Home » Current Affairs PCS » Pb. Current Affairs

Pb. Current Affairs

September 16th,2020

1) Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance

2)The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance.

3)Farm Services Ordinance, and an amendment in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

The proposed legislations seek to provide barrier-free trade for farmers’ produce outside notified farm mandis and empower farmers to enter into farming agreements with private players before production for sale of agri-produce.
The ordinances seek to include private players in agriculture and promote the hurdle-free sale of produce, but the farmers argue that they will bring about corporate dominance.

The ordinances would pave the way for ending the Minumum Support Price (MSP) regime, which will spell doom for Punjab and the whole nation.
Legislation must be brought securing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of all crops including fruits and vegetables.
The government is trying to present them as a big step towards agricultural reforms in the form of “One Nation, One Market” but they will result in ‘company rule’ in the agricultural sector.
The Bills relate to the three ordinances issued by the Union Government on June 5, 2020, for permitting trade in agricultural produce outside the physical boundaries of the set-up agricultural market under APMC Act, easing restrictions under the Essential Commodities Act and facilitating contract farming.

(Source:- The Hindu & Tribune(PB))

The northern region has to work hard to attract startups as no state from the region has been ranked as the top performer in the second edition of Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems.

Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

For the purpose of ranking, the states were classified into five categories: Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Startup Ecosystems.

In the northern region, access to seed capital and venture funding support is difficult as compared to top-performing states.

(Source:- Tribune(PB))

To make farmers more self-reliant so that they don’t have to rely solely on the advice of pesticide dealers, the district Agriculture Department has taken an initiative of providing various periodicals, published by Punjab Agriculture University (PAU).

The department has made the periodicals available at various pesticides, fertilisers and seed shops in the district. Besides, it has approached all agricultural cooperative societies in the district to promote the study material among the farming community.

By reading the material published by the PAU, the farmers would become wiser with respect to the use of chemicals and pesticides. It would help them save money and protect ecology.