Daily Current Affairs for UPSC, IAS, UPPSC/UPPCS, BPSC, MPPSC, RPSC and All State PCS Examinations

National Mission for Beekeeping

IN NEWS

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers inaugurated the ‘World Class State of Art Honey Testing Laboratory’ established by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)in Anand(Gujarat) with support of National Bee Board (NBB).

ABOUT

• India needs a ‘sweet revolution’ after the White Revolution, Green Revolution, Blue Revolution. ‘Sweet Revolution‘is a strategic step to emphasize the increase in honey production in the state, which can be a major contributor to doubling the income of the farmers.
• Vision is to encourage large number of farmers for production and marketing of Honey and earn more profit in agriculture.

PURPOSE OF SWEET REVOLUTION

• To make Jharkhand state in the category of developed states by 2022.
• Providing employment by connecting the farmers of the state with bee keeping.
• To increase agriculture and horticulture yield and income of farmers.
• To make the state the leading state in the field of honey production.
• To make children free from malnutrition.
• Production of quality honey.

World honey market – a glimpse

• The total honey market value is $ 500 million and by 2025 the market is expected to reach $ 1130 million.
• By honey production, China tops the list. It is closely followed by Turkey, and then the USA
• Major consumption market is found in Europe, North America and China.
• Honey Market is increasing @ 10.7% CAGR.
• Indian honey market demand is in USA, UAE and Europe

WAY FORWARD

• Focus should be on imparting training on scientific bee-keeping and production of high value honey and honey-bee products and creating awareness among farmers, bee-keepers and land less laborers about the scope and potential of bee-keeping enterprise as an additional source of income to them.
• Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare has approved the National Bee Keeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) for a period of 2 years.
• Per capita honey consumption in India is as low as 50 grams per year in India; globally it ranges from 250 to 300 grams, with Germany topping in per capita honey consumption, with a whopping 2 kg per year.

Distribution of Potter Wheels under KVIC’s Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana

IN NEWS

• Union Home Minister distributed 100 electric potter under the Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

ABOUT

• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched Scheme “Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana” (KSY) in Pokhran, which is in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan where India conducted its first nuclear test – to restore the lost glory of the pottery site.

TARGET BENEFICIARIES

• The program reaches out to the potters in : U.P., M.P., Maharashtra, J&K, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana and Bihar.

BENEFITS PROVIDED

This program provides the following support to potters.

• Training for advanced pottery products
• Latest, new technology pottery equipments like the electric Chaak
• Market linkages and visibility through KVIC exhibitions

OUTCOMES

Due to the supply of electric chaaks, the potters have reaped the following benefits.

• More production with less hours of work.
• Less noise and better health benefits.
• Less power consumption with smooth transition to higher speeds.

CONCLUSION

• Pottery in the Indian subcontinent has an ancient history and is one of the most tangible and iconic elements of Indian art.
• KSY has impacted the lives of potters in a big way. With electric chaaks, the production of clay items has increased by manifold. At present, nearly 2 crore kulhars are made every day across the country.
• Scheme like KSY will help marginalized farmer to restore skills and livelihood and bloom the pottery industry again with flying colours.

Pied Cuckoo

Why in NEWS ?

• The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), along with the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) and the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology, has begun a study of the migration of the pied cuckoo from Africa to India and back, by tagging two of the birds with satellite transmitters.

About

• This is the first study in the country that seeks to trace and observe the migratory routes of the pied cuckoo.
• It will help gather data and information on climate change.
• The pied cuckoo migration study is part of a larger project called the Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN) funded by the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which aims to put relevant Indian bio-resources information online

About PIED CUCKOO

• Also known as Jacobin Cuckoo or Chatak
• It is a bird with black and white plumage (pied) with a fancy crest on the head.
• Its scientific name is Clamator jacobinus.
• The arrival of the pied cuckoos in the Himalayan foothills has traditionally been seen as heralding the onset of the monsoon.
• The genus ‘Clamator’ literally translates to being a shouter, a bird which is quite vocal, so you’ll hear yourself surrounded by the calls close to the monsoon.
• Farmers have traditionally relied on the arrival of the pied cuckoo as a signal to sow seeds, as they know that the monsoon will be upon them soon. This signal is never wrong, because the pied cuckoo arrives in India riding the monsoon wind.

Anti-Satellite Weapon

Why in NEWS ?

• US and UK have accused Russia of test firing anti-satellite weapon in space.

About

• The US and UK are accusing Russia of launching a projectile from a satellite, threatening peaceful use of outer space.
• Defence Ministry of Russia said that the July 15 event involved "a small space vehicle" that "inspected one of the national satellites from a close distance using special equipment" and not testing any anti-satellite weapon in space.

About Anti-Satellite Weapon

• Anti-satellite weapons are the space weapons that are designed to destroy satellites for military purposes.
• Space Weapons are used in the space warfare. Weapons that are included in this are used to attack space systems in orbit that is anti-satellite weapons.
• They also attack targets from space to the earth or disable missiles travelling through space.
• Such types of missiles were developed by the contesting superpowers during the Cold War.
• India has successfully tested its first Anti-Satellite missile (ASAT) on 27 March, 2019 and became the fourth nation to achieve this after US, Russia and China.
• India tested this missile to target live satellite on low earth orbit (LEO), operation named Mission Shakti.
• Most of the military satellites orbit up to 2,000 km above the earth's surface on LEO.