- MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE, LOAN WAIVER CRUCIAL ISSUES FOR FARMERS (AGRICULTURE)
- The agrarian crisis in India has been a significant issue, particularly affecting the informal sector and small farmers.
- The NDA government has faced criticism for its policies, which many argue have favored corporate interests over the needs of farmers.
- Here are the key points and demands from the farming community and experts to address the agrarian crisis
- Key Issues and Demands:
- Statutory Minimum Support Price (MSP):
- Demand: Implementation of MSP at the rate of C2+50%, which means one-and-a-half times the comprehensive cost of production, as recommended by the M.S. Swaminathan Commission.
- Reason: To ensure farmers receive a fair price for their produce, which is crucial for their economic stability.
- Reduction in Input Costs: Demand: Reduction in the prices of fertilizers, seeds, insecticides, diesel, water, and electricity.
- Reason: Rising input costs are making farming unsustainable. Lowering these costs would help in reducing the overall cost of production.
- Loan Waiver: Demand: A complete one-time loan waiver for farmers and agricultural workers across the country.
- Reason: To prevent farmer suicides and provide immediate financial relief. The government has previously written off loans worth about ₹16 lakh crore for corporates, and similar support is needed for farmers.
- Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme:
- Demand: Introduction of a new crop insurance scheme that is more beneficial to farmers than the current Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
- Reason: The PMFBY is seen as favoring insurance companies rather than farmers. A new scheme should address the risks posed by climate change, such as droughts, floods, unseasonal rains, and hailstorms.
- Investment in Irrigation and Power: Demand: Increased public sector investment in irrigation and power projects.
- Reason: Many irrigation projects are incomplete, and privatization has increased the cost of water and power. Completing these projects would bring more land under irrigation and reduce costs for farmers.
- Expansion of MGNREGA: Demand: Increase the number of workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to at least 200 days and raise wages to ₹600 per day.
- Reason: MGNREGA has been underfunded, reducing the number of workdays to just 42. Expanding it would provide more employment opportunities and better wages for rural workers.
- Radical Land Reforms: Demand: Initiate and complete radical land reforms, ensuring land acquisition is done only for public purposes and not for corporate interests.
- Reason: There has been massive acquisition of farmland by corporate houses, often violating the Land Acquisition Act. Land reforms are necessary to protect farmers’ rights and livelihoods. 8
- Restoration of Corporate Tax and Introduction of Wealth and Inheritance Taxes:
- Demand: Restore corporate tax rates and introduce wealth and inheritance taxes.
- Reason: To raise resources for the above measures, the government needs to increase direct taxes on the wealthy and provide relief to the middle class by reducing indirect taxes
2. CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN PRISONS MUST END, SAYS CJI (POLITY)
- Supreme Court’s Indication: The Supreme Court has indicated its intention to ask the Union Home Ministry to intervene with States to overhaul their prison manuals.
- The aim is to eliminate caste-based discrimination practices within prisons.
- Evidence of Discrimination: Despite denials from States like Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court Bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, found evidence of discriminatory practices in prison documents.
- Terms like “scavenger class” and provisions that assign menial or degrading duties based on caste were highlighted.
- Specific Instances:
- In Madhya Pradesh, convicts from denotified tribes are automatically labeled as habitual criminals.
- This reflects a broader issue of systemic discrimination based on caste and community.
- Legal Services Authorities Involvement: The court suggested involving legal services authorities at district and State levels to conduct periodic visits to jails to monitor the treatment of prisoners.
- Historical Context: In January, the court found that prison manuals in over 10 States, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, still contained provisions that sanctioned caste[1]based discrimination and forced labor.
3. IN BIHAR FIRST POLICE TO INDUCT THREE TRANSGENDER SUB – INSPECTORS (POLITY)
- Historic Achievement: For the first time in Bihar’s history, three transgender persons have cleared the BPSSC exam and are set to join the police force as sub-inspectors.
- Out of 1,275 candidates who cleared the exam, 822 are men, 450 are women, and three belong to the ‘third gender’ category.
- Government and Judicial Support:
- Following a Patna High Court judgment in 2021, the Bihar government directed the BPSSC to recruit transgender persons into the police services and the Home Department.
- The government committed to posting a sub-inspector and four constables from the transgender category in every district.
- This sets a precedent for other states to follow in ensuring equal opportunities for transgender persons.
- Caste Survey Data: The latest State caste survey (2022) indicates that the transgender community constitutes only 0.0006% of Bihar’s population, with 825 members.
- This figure contrasts sharply with the 2011 Census, which recorded 40,827 transgender individuals in Bihar. The discrepancy has been challenged by activists.
4. RUSSIA, INDIA AGREE TO GO AHEAD WITH TRADE IN NATIONAL CURRENCY : DIPLOMAT ( BILATERAL)
- National Currency Settlement System: India and Russia have decided to establish a system for national currency settlement.
- This move is aimed at facilitating trade between the two countries by bypassing the need for transactions in third- party currencies like the US dollar.
- This system is expected to enhance economic cooperation and reduce dependency on Western financial systems.
- Strengthened Economic Ties: The visit was described as “historic and game-changing,” with a focus on economic aspects.
- Russia has become the fourth largest trading partner of India, with trade growing significantly in the past two years.
- This growth is largely attributed to the expanded trade in energy, especially after Western sanctions were imposed on Russia following its military actions in Ukraine.
- Energy Trade Expansion: The discussions highlighted the rapid expansion of energy trade between India and Russia.
- This is a critical area of cooperation, given the sanctions on Russia and India’s growing energy needs.
- Assurance on Indian Nationals: The issue of Indian nationals who were fraudulently inducted into the Russian fighting forces and deployed on the Russia[1]Ukraine border was discussed.
- Russia assured that these Indian men would be sent back soon.
- Mr. Babushkin emphasized that Russia never intended for Indians to be part of its army and that there were no official announcements from Russian authorities regarding this.
- Geopolitical Stance: Mr. Babushkin criticized Western powers for supporting Ukraine and described the peace conference in Switzerland as a “tamasha” (charade).
- He also reassured that Russia’s friendship with China should not be a cause of concern for India, indicating a nuanced approach to geopolitical alliances.
5. SCIENTIFIC DEEP DRILLING (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)
- Scientific deep drilling involves the strategic excavation of boreholes to access and study the deeper parts of the Earth’s crust.
- This process provides invaluable opportunities to explore various geological phenomena and expand our understanding of the planet.
- It offers opportunities and access to study earthquakes and expands our understanding of the planet’s history, rock types, energy resources, life forms, climate change patterns, and more.
- The Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) in Karad, Maharashtra, is a specialised institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences mandated to execute India’s sole scientific deep-drilling programme.
- Under BGRL, the aim is to drill the earth’s crust to a depth of 6 km and conduct studies to help expand the understanding of reservoir-triggered earthquakes in the Koyna-Warna region of Maharashtra.
- This region has been experiencing frequent earthquakes since the Shivaji Sagar Lake, or the Koyna Dam, was impounded in 1962.
- BGRL’s 3-km-deep pilot borehole in Koyna is complete; the Ministry of Earth Sciences is committed to reaching a depth of 6 km.
ONE LINER
- The UNESCO International Conference on Soils held in Moracco
- India’s first ever pilot project for Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) comes at the Kasta coal block in Jamtara district, Jharkhand
