4th, September, 2022

 

Topic: CM held discussion with experts of Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA).

 

 

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

 

Punjab PCS Prelims: Agriculture

Punjab PCS Mains:

• Paper 4: General Aptitude I: Topic: Geography of Punjab: Location and agriculture

 

What is the news?

• Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday held discussion with experts of Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA).

Purpose of this discussion:

• To discuss on the technique of direct seeded rice (DSR), new maize and wheat genetics, cropping systems and other measures to transform the destiny of farmers. He also discussed crop diversification in the state.
• Chief Minister while chairing a meeting with the representatives of BISA led by Director General, CIMMYT & BISA, Mexico, Dr Bram Govaerts shared:
• The DSR, new maize and wheat genetics, cropping systems and others are being successfully implemented on farms of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia and can prove to be a game-changer for farmers of the state.
• Need of the hour was to switch to less water guzzling crops for which BISA model of crop diversification needs to be followed across the state.

About Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA):

• The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is a non-profit international research institute dedicated to food, nutrition and livelihood security as well as environmental rehabilitation in South Asia, which is home to more than 300 million undernourished people. BISA is a collaborative effort involving the CIMMYT and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research.

 

• The objective of BISA is to harness the latest technology in agriculture to improve farm productivity and sustainably meet the demands of the future. BISA is more than an institution. It is a commitment to the people of South Asia, particularly to the farmers, and a concerted effort to catalyze a second Green Revolution.

 

• Established on October 5, 2011 research and development centers in the districts of Ludhiana (Punjab), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Samastipur (Bihar), BISA is an institute built on the legacy of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution. Borlaug was the recipient of the India’s Padma Vibhushan award in 2006.

 

Objectives:

1)Ensure access to the latest in research and technologies that are currently not available in the region.

2) Strategize research aimed at doubling food production in South Asia while using less water, land and energy.

3) Strengthen cutting-edge research that validates and tests new technologies to significantly increase yield potential.

4) Develop technologies for higher productivity in rice, maize and wheat based farming systems.

5) Design research outputs targeted to small and marginal farmers across the region.

6) Build on CIMMYT’s vast germplasm resources, and make research products and know-how developed by BISA freely available to stakeholders.

7) Create a new generation of scientists to work with new technologies through training programs that will retain them in South Asia.

8) Enable researchers to pursue multiple strategies and research possibilities while simultaneously allowing for more meaningful collaboration with national institutions.

9) Build a forum with partners from all sectors – research centers, governments, science community, businesses and farmers – to transform farmers’ lives and improve food security in the region.

10)Develop a policy environment that embraces new technologies and encourages investments in agricultural research.

11) Develop and utilize BISA as a regional platform that focuses on agricultural research in the whole of South Asia.

(News Source: The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Paddy dwarfing disease spreading fast across region, farmers worried.

 

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

 

Punjab PCS Prelims: Agriculture

Punjab PCS Mains:

• Paper 4: General Aptitude I: Topic: Geography of Punjab: Location and agriculture

 

What is the news?

• Paddy dwarfing disease spreading fast across region, farmers worried.

 

What is the root cause?

• The dwarf disease in paddy, caused due to the southern rice, black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), seems to be spreading fast in the region, leaving the farmers worried, if the official figures are any indication.

What the experts say?

• Stunted plants have been observed in rice and basmati fields. The stunting is more pronounced in early sown rice crop than the crop sown after June 25, irrespective of the variety. Farmers are urged not to use any pesticide. — Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice Chancellor, PAU
• Dwarf disease is due to a double-stranded RNA virus that was first reported from Southern China in 2001. The symptoms produced on the rice as well as the genome structure resembles that of rice black-streaked dwarf virus. Dr AS Dhatt, Director of research, PAU

 

What is the treatment?

• The virus is spread in the fields by the vector — white backed plant hopper (WBPH), which needs to be controlled in order to tackle the disorder. The farmers should regularly monitor the fields. The nymphs of WBPH fall in the water if one taps at the stem of the plant. To control it, the farmers have been advised to spray Triflumezopyrim 94 ml per acre or Dinotefuran 80 gm per acre or Pymetrozine 120 gm per 100 litres of water.

 

Why concern and how much is the loss?

• While over 3,500 hectares of standing paddy crop has already been officially hit by the SRBSDV, which has appeared for the first time in Punjab, the latest survey conducted by the scientists of the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) has also confirmed that stunted plants have been observed in rice and basmati fields in almost the entire state, especially in Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ropar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts.
• The incidence of stunted growth of paddy has been reported in various blocks of Ludhiana.

