Contents:
- Transform Agriculture to attract Youth
- National Energy Conservation Awards
- Mitra Shakti-VII
- National Ganga Council
TRANSFORM AGRICULTURE TO ATTRACT YOUTH.
- It’s the biggest enterprise in india.
- Need to replicate success story of AMUL around the country.
- Women contribute 90% to the rural dairy economy.
- overall contribution of women to the national GDP is much less at around 25%. “We need to recognize the immense possibilities for women empowerment offered by rural organizations and supply chains
- Focus more on agro processing industries.
- Turn farmers into successful entrepreneurs.
- Need to realise gandhiji’s dream of village lead industrial development
- Coming together of the three legs of the economy- farm (agriculture production), manufacturing (primary food processing) & services (distribution, delivery)- can itself be a huge opportunity for the growth of the national economy
The seventh edition of the joint training exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army, Exercise Mitra Shakti concluded on 14 December at Aundh Military Station, Pune.
joint training exercise concluded with a 48 hour long culmination exercise which was witnessed by Senior Military & Defence officials of the Indian Army as well as representatives of the Sri Lankan Army
The conduct of such bilateral military training exercises is an important step to uphold the values of peace, prosperity, international brotherhood & trust.
NATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION AWARDS by BUREAU OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY (BEE)
Why in News?
- The BEE celebrates The National Energy Conservation Day on 14th December every year.
- National Energy Conservation Week is being observed from 9-14 December 2019.
- Celebrated in order to: Drive mass awareness about importance of energy efficiency and conservation
- Showcase India’s achievements in energy efficiency and conservation.
- Also BEE launched Star Labelling Programme for Solar Water Heater to promote use of efficient appliances
What is BEE Star Rating?
- Star ratings are provided to all the major kind of appliances in the form of labels. These star ratings are given out of 5 and they provide a basic sense of how energy efficient each product is, just in a single glance.
- The manufacturers are officially required to put these labels as per the Standards and Labelling Program introduced in 2006.
About BEE
- Statutory body
- Under Ministry of Power
- Established under Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
- Assists the government in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
MITRA SHAKTI – VII
What is it?
It is the Seventh Edition of a Joint training exercise between the Indian and Sri Lankan Army.
The training exercise lasts 2 weeks (Concluded on 14th December) .
Aim : To enhance interoperability and operational efficiency amongst the armies when deployed as a part of United Nations Peace Keeping Forces
Background:
The Mitra Shakti exercises started in 2013 and are conducted annually.
This helps India to implement “Neighborhood first” Policy, and to rekindle ties with Sri Lanka considering China’s rapidly increasing its presence in Sri Lanka [Opening Hambantota Port to the Belt and Road initiative].
NATIONAL GANGA COUNCIL
Why in News?
Prime Minister chaired the first meeting of the council in Kanpur, UP, on 14th December.
The council has overall responsibility for superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga basin.
Why Kanpur?
Gaumukh to Gangasagar is the most polluted stretch of the Ganges and it is in Kanpur.
Kanpur sewage treatment plant’s inadequacy leads to untreated sewage being discharged into the river directly.
Also, the city has 400 tanning industries that discharge wastes into the river.
Details
The council has the responsibility of protection, prevention and abatement of pollution of river Ganga.
States under the jurisdiction of the council : Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. (BCD HHJ MRUUW)
- The Prime Minister is the chairperson of the council.
- The council also plans to launch organic farming along the banks, encourage sustainable agriculture, zero budget farming, building plant nurseries and planting fruit trees.
- The PM also visited the closed Sisamau Nala.
Extra information:
The government has set up the Clean Ganga Fund in 2014 – Using the funded money to finance NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga 2011), cleaning the river, setting up Waste Treatment Plants, Conservation of river biodiversity and related R&D projects.
