Report on Review of Agricultural Credit A Working Group constituted by the Reserve Bank of India to review agricultural credit released its report on September 13, 2019. It was asked to examine: (i) reach of institutional credit, (ii) ease of credit and inclusiveness, and (iii) impact of loan waivers on state finances and credit discipline. Key observations and recommendations of the Working Group include:
Increase in share of short-term crop loans: The Working Group observed that the interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loans has increased the share of such loans in agricultural credit from 51% in 2000 to 75% in 2018. The scheme has incentivised short-term production credit over long-term investment credit which is important for long-term sustainability of the sector. The Working Group noted that the central and state governments need to increase their capital expenditure which will stimulate the demand for investment credit in agriculture. It also recommended that banks should provide crop loans under the scheme only through Kisan Credit Cards in order to curb the misuse of interest subsidy.
Loan waivers: The Working Group observed that since 2014-15, 10 states have announced loan waivers worth Rs 2.4 lakh crore (1.4% of the 2016-17 GDP), mostly near elections. It noted that loan waivers do not address the underlying causes of farm distress and destroy credit culture, potentially harming farmers’ interest in the medium to long term. It also noted that loan waivers squeeze the fiscal space available for productive investment in agriculture. The Working Group recommended that: (i) loan waivers should be avoided, and (ii) the central and state governments should undertake a holistic review of agricultural policies and input subsidies in order to improve the overall viability and sustainability of agriculture.
Credit for allied activities: The Working Group observed that allied activities (livestock, forestry, and fisheries) receive only 10% of the total agricultural credit while they contribute 40% of the agricultural output. It noted that this could be due to the lack of a proper definition for farmers doing such activities, as the Census defines a farmer based on his landholding. As a result, banks insist on land records for providing credit to such farmers. Also, banks do not have any specific mandate such as priority sector lending to lend towards allied activities. The Working Group recommended that separate lending targets should be set for allied activities and banks should not insist on land records for up to two lakh rupees of such credit.
Sources of credit: The Working Group observed that in 2016-17, 72% of the credit requirement of agricultural households was met through institutional sources and 28% from non-institutional sources such as relatives and moneylenders. It noted that reliance on non-institutional sources could be due to: (i) lack of collateral security with landless labourers, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers, (ii) poor credit rating, and (ii) involvement in unviable subsistence agriculture.
Land reforms: The Working Group noted that in the absence of a proper land leasing framework and lack of records, landless labourers, sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and oral lessees face difficulty in accessing institutional credit. Also, due to fear of eviction, they do not have an incentive to invest in agricultural land, leading to low productivity. It recommended the central government to push states to timely complete the process of digitisation and updation of land records. States having highly restrictive land leasing frameworks should be encouraged to adopt reforms based on the Model Land Leasing Act and the Andhra Pradesh Land Licensed Cultivators’ Act, 2011.
The Working Group observed that reforms such as the model Acts have not been adopted by many states, which could be due to a lack of consensus on concerns raised by states during consultations. The Working Group recommended that for building a consensus, the central government should set up a federal institution, on the lines of the GST Council, to suggest and implement reforms in agriculture.
Credit for small and marginal farmers: The Working Group observed that small and marginal farmers hold 86% of the operational landholdings and have 47% share in the total operated area (2015-16). However, only 41% of such farmers could be covered by banks. It recommended that the lending target for small and marginal farmers should be revised from the existing 8% to 10% with a roadmap of two years.
Regional disparity in credit: The Working Group observed that some states are getting higher credit as a proportion of their agricultural GDP, indicating the possibility of diversion of credit for non-agricultural purposes. In contrast, this credit to GDP ratio is particularly low for states in the central, eastern, and north-eastern regions of the country. It recommended that the priority sector lending norms should be reviewed and suitable measures should be introduced for improving the credit off-take in these regions.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has embarked upon a mission for utilising waste plastic in a big way. It has mobilised nearly 26 thousand people across the country for spreading awareness on plastic waste management. Over 61 thousand hours of shramdaan has been given to collect plastic waste. This has resulted in collection of nearly 18 thousand kilograms of waste plastic throughout the country.
