Agriculture
Agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. 54.6 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture and allied activities (census 2011) and it contributes 17.4 per cent to the country’s Gross Value Added for the year 2016-17(at current prices).
Major Programmes
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) : The scheme has been approved with an outlay of amount Rs.50,000 crore for a period of 2015-16 to 2019-20 (5 years). The main objective of Pradhan Mantri Krishi sinchayee yojana (PMKSY) is to achieve:
The convergence of investments in irrigation,
- Improve on-farm water use-efficiency to reduce wastage of water,
- Enhance the adoption of precision irrigation and other water-saving technologies (Per drop, more crop),
- Promote sustainable water conservation practices etc.
Crop Insurance : The India government introduced some National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) with some components schemes of Modified National Agricultural Scheme (MNAIS), Weather Based Crop Insurance Schemes (WBCIS) and also Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme(CPIS). “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was implemented from Kharif in the year of 2016 along with some restructured pilot Unified Package Insurance Scheme (UPIS) and also Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS).
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices : Commissions for ‘Agricultural Costs and Prices’ (CACP) set up with a view to evolving a balanced and also integrated price structure, is mandated to advise on the price policy (MSP) of approx 23 crops. These include seven cereal crops (Paddy,Wheat, Jowar, bajra, maize, ragi and barley), five pulse crops (gram, tur, moong,urad and lentil), seven oilseeds (groundnut, sunflower seed, soybean, rapeseed-mustard, safflower, nigerseed and sesamum), copra (dried coconut), of price policy Reports every year, separately for five groups of commodities namely Kharif crops, rabi crops, sugarcane, raw jute and copra.
Determinants of MSP : Cost of production (CoP) is one of the important factors in the determination of MSP (Minimum Support Prices) of mandated crops. Besides cost, the commission considers some other important factors like demand and also supply, price trend in the domestic and international markets, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade between agriculture and nonagricultural sectors and also the likely impact of MSPs on consumers.
Indian Council of Agriculture Research: The National Agricultural Agricultural Research System (NARS) of the country has taken up numbers of activities through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and other programmes for application of farm technologies in farmers field).
Genetic Resources: In all 21 explorations were undertaken and 1,532 germplasm accessions were collected comprising 1,095 of cultivated plants and 437 wild accessions The Population of Momordica cochinchinensis, collected from the middle Andaman Island, was described as a new subspecies Momordica cochinchinensis subsp. Andamanica, which was subsequently validated through DNA barcoding.
Livestock : Improvement of indigenous cattle breeds through selection project was conceptualized for the genetic improvement of Gir, Kankrej and Sahiwal cattle in their home tracts. Under network project of buffalo improvement Nli-Ravi, Bhadawari and also Swamp breed centre’s are functioning as conservation and also improvement units whereas Jaffarabadi, Pandarpuri and also Surti breed centres are concentrating on the field progeny testing and also maintaining the elite herd for bull production and a breedable herd of 567.
Livestock Production: Livestock production is intrinsically linked, each and every being dependent. According to estimates of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the value of output livestock sector at current prices was about 5,91,691 crore during 2015-16 which is about 28.5% of the value of output from the agricultural and also allied sector.
Milk Production: Milk Production during 2015-16 and 2016-17 was 155.5 million tones and 165.4 million tonnes respectively showing annual growth of 6.37 per cent. The per capita availability of milk was around 355 grants per day in 2016-17.
Egg Production: Poultry production has taken a quantum leap in the last four decades, emerging from an unscientific farming practice to a commercial production system with state-of-the/art technological interventions.
National Livestock Mission: The mission is formulated with the objectives of sustainable development of livestock, focusing on improving the availability of quality feed and fodder, risk coverage, effective extension, improved flow of credit and organisation of livestock farmers/readers, etc. with the following submission: 1) submission on livestock development 2) submission on pig development in the north-eastern region 3) submission on fodder and feed development 4) submission on skill development, technology transfer and extension.
Livestock Census: The 19th Livestock Census was conducted in 2012 in the country in participation with animal husbandry departments of the states/UTs.
Indian Fisheries: Presently India is the second largest fish producing country and second largest aquaculture nation in the world. India is also one of the producers of fish through aquaculture and also ranks second in the world after the country named China. The total fish production during 2015-16 (Provisions) stood at 10.79 million metric tonnes (MMT) with a contribution of 7.21 MMT from the inland sector and 3.58 MMT from the marine sector.
Some Important Links:
Article 300A GS Mains Syllabus UPSC
Instruments of Capital Market Capital Market Instruments
Parliamentary form of Government in India Explain the Current Trends in Inflation
Classification of Environment First Past the Post System UPSC
Environmental Clearance Process in India Constitutional Values
