Contents
- Jammu’s purple revolution
- India, 17 countries face U.S. anti-dumping tax
- Karnataka launches engineering research policy
- India’s humanitarian assistance to Madagascar
JAMMU’S PURPLE REVOLUTION
Context:
Farmers in Jammu switched from maize to lavender cultivation which increased their income by 4 times – this is being called purple revolution and it was enabled by initiatives taken under Aroma Mission.
Relevance:
Prelims, GS-III: Agriculture (Technological advancements related to Agriculture)
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is Purple Revolution (Under Aroma Mission)?
- More about Aroma Mission
- Uses and Products of Lavender
What is Purple Revolution (Under Aroma Mission)?
- Under the Aroma mission – First-time farmers were given free lavender saplings and those who have cultivated lavender before were charged a nominal amount.
- The Aroma mission aims to support domestic aromatic crop based agro economy by moving from imported aromatic oils to homegrown varieties.
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu (IIIM Jammu), the two bodies are mainly responsible for making purple revolution under the Aroma Mission a success.
- Apart from being in sync with government policy of doubling farm incomes by 2022, lavender cultivation also provided employment to the district’s women farmers thus gave impetus to inclusive growth.
More about Aroma Mission
- The CSIR Aroma Mission is envisaged to bring transformative change in the aroma sector through desired interventions in the areas of agriculture, processing and product development for fuelling the growth of aroma industry and rural employment.
- The nodal laboratory is CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow. The participating laboratories are CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur; CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu etc.
- The mission will promote the cultivation of aromatic crops for essential oils that are in great demand by the aroma industry.
- It is expected to enable Indian farmers and aroma industry to become global leaders in the production and export of some other essential oils on the pattern of menthol mint.
- It aims to provide substantial benefits to the farmers in achieving higher profits, utilization of waste lands and protection of their crops from wild and grazing animals.
- The scientific interventions made under the Aroma mission project would provide assured benefits to the growers of Vidarbha, Bundelkhand, Gujarat, Marathwada, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and other states where farmers are exposed to frequent episodes of weather extremes and account for maximum suicides.
Uses and Products of Lavender
- Main product is Lavender oil which sells for at least Rs. 10,000 per litre.
- Lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks.
- Hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soaps and room fresheners.
-Source: Down to Earth
INDIA, 17 COUNTRIES FACE U.S. ANTI-DUMPING TAX
Context:
The U.S. Department of Commerce is preparing to tax aluminium sheet exporters from 18 countries after determining that they had benefited from subsidies and dumping.
Relevance:
GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Development and International Trade)
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is Dumping?
- What is Anti-Dumping Duty?
- Role of the WTO in Regulating Anti-Dumping Measures
What is Dumping?
- Dumping is a term used in the context of international trade. It’s when a country or company exports a product at a price that is lower in the foreign importing market than the price in the exporter’s domestic market.
- Because dumping typically involves substantial export volumes of a product, it often endangers the financial viability of the product’s manufacturer or producer in the importing nation.
What is Anti-Dumping Duty?
- Anti-dumping duty is a tariff imposed on imports manufactured in foreign countries that are priced below the fair market value of similar goods in the domestic market.
- The government imposes anti-dumping duty on foreign imports when it believes that the goods are being “dumped” – through the low pricing – in the domestic market.
- Anti-dumping duty is imposed to protect local businesses and markets from unfair competition by foreign imports.
Role of the WTO in Regulating Anti-Dumping Measures
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) plays a critical role in the regulation of anti-dumping measures. As an international organization, the WTO does not regulate firms accused of engaging in dumping activities, but it possesses the power to regulate how governments react to dumping activities in their territories.
- Some government sometimes react harshly to foreign companies engaging in dumping activities by introducing punitive anti-dumping duties on foreign imports, and the WTO may come in to determine if the actions are genuine, or if they go against the WTO free-market principle.
- According to the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement, dumping is legal unless it threatens to cause material injury in the importing country domestic market. Also, the organization prohibits dumping when the action causes material retardation in the domestic market.
