Topics
- Diatom Test for Detecting Death via Drowning
- Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI)
- India-Taiwan ties
Diatom Test for Detecting Death via Drowning
Context: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) relied on a diatom tests for leads in the alleged murder case of Mansukh Hiran.
About Diatom Test
- It helps in diagnosing the death caused by drowning. It tests diatoms in the body being tested.
- Diatoms are photosynthesizing algae found in aquatic environment including fresh and marine waters, soils, etc., (almost anywhere moist).
- If the person is alive when he enters the water, the diatoms will enter the lungs when the person inhales water while drowning.
- These diatoms are then carried to different body parts by blood circulation.
- If a person is dead when is thrown in the water, then there is no circulation and there is no transport of diatom cells to various organs.
- Diatoms extracted from the body would be correlated with the samples from the water body where the drowning took place to ascertain the place of drowning.
Cons of this Test-
- The test will be negative if the person died instantly after falling into the water.
- Diatom test is reliable unless the deceased person has been drinking water from the same source of water before his death.
Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI)
Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), a sub scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), launched in 2010-11, is being implemented in seven eastern states namely Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
- Under the programme, assistance is being provided to the farmers for organizing cluster demonstrations on rice and wheat, seed production and distribution, nutrient management and soil ameliorants, integrated pest management, cropping system-based training, asset-building such as farm machineries & implements, irrigation devices, site specific activities and post harvest& marketing support, etc.
- Under the programme, Government of India allocates fund to the State and further allocation to district is made by the respective State Government.
- BGREI programme is intended to address the constraints limiting the productivity of “rice based cropping systems” in eastern India. Under these systems, the other crops like wheat, coarse-cum-nutri cereals, pulses & oilseeds are already covered.
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was introduced with an aim to provide support to the agricultural sector in achieving 4% annual agriculture growth.
- RKVY scheme was launched in the year 2007 which was later rebranded as Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR) to be implemented for three years till 2019-20 with a budget allocation of Rs 15,722 crore.
- In a meeting held on 29th May 2007, the National Development Council (NDC), resolved the idea of launching a Central Assistance Scheme (RKVY) concerned by the slow growth in the Agriculture and allied sectors.
- The NDC also aimed at the reorientation of the agricultural development strategies in order to meet the needs of farmers.
- The scheme provided considerable flexibility and autonomy to States in planning and executing programmes for incentivising investment in agriculture and allied sectors.
- The scheme facilitated decentralized planning in the agricultural sector through the initiation of the State Agriculture Plan (SAP) and District Agriculture Plans (DAPs).
- The scheme was based on the agro-climatic conditions ensuring the availability of appropriate technology and natural resources thus providing accommodation for the local needs.
India-Taiwan ties
Context: India and Taiwan are celebrating 25 years of their partnership.
- However, the growing relationship has been a low-key affair as India has been hesitant to acknowledge the improving ties in public.
- Though mutual efforts between Delhi and Taipei have enabled a range of bilateral agreements covering agriculture, investment, customs cooperation, civil aviation, industrial cooperation and other areas, the time has come to recalibrate India-Taiwan relations.
Political framework
- Creating a political framework is a prerequisite to doing this.
- Both partners have increasingly deepened mutual respect underpinned by openness, with democracy and diversity as the key principles for collective growth.
- The shared faith in freedom, human rights, justice, and rule of law continues to embolden their partnership.
- To make this relationship more meaningful, both sides can create a group of empowered persons or a task force to chart out a road map in a given time frame. Political will is the key.
- India’s has been in the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Likewise, Taiwan’s handling of the pandemic and its support to many other countries underlines the need to deepen healthcare cooperation.
- India and Taiwan already collaborate in the area of traditional medicine.
- The time is ripe to expand cooperation in the field of healthcare.
Challenges
- Maintaining air quality has become a mammoth challenge for the Indian government and stubble burning is an important reason for severe air pollution.
- Taiwan could be a valuable partner in dealing with this challenge through its bio-friendly technologies.
- Such methods are applied to convert agricultural waste into value-added and environmentally beneficial renewable energy or biochemicals.
- This will be a win-win situation as it will help in dealing with air pollution and also enhance farmers’ income.
- Further, New Delhi and Taipei can also undertake joint research and development initiatives in the field of organic farming.
- India and Taiwan need to deepen people-to-people connect. Cultural exchange is the cornerstone of any civilisational exchange.
- It not only helps one appreciate another culture but also helps in overcoming prejudices and cultural misunderstanding. Tourism is the key tool in this exchange.
- However, Taiwanese tourists in India are a very small number.
- The Buddhist pilgrimage tour needs better connectivity and visibility, in addition to showcasing incredible India’s diversity.
- This will accelerate the flow of Taiwanese tourists.
- With the Taiwan Tourism Bureau partnering with Mumbai Metro, Taiwan is trying to raise awareness about the country and increase the inflow of Indian tourists.