CURRENT AFFAIRS
TOPICS :
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Govt forms Panel for more effective MSP
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A needle in a Haystack
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Chin Refugees
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Krishi Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana
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Exemption from NEET
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Commonwealth Games
Govt forms Panel for more effective MSP
Context:
- The centre has notified a committee to ‘promote zero budget natural Farming’ and to make‘MSP more effective and transparent’ along with 3 representatives from Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).
- This notification came seven months after the end of farmers against the farm laws.
Minimum Support Price (MSP):
- Minimum support price is the price set by the government to procure certain crops from farmers well above the cost of production.
- MSPs provide a floor for market prices, and ensure that farmers receive a certain minimum remuneration so that they can recover the cost of cultivation (along with some profit).
- Government can use the MSP to raise the production of certain crops in order to ensure food security.
- It is to be noted that, MSP lacks statutory backing so, MSP can’t be demand by farmer as a matter of right.
- Under MSP government doesn’t procure all farm produce. Procurement of crop produce varies with crop variety and geography.
Crops covered under MSP:
- Coverage of crops in MSP include,
- Paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley in cereals.
- Chana, arhar/tur, urad, moong, and masur under pulses.
- Rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower, Niger seed in oilseeds category.
- Cotton, sugarcane, copra, raw jute are the 4 commercial crops that are covered.
- Commission for Agricultural costs and prices (CACP) recommends the government about the prices and crops under Minimum Support Price (MSP).
- CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It came into being in 1965.
Factors considered in MSP:
CACP takes the following into consideration while recommending MSPs,
- Cost of production,
- The demand and supply of the commodity,
- Inter crop price parity,
- Market price trends
- The likely implications of an MSP on Consumers and on environment of the product.
- Also, the terns of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.
Calculation of MSP:
CACP talks about three types of costs of production for all the crops, they are;
- A2:all paid-out costs that are directly incurred by the farmer both in cash and in kind on inputs while cultivation like pesticides, fertilisers, irrigation, fuel etc.
- A2+FL: sum of A2 and the imputed value of unpaid family labour
- C2:it is inclusive cost that factors in rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capitals assets on top of A2+FL.
- CACP takes into consideration both the A2+FL and C2 costs but estimates onlyA2+FL for return.
- while the C2 costs are mainly used for benchmark reference costs (opportunity costs) to check whether the recommended MSPs at least cover these costs in some of the major producing states other.
A needle in a Haystack
Context:
A new black hole was discovered by scientists which has at least 9 times the mass of Sun.
About Black hole:
- Black hole is a place in space at which the gravity pulls so much that no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light cannot pass through it.
- The reason for such a strong gravity is that the matter has been squeezed into a tiny space (point form).
- A black hole can be formed with the death of a massive star.Black holes are intrinsically dark objects.
- As the light don’t pass through it, they’re invisible they can only find with space telescopes with special tools.
- Stellar black holes: it is one of the categories of black holes which has a mass ranging between a few solar masses to tens of solar masses.
- Super massive blackholes: Whereas super massive black holes range between hundreds of solar masses to billions of solar masses.
- Singularity:it is the inner region of black hole where the mass of the blackhole is concentrated.
- Event horizon:it is the boundary around the mouth of black hole, past which light cannot pass through.Gravity is constant across the event horizon.
Will Sun ever become Black hole?
- Sun do not have enough mass to become a black hole, at the end of the life (after billions of years), Sun will become a red giant star.
- It will last about billion years before it becoming white dwarf Star.
New Blackhole:
- Astronomers have spotted a blackhole in a galaxy adjacent to the Milky Way they are calling it a cosmic “needle in a Haystack”.
- It has been classified as
- Dormant black holes interact less with the surroundings and are hard to be determined,
- This blackhole has at least 9 times the greater than mass of our Sun.
- It was detected in Tarantula nebula region of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy.
- It is at a distance of 1,60,000 light years from the Earth. (Light year = 9.5 trillion km).
How is it different from other black holes?
- This black hole appears to have been born without the explosion of a dying star which is the general case with black holes.
- It is “X- ray quiet” i.e., not emitting powerful X-ray radiation indicative of gobbling up nearby materials with its strong pull of gravitation.
Chin Refugees
Context:
- Chin refugees are the result of the military coup in Myanmar that resulted in mass killing and forcing of more than 50,000 chins to seek refuge.
- Chins are ethnically close to the Mizos.
Centre and Mizoram government about chin refugees:
- As a result of the political turmoil in the Myanmar there has been an unprecedented schism between Indian government and the Mizoram state government.
- The state Government has been in centre of disagreement as it decided to take the chin refugees, their number has raised to 30,000.
- The chin refugees that are present in Mizoram are not refugees who have simply run away to save their lives. They are rebels who have opted to go into self-exile and continue to extend support to the PDF and other anti-Tatmadaw militias like the Chin Defense Force and the Chin National Army.
