17-11-21 Daily-Himachal Pradesh-HPPSC Current Affairs

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur presided over the launching ceremony of Rs 1,010.60 crore phase-II of the HP Crop Diversification Promotion Project (HPCDP) supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at Dharamsala.

He said that the government was committed to the development of rural areas as more than 90 per cent of the total Population of the state lives in villages and about 70 per cent of the population was dependent on the <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector for livelihood. Despite limited financial Resources and the slowdown due to the pandemic, the government had launched various new schemes to promote Irrigation, agriculture, , Forestry and allied sectors, besides ensuring all-round and equitable development of the state, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the main objective of the project was to disseminate a successful model of crop diversification and increase the area under vegetable cultivation in the project area from 2,500 hectares to 7,000 hectares by 2031. He added that the government was mobilising funds from all possible sources, including the Central Government, external funding agencies like the JICA, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

He said that there was a huge potential for the cultivation of off-season vegetables in the region. The State Government had created a strong Network of market yards to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers, but still a lot more was required to be done so that farmers could have an easy access to markets for Marketing their products and getting better prices.

The phase-II of the JICA-aided crop diversification project is to be implemented in all 12 districts of the state.

It will give boost to the socio-economic status of farmers.

The phase-I of the project being implemented in Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Una on a pilot basis since 2011 has transformed the economy of the farmers.

The government is mobilising funds from all possible sources, including the Centre, external funding agencies like the JICA, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The Ministry of Science and Technology launched “TechNEEV@75” as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Highlights:

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister, met with successful start-ups, including those from tribal communities, on the occasion.

The minister also stated that by the end of 2022, the Central Government will establish 30 Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Hubs for Scheduled Tribes (STs) across the country.

These STI centres will aid in the development of tribal communities’ scientific potential as well as general socioeconomic Growth.

The Department of Science and Technology has already established 20 of the 75 projected STI Hubs.

Through a variety of interventions across the farm, non-farm, and other linked livelihood sectors, these centres will directly assist 20,000 individuals.

“TechNEEV@75” is a year-long commemoration of the role of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in enabling communities to achieve equitable and inclusive economic growth.

This report was published at the time when Delhi and its adjoining states are reeling from a thick blanket of smog and deadly fumes.

As a result of this, government has shut schools and take emergency measures to control pollution.

The Supreme Court also noted that, it has become a trend to blame farmers and their practice of stubble burning for all the pollution in Delhi.

As per report, stubble burning incidents in the year 2021 are considerably lower in most states, with exception in Haryana.

In Haryana, stubble burning incidents has increased by 48.5 per cent in between September 15 and November 13, 2021.

In Punjab, the cumulative number of such incident is 21 per cent lesser as compared to However, since October 13, Punjab witnessed a 53.3 per cent jump in stubble burning incidents.

Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai are among the top ten most polluted cities in the world, according to the IQAir Air Quality Index.

Highlights:

Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai are among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world, according to statistics from IQAir.

With an AQI of 556, Delhi topped the list, while Kolkata and Mumbai, in 4th and 6th place, had AQIs of 177 and 169, respectively.

Lahore, Pakistan, and Chengdu, China, are among the cities with the poorest AQI indexes.

IQ Air:

IQ Air is an air quality and pollution city tracking service, a Switzerland-based Climate organisation.

IQAir is also a United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) technology partner (UNEP).

An AQI of zero to 50 is regarded as ‘good,” 51 to 100 is considered satisfactory,’ 101 to 200 is considered moderate,’ 201 to 300 is considered ‘poor,’ 301 to 400 is considered very poor,’ and 401 to 500 is considered severe.’