Under the ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa’ programme of the Government of India, it has undertaken awareness generation against use of plastic, through Swachhata Awareness Programme through rallies, putting up posters / banners / slogans, distribution of pamphlets at Toll Plazas and nearby Dhabas, and organizing painting / essay writing competitions in schools. Awareness Programmes are being organised at Camp site / local community centres, publicity through FM Radio, cleaning of National Highways and collection of plastic waste / polythene bags / plastic bottles, cleaning up Toll Plazas, and organizing Swacchata Workshops for truck drivers and toll employees. The ministry is discouraging the use of plastic water bottles, installing dustbins for collection of segregated waste, and is distributing cloth/jute bags.
On the 150th birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, AIM, NITI Aayog’s Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) and UNICEF India, including Generation Unlimited, have launched ‘The Gandhian Challenge’. This innovation challenge provides a platform for every child across India to ideate innovative solutions for a sustainable India of their dreams, using Gandhi’s principles.
The winners of The Gandhian Challenge will be awarded in New Delhi by NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission and UNICEF on the occasion of Children’s Day in November. The contest – open for every child in India from 2 October to 20 October – also celebrates 70 years of partnership between Government of India and UNICEF India to enable Every Right for Every Child.
“Through this partnership, AIM and UNICEF recognize every child’s ability and right to voice their dreams for a world of their choice, following Gandhi's principles. Our aim is to support them to thrive as young innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Mr. R Ramanan, Mission Director AIM.
The problem statement for the Gandhian Challenge is: “Share your innovative solutions/ideas to create a futuristic and sustainable world of your dreams, following Gandhi's principles.”
Ideas and solutions to the Gandhian Challenge may be expressed through broad categories: Art & Innovation (Letters, poems, painting, videos and photos, among others) and Science, Technology & Innovation (Robotics, IoT, sensors and 3D printers, among others).
All applications must be submitted on the challenge page on https://innovate.mygov.in/the-gandhian-challenge/ , Government of India’s citizen engagement portal. All applications must have an ATL code. Children in schools without an ATL can obtain the ATL code by visiting or calling the nearest ATL school. The list of nearest ATL schools in every district can also be accessed on the challenge page mentioned above.
“Participation is a core right of every child and enabling their meaningful participation is of critical importance,” said Dr.Yasmin Ali Haque, Representative, UNICEF India. “Challenges like this help us understand children's point of view with a willing to re-examine our own opinions and attitudes, and envisage solutions through a child-rights lens.”
The most innovative, sustainable solutions/ideas will be showcased as a symbol of a larger movement by children taking root in every district of India. Children across India can access to more than 8000 Atal Tinkering Labs across all districts to support their innovative ideas.
In ATLs, students of class 6th to 12th acquire a problem-solving attitude, develop innovative solutions leveraging technologies like 3D printers, robotics, miniaturised electronics, IOT and programming and DIY kits, with support from teachers and mentors.
About AIM: AIM is the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. AIM’s objective is to develop new programmes and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy, provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, create awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country.
Six major initiatives of AIM: Atal Tinkering Labs-Creating problem-solving mindset across schools in India. Atal Incubation Centers-Fostering world class start-ups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model. Atal New India Challenges-Fostering product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors/ministries.
Mentor India Campaign- A national Mentor network in collaboration with public sector, corporates and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission. Atal Community Innovation Center- To stimulate community centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. ARISE-To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry.
About UNICEF India and Generation Unlimited: UNICEF, an integral part of the United Nations, works with governments, communities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and other partners worldwide to advance children’s rights, and is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Generation Unlimited is a new UNICEF-led global partnership that aims to ensure that every young person age 10-24 is in some form of school, learning, training, self-employment, or age-appropriate employment by 2030. It aims to co-create and scale up proven solutions related to secondary age-education, skills for learning, employability and decent work, and empowerment, with a focus on girls.
The survey recorded malnutrition that included micronutrient deficiencies and details of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and kidney function in children and adolescents.
Key findings of the survey: Around 10% of children in the age group of 5 to 9 years and adolescents in the age group 10 to 19 years are pre – diabetic. 5% of them were overweight and 5% suffered from blood pressure. The survey for the first time proved the coexistence of obesity and under nutrition.