 

Concern about Ludhiana:

• Ludhiana, which has grown paddy over 2,58,600 hectares this crop season, the highest ever in the state, has reported the disease over 3,500 hectares, which accounted for 1.35 per cent of the total area under paddy.
• If the crop yield pattern and pricing was taken into consideration, the farmers in Ludhiana district alone have so far suffered a loss of over Rs 51.35 crore as at least 2,51,720 quintals of paddy yield has already been hit by the disease. In 2021-22, Ludhiana district had recorded 7,192 kg per hectare paddy yield and the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy for 2022-23 has been fixed at Rs 2,040 per quintal.
• The Agriculture Department has confirmed stunted growth of paddy in Ludhiana block (300 hectares), Khanna (1,500 hectares), Samrala (1,100 hectares), Machhiwara (400 hectares), Doraha and Mangat (50 hectares each), and Sidhwan Bet block (100 hectares).

(News Source: The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Govt allocates Rs 8 crore to NGOs for welfare works

 

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

 

Punjab PCS Prelims: Punjab Current Events

Punjab PCS Mains:

• Paper 4: General Aptitude I: Topic: Governance: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Development processes and the development organizations- the role of NGOs, SHGs, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders

 

What is the news?

• The Punjab Government has allocated funds to the tune of Rs 8 crore for welfare and social works being done by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the state.
• Chairing a meeting of the apex committee for providing financial assistance to NGOs, Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua
• Requisite funds would be provided to such organizations from time to time for different works through departments concerned.
• Apex committee had been working in the state in the priority sectors like education, vocational training, social justice, health, animal husbandry, social security, rural development and child nutrition programs so that the projects could be implemented effectively.

How funds will be used out of 8Cr:

• Rs 3.96 crore had been allocated for social security, women and child development, Rs 2.50 crore for animal husbandry, Rs 59 lakh for health, Rs 44 lakh for rural development and Panchayat, Rs 40 lakh for social justice, empowerment and minorities and Rs 11 lakh for school education.

 

The Chief Secretary further directed officials:

• To evaluate the performance of the NGOs with a view to streamline their activities so as to avoid duplication of work done by various organizations under different schemes of the state government.
• He emphasized there should be a strong synergy between their activities and coordination with the departments to achieve the objective of socio-economic uplift of targeted section of society.

(News Source: The Tribune)

 

 

 

Topic: Speedy trial constitutional right of accused: High Court

 

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

 

Punjab PCS Prelims: Punjab Current Events

Punjab PCS Mains:

• Paper 4: General Aptitude I: Topic: Indain Constitution & Polity : Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary; Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.

 

What is the news?

• Making it clear that speedy trial was “constitutional right of an accused”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail in a case allegedly involving commercial quantity of contraband after ruling that an accused has a right to file a second application on the ground of delayed trial, if he is in custody even though his first plea has been dismissed on merits. The second bail plea in such cases was maintainable.

What is the case?

• The order came even as the state counsel argued before Justice Vikas Bahl that commercial quantity of contraband was allegedly recovered from the petitioner-accused.
• As such, the bar under Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act would apply.

 

What does the NDPS Act say?

• Section 37 of the NDPS Act makes it clear that the severity or strictness in granting bail was applicable to offenses involving commercial quantity.

 

What does it indicate?

• It indicates that no person accused of an offense punishable under this law “shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless — the public prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and where the public prosecutor opposes the application.

 

What is Court said?

• The court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offense and that he is not likely to commit any offense while out on bail.”
• The counsel for the accused, argued that 14 dates were given on account of the pandemic since the dismissal of his first bail plea on June 30, 2020.
• Bailable warrants of arrest were also issued against the prosecution witnesses on six occasions. Yet, none of the prosecution witnesses had been examined.

 

What did the court observed?

• Among other things, Justice Bahl observed that none of the prosecution witnesses had been examined in the case, even though the petitioner-accused had been in custody for more than three years and five months. His previous bail plea, too, was dismissed over two years ago.
• Justice Bahl asserted it was observed by the Supreme Court that a fresh bail application was not legally non-maintainable even in cases where the earlier bail application was rejected and the SLP against the same was dismissed as withdrawn.
• The court could consider the subsequent bail application after taking into account fresh circumstances and subsequent events.
• Referring to another verdict, Justice Bahl added: “It has been observed that speedy trial is a constitutional right of the accused provided to him under Article 21 of the Constitution. In case the accused is in custody and his first bail application was dismissed on merits and the trial is being delayed, the accused has a right to file a second bail application on the ground of delayed trial.”

(News Source: The Tribune)