CONTENT
- NATIONAL BUREAU OF PLANT GENETICS RESOURCES
- DEFENCE TESTING INFRASTRUCTURE SCHEME
NATIONAL BUREAU OF PLANT GENETICS RESOURCES
Focus: GS III- Agriculture
Why in News?
Union Agriculture Minister inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished gene bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.
About National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources
- It is one among the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes.
- ICAR is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.
- It is a nodal organisation in India for management of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR).
- The NBPGR has linkage with National Active Germplasm Sites (NAGS) for the management of active germplasm of field and horticultural crops.
- NAGS are located at NBPGR regional stations, other crop-based ICAR institutes or State Agricultural Universities.
- It is headquartered in New Delhi and has 10 regional stations.
Mandate
- To act as the nodal institute at national level for acquisition, management and genomics based profiling of indigenous and exotic plant genetic resources (PGR) for food and agriculture and to carry out related research and human resources development for sustainable growth of agriculture
- Management and promotion of sustainable use of plant genetic and genomic resources of agri-horticultural crops and supportive research
- Coordination and capacity building in PGR management and policy issues governing access and benefit sharing
- Molecular profling of varieties of agri-horticultural crops and GM detection technology research
Objectives
- To plan, organize, conduct and coordinate exploration and collection of indigenous and exotic plant genetic resources.
- To undertake introduction, exchange and quarantine of plant genetic resources.
- To characterize, evaluate, document and conserve crop genetic resources and promote their use, in collaboration with other national organizations.
- To develop information network on plant genetic resources.
- To conduct research, undertake teaching and training, develop guidelines and create public awareness on plant genetic resources.
DEFENCE TESTING INFRASTRUCTURE SCHEME
Focus: GS III- Defence
Why in News?
In order to boost domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating state-of-the-art testing infrastructure in partnership with the private industry.
About Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme:
- The scheme was launched on May 08, 2020.
- The scheme would run for the duration of five years and envisages setting up of 6-8 Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure facilities that are required for defence and aerospace related production.
- The Scheme aims to promote indigenous defence production, with special focus on participation of MSMEs and Start Ups by bridging gaps in defence testing infrastructure in the country, Consequently reduce imports of military equipment and help make the country self-reliant.
- The Scheme has an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating state of the art testing infrastructure over the duration of five years.
- The projects under the Scheme will be provided with up to 75% government funding in the form of ‘Grant-in-Aid’.
- The remaining 25% of the project cost will have to be borne by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) whose constituents will be Indian private entities and State Governments.
- Only private entities registered in India and State Government agencies will qualify for forming the implementation agency for the Scheme.
- The SPVs under the Scheme will be registered under Companies Act 201
- While majority of test facilities are expected to come up in the two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs), the Scheme is not limited to setting up Test Facilities in the DICs only.