One in five children in the age group 5 to 9 years were stunted. Tamil Nadu and Goa had the highest number of adolescents who were obese or overweight.
Steps Taken by Government of India to curb incidences of Malnutrition: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Rs.6,000 is transferred directly to the bank accounts of pregnant women for availing better facilities for their delivery.
POSHAN Abhiyaan: aims to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies through synergy and convergence among different programmes, better monitoring and improved community mobilisation.
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, aims to ensure food and nutrition security for the most vulnerable through its associated schemes and programmes, making access to food a legal right.
Mid-day Meal (MDM) schemeaims to improve nutritional levels among school children which also has a direct and positive impact on enrolment, retention and attendance in schools. The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition:
On 1 April 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed 2016–2025 the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. Led by WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition calls for policy action across 6 key areas:
creating sustainable, resilient food systems for healthy diets; providing social protection and nutrition-related education for all; aligning health systems to nutrition needs, and providing universal coverage of essential nutrition interventions;
ensuring that trade and investment policies improve nutrition; building safe and supportive environments for nutrition at all ages; and strengthening and promoting nutrition governance and accountability, everywhere.
About the School Education Quality Index (SEQI): Developed by NITI Aayog to evaluate the performance of States and Union Territories (UTs) in the school education sector.
Aim: To bring an ‘outcomes’ focus to education policy by providing States and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses and undertake requisite course corrections or policy interventions.
The index is developed through a collaborative process, including key stakeholders such as Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), the World Bank and sector experts.
It consists of 30 critical indicators that assess the delivery of quality education. These indicators are categorized as below:
Category 1: Outcomes; Domain 1: Learning outcomes Domain 2: Access outcomes Domain 3: Infrastructure and facilities for outcomes Domain 4: Equity outcomes Category 2: Governance processes aiding outcomes.
Significance of the index: Schooling should result in successful learning outcomes. In this regard, SEQI acts as a credible system of assessment and helps to design necessary remedial actions.
How are they ranked? To facilitate a like-for-like comparison, States and UTs have been grouped as Large States, Small States and UTs. States’ and UTs’ performance on Learning Outcomes is driven by their results on the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2017. Their performance on Access Outcomes is primarily driven by enrolment ratios at the secondary level and transition rates from upper-primary to secondary level.
In terms of Infrastructure & Facilities for Outcomes, States’ and UTs’ performance is strongly linked to the presence of Computer Aided-Learning (CAL) at the elementary level and vocational education at the secondary and senior-secondary level.
Performance of various states: Kerala has emerged on top among 20 large states in terms of quality of school education, followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka, while the most-populous Uttar Pradesh was ranked at the bottom position during 2016-17. Among 20 large states in the country 18 have improved their overall performance between 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, which is otherwise referred to as the incremental performance in the report.
The highest incremental performance has been recorded in Kerala. As against 77.6% score in 2015-2016, the state has recorded 82.2% in 2016-2017. The overall performance has declined in Karnataka and Uttarakhand. All seven union territories have shown an improvement in their overall performance scores. The performance and ranks have decreased in Mizoram, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
About Electoral bonds: What are electoral bonds? Bonds that allow donors to pay political parties using banks as an intermediary.
Key features: Although called a bond, the banking instrument resembling promissory notes will not carry any interest. It will be a bearer instrument. It will not carry the name of the payee. It can be bought for any value, in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh or Rs 1 crore.
Eligibility: May be purchased by a citizen of India, or entities incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
Only the registered Political Parties which have secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha elections or the State Legislative Assembly are eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.
Need: The electoral bonds are aimed at rooting out the current system of largely anonymous cash donations made to political parties which lead to the generation of black money in the economy.
How will the Bonds help? Encourage political donations of clean money from individuals, companies, HUF, religious groups, charities, etc. After purchasing the bonds, these entities can hand them to political parties of their choice, which must redeem them within the prescribed time.
Why is there a controversy? The introduction of the electoral bond scheme is part of what appears to be a growing trend away from transparency and accountability, two values which were already sparse in relation to Indian political parties.
Opponents to the scheme allege that since the identity of the donor of electoral bonds has been