30th, January, 2023

Topic: Himachal is ranked second in the region for birth sex ratio.

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

Importance for Prelims: Indian and World Geography physical, social, economic geography of India and the world.

Importance for Mains Exam:

• PAPER-V: GENERAL STUDIES-II : UNIT III: Topic: Issues and Challenges. Programmes and policies for the welfare of differently-abled persons, women and children in Himachal Pradesh.

 

What is the news?

• Low sex ratios at birth (SRB) were seen in the northern states and UTs between 2021 and 22. Only Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh in the area have reported a higher SRB than the national average, according to a Health Management Information System (HMIS) study recently released by the government. SRB numbers in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi are lower than the national average.
• Even Himachal, J&K, and Ladakh are just little higher than the 934 national average. Ladakh had the highest SRB in the area (943), followed by Himachal (941), and J&K (940), which came in second and third, respectively.

Who shared this study?

• Health Management Information System (HMIS) study recently released by the government.

 

What is Sex ratio at birth?

• SEX RATIO at BIRTH is the number of resident male live births (for a specific geography such as country, state or county for a specified time period, usually a calendar year) divided by the number of resident female live births (for the same geography and time period) and multiplied by 100 or 1,000.

 

Calculation:

• 100 (or1000) * Number of Resident Male Live Births / Number of Resident Female Live Births

 

Example:

• 58,000 = male live births in 2008 to state residents 55,000 = female live births in 2008 to state residents (58,000/55,000) x 100 = 105.5 male births per 100 female live births in 2008 among state residents (NOTE: If 1,000 is used as the multiplier instead of 100, the result would = 1,055 male births per 1,000 female births.)

 

About Himachal:

• Despite having a better SRB than the national average, the situation in Himachal isn’t very pleasant. According to Professor NS Bist, a former head of the HPU Population Research Center, the SRB should be at least greater than 960.

 

Former HPU Population Research Center director Professor NS Bist shared:

• Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act implementation should be tougher, according to Professor Bist. Prenatal sex determination is forbidden by the Act in order to advance gender equality.
• “The Act must be strictly enforced to prevent an imbalance in gender ratio at birth. Increased efforts are required to alter the public’s attitude about girls, he said.

(News Source: The Tribune)

 

Topic: Cluster system in farm sector to increase farmers’ income

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

Importance for Prelims: Economic and social development – sustainable development poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives, etc.

Importance for Mains Exam:

• PAPER-VI: GENERAL STUDIES-III : UNIT III: Topic: Diversification in Agriculture and allied activities, Land tenure and size of land holdings.

 

What is the news?

• According to Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, who presided over a meeting of senior officers of the Agriculture Department today, the department will implement a cluster system in the farm sector to promote Integrated Agriculture Development (IAD) and increase the income of farmers by giving them access to the most recent technical information regarding specific crops.

Minister of agriculture shared:

• He gave the officers the go-ahead to create a land use plan based on their evaluation of the results of the soil tests. The Minister emphasised crop diversification and stated that high nutritional farm products would be the focus in order to increase farmer income.
• The Agriculture Department’s officers would receive instruction in cutting-edge technical knowledge.
• Reviewing the progress of JICA project the Minister stressed upon for providing better irrigational facilities to the farmers. He directed the officers to prepare the proposal under the project that will ensure sustainable livelihood to the farmers. The farmers will be provided with better marketing linkage facilities with a view to enhance their income.

 

What is cluster system in farm sector?

• A cluster system in the farming sector refers to a group of farmers or agribusinesses that collaborate and work together to improve their competitiveness and overall performance. This can include activities such as pooling resources for collective marketing, joint production, and sharing of knowledge and technology. The goal of a cluster system is to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the quality of agricultural products.

(Source: HP Government)

 

 

Topic: Work to form Baddi-Barotiwala municipal corporation begins

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

Importance for Prelims: Indian polity and governance – Constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Importance for Mains Exam:

• PAPER-V: GENERAL STUDIES-II : UNIT III: Topic:Local self-government in urban and rural areas in India.

 

What is the news?

• The process of creating a new municipal corporation by joining the Baddi municipal council with the adjacent panchayats and the industrial town of Barotiwala has started. In this regard, a preliminary plan has been prepared.
• The move comes in response to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s announcement that three new municipal corporations would be formed.
• The statement was made on December 29 during a review meeting of the departments of urban development and town and country planning.

What will be these 3 municipal corporations:

1) Baddi-Barotiwala

2) Una

3) Hamirpur

 

Locals have shared difficulties:

• Locals, however, believe that the creation of a municipal corporation will make their situation worse because they will have to pay more taxes and obtain building map approval for every construction, no matter how big or small. The action, they claim, will only benefit investors.

 

Declaration of municipal area as Corporation:

(1) For the purposes of this Act the area comprised within the limits of the Shimla Municipal Corporation constituted under the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1979 (9 of 1980) shall be the Municipal Corporation of Shimla. (2) The Government may, from time to time, by a notification in the Official Gazette, declare any municipality to be a Corporation Known as “the Municipal Corporation of…………………………. (Name of Corporation) “:

Provided that no municipality or group of municipalities shall be so declared to be a Corporation unless:

1)  The population thereof exceeds fifty thousand; and

2) The total income of the municipality or group of municipalities immediately preceding the date of issue of the notification, exceeds two crores rupees per annum.

(3) The Government may, from time to time, after consultation with the Corporation, by notification in the Official Gazette, alter the limits of the municipal area of the Corporation declared under sub-sections (1) and (2) so as to include therein or exclude therefrom such areas as may be specified in the notification.

(4) When the limits of the municipal area are altered, so as to include therein any area, except as the Government may otherwise by notification direct, all rules, regulations, notifications, bye-laws, orders, directions and powers issued or conferred and all taxes imposed under this Act and in force in the municipal area, shall apply to such area.

(5) When a local area is excluded from the Corporation under subsection (3),-

(a) this Act, and all notifications, rules, bye-laws, orders directions and powers issued, made or conferred under this Act, shall cease to apply thereto; and

(b) the Government shall after consulting the Corporation, frame a scheme determining what portion of the balance of the Corporation fund and other property vesting in the Municipal Corporation shall vest in the Government and in what manner the liabilities of the Corporation shall be apportioned between the Corporation and the Government, and, on the scheme, being notified, the property and liabilities shall vest and be apportioned accordingly.

(News Source: The Tribune)