The contrast between centre and State:
The contrast came as aresult of the security centric approach of the centre and the people centred focus of the Mizoram government.
Centre on chin refugee:
- The union government has reminded the states that share boundary with Myanmar that state governments have no power to grant ‘refugee status to any foreigner.
- Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued orders to be alert and take appropriate action to prevent possible influx into Indian territory.
- The centre has invoked that India’s non ratification of the 1951 UN convention on the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol as a ground of denying the asylum.
Mizoram interest:
- The state governments open defiance is because of the common history of the Mizos and the Chins and the unique socio-political realities between them at the India-Myanmar international border.
- Both the groups came from larger Zo tribe; hence they share strong ethnic bond predating India’s Independence.
- They also share common religion, mizos are largely Christians and chins also largely follows Christianity in Buddhist dominant Myanmar.
- The Free Movement Regime (FMR) was legalised in 2018. Along the largely unfenced Mizoram- Myanmar border, people of both sides have traditionally moved in and outfreely.
- Practice of Cross border marriages and trade in essential commodities is common.
- Given all this, from Mizoram point of view centre has gauged the sensitivity of the issue, and somewhat softened its aggressive stand towards both Mizoram government and Chin refugees after more than a year.
- Given the volatile situation in Myanmar, the chin refugees are likely to stay put for long.
- In the long run, it may not possible to sustain the relief work by the state on its own, it requires the centre’s help.
Krishi Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana
Context:
Krishi Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) has been discontinued by the Department Of Science and Technology (DST)From 2022 onwards, and it is subsumed under Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) programme.
About KVPY:
- The Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) was a national programme of fellowship in basic sciences.
- It was funded and initiated by Department of Science and Technology in 1999.
- Under this programme the candidates were selected through a national level examination. The selected candidates are entitled to generous fellowships up to the pre-PhD level.
About INSPIRE:
- INSPIRE is an innovative programme sponsored and managed by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for attraction of talent to the Science.
- Objective: to communicate to the youth of the country the excitements of creative pursuit of science and attract talent to the study of science at an early age.
- This programme does not believe in the conducting competitive exam for talent identification.
- Hence, the selection is carried out through two tier process that includes screening of eligible applications by internal committee followed by final selection through an expert committee.
Exemption from NEET
Context:
The Union Home Ministry sought clarifications from Tamil Nadu regarding a bill that seeks exemption from the NEET to students of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu and NEET:
- National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is a test for admissions into medical and dental courses. It is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA).
- Tamil Nadu government has introduced the bill twice to exempt Tamil Nadu students from NEET. The first-time bill was introduced in September 2021, then it was returned by Governor.
- The bill namely “The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses Bill, 2021” was again introduced in assembly in February 2022. This time governor has sent reserved it for reconsideration and assent of the President.
- As per the practice, the Bills referred to President assent by the Governor of the states are processed in the home ministry in consultation with nodal ministries.
Why TN seeking exemption?
- NEET has been a sensitive subject in Tamil Nadu, where students have allegedly died by suicide over the years after failing to qualify in that exam.
- Taking this into consideration, Tamil Nadu has been attempting to seek exemption from NEET. The first such attempt was made in 2017 through ordinance but didn’t get the President’s assent.
Assent to the Bill:
When a bill is presented before Governor of a state by the state legislature then,
- Governor shall declare his Assent to bill, or
- Withholds Assent, or
- He may reserve the Bill for the consideration of President, or
- He can return it to the legislature (not money Bill) for reconsideration, with suggesting amendments and modifications in entire or to specific provisions of the Bill. If the Bill is passed again by the house with or without amendment and presented to governor, then he shall not withhold assent.
Commonwealth Games
Context:
Commonwealth games 2022 are set to be held from 28th July to 08th August.
About common wealth games:
- Commonwealth games is an international sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. It was started back in 1930.
- The inspiration to create the games was from inter empire championships as part of the festival of empire which were held in London in 1911.
- During 1930s, commonwealth games were also referred as British empire games.
- Common wealth games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal no. of men’s and women’s medal events in 2018.
- Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) oversees the Commonwealth Games.
Commonwealth Games 2022:
- Commonwealth 2022 is to be hosted by Birmingham from 28th July to 8th
- It is the third time that England is hosting common wealth games (at London in 1934 and at Manchester in 2002).
- Birmingham 2022 CWG is expected to feature 72 teams which is of 54 common wealth of nations and 18 territories.
- Total of 280 events in 20 sports are to be conducted.
- Cricket is also included in Common wealth Games after 24 years in t20 format.
- The mascot for Birmingham 2022 is called “perry”.
UPSC Civil Services Daily Current Affairs 20th June 2022
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