under article 269A and the principles that govern the place of supply;
• the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from goods and services tax;
• the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax;
• any special rate or rates for a specified period, to raise additional resources during any natural calamity or disaster;
• special provision with respect to the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; and
• any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the Council may decide.

Exceptions 

• The Goods and Services Tax Council shall recommend the date on which the goods and services tax be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.

Other relevant points

• Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely: —
  • the vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one third of the total votes cast, and
  • the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.

Details of the decision

• The Council took a decision regarding location of the State and the Area Benches for the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) for various States and Union Territories with legislature. It has been decided to have a common State Bench for the States of Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The tenure of National Anti-Profiteering Authority has been extended by 2 years.
• The Council also decided to introduce electronic invoicing system in a phase-wise manner for B2B transactions. E-invoicing is a rapidly expanding technology which would help taxpayers in backward integration and automation of tax relevant processes. It would also help tax authorities in combating the menace of tax evasion. The Phase 1 is proposed to be voluntary and it shall be rolled out from January 2020

4 . Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY)

About PMKSY

• It is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc. and also new schemes like Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities.
• The objective of PMKSY is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste.

5 .  Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)

About Janani Suraksha Yojana

• Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Mission (NHM).
• Launched with the objective of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) promotes institutional delivery among pregnant women especially with weak socio-economic status i.e. women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and BPL households.
• The steps taken/being taken by the Government under JSY for reduction of infant and maternal mortality rates in the county are as under:
  • The scheme focuses on the poor pregnant woman with special dispensation for States having low institutional delivery rates namely the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir. While these States have been named as Low Performing States (LPS), the remaining States have been named as High performing States (HPS).
  • Exclusion criteria of age of mother as 19 years or above and up to two children only for home and institutional deliveries under the JSY have been removed and eligible mothers are entitled to JSY benefit regardless of any age and any number of children.
  • BPL pregnant women, who prefer to deliver at home, are entitled to a cash assistance of Rs 500 per delivery regardless of age of women and the number of children.
  • The Yojana enables the States/UTs to hire the services of a private specialist to conduct Caesarean Section or for the management of Obstetric complications, in the Public Health facilities, where Government specialists are not in place.
  • States are encouraged to accredit private health facilities for increasing the choice of delivery care institutions.

6 . Facts for Prelims

Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadi Kendras

• Objective of PMBJP is to make quality medicines available at affordable prices for all, particularly the poor and disadvantaged, through exclusive outlets “Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras”, so as to reduce out of pocket expenses in healthcare.