- Where dumping occurs, the WTO allows the government of the affected country to take legal action against the dumping country as long as there is evidence of genuine material injury to industries in the domestic market. The government must show that dumping took place, the extent of the dumping in terms of costs, and the injury or threat to cause injury to the domestic market.
-Source: The Hindu
KARNATAKA LAUNCHES ENGINEERING RESEARCH POLICY
Context:
Karnataka launched the country’s maiden Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) Policy to raise its contribution to the sector in the country to 45% in the next five years.
Relevance:
GS-II: Polity and Governance (Government Policies and Interventions), GS-III: Indian Economy
Dimensions of the Article:
About Karnataka’s first ER&D Policy
Why is such an ER&D Policy required?
About Karnataka’s first ER&D Policy
- The new Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) policy identified five key focus sectors such as aerospace and defence; auto, auto components and EV; biotechnology, pharma and medical devices; semiconductors, telecom, and software products.
- The government will invest in skilling, improve academia and industry collaboration, and also encourage intellectual properties (IPs) creation locally.
- In order to promote innovation, the government will provide funding to colleges for projects and will also fund the cost of developing industry-oriented courses in the colleges and universities. This is so that talents are in line with the industry demand.
Aims of Karnataka’s ER&D Policy
- To prepare the State to make use of the future opportunities emanating from this sector.
- To grow Karnataka’s contribution, develop more IPs, and make Karnataka a skilled knowledge capital.
- To attract MNCs to establish new ER&D centres in the State or expand their existing facilities through subsidies, market the advantages of the ecosystem to global MNCs and bridging the gap between engineering talent and opportunity.
Why is such an ER&D Policy required?
- The ER&D sector in the country is the fastest growing industry with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.8%.
- CAGR is the rate of return that would be required for an investment to grow from its beginning balance to its ending balance, assuming the profits were reinvested at the end of each year of the investment’s lifespan.
- The global engineering research and development industry is expected to reach a spend of USD 2 trillion by 2025.
- There are about 900 global capability centres for ER&D in India and a significant share of them in Karnataka.
- The State government anticipates the policy has the potential to create over 50,000 jobs in the ER&D space in five years.
- According to industry apex body NASSCOM, ER&D has the potential to become a USD 100-billion industry in the country in the next five years.
- Linkage between Digital Engineering and Industry 4.0, which reflects in the form of:
- Digitalized manufacturing operations & automation in processes and supply chains;
- Product-as-a-Service Business Model, allowing customers to pay for a desired result (instead of the equipment driving the result);
- Additive Manufacturing, which can deconstruct the tedious production processes engaged for complex parts and enhance their functional performance.
-Source: The Hindu
INDIA’S HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO MADAGASCAR
Context:
India is sending a consignment with rice and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets to Madagascar as assistance to deal with the humanitarian crisis triggered by a severe drought.
The supplies of food assistance and support for capacity building to the friendly countries of Madagascar and Comoros is in line with the vision of SAGAR and it also showcases India’s time-tested role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.
Relevance:
GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Development)
Dimensions of the Article:
- India’s Assistance to Madagascar in the Past
- Recent Developments in India’s role in IOR
India’s Assistance to Madagascar in the Past
- Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari carried food items and medical assistance teams to countries including Madagascar to deal with Covid-19 pandemic as part of a “Mission Sagar” initiative.
- In March 2020, INS Shardul visited the port of Antsiranana and delivered 600 tonnes of rice as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to Madagascar for dealing with heavy floods in the Northern region of Madagascar.
- Indian Navy was the first to respond when Cyclone Diane struck Madagascar and prompt assistance was delivered under Operation Vanilla by INS Airavat in January 2020.
- India is also actively engaged in training Malagasy people in capacity building and other high skilled/technical fields, courses for which are offered through Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and India Africa Forum Summit.
Recent Developments in India’s role in IOR
- This has strategic importance as the Commission is an important regional institution in the Western/African Indian Ocean.
- IOC consists of Madagascar, Comoros, La Réunion (French overseas territory), Mauritius and Seychelles as members.
- India hosted Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Conclave to promote dialogue in an institutional, economic and cooperative environment that can foster the development of peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.
-Source: Hindustan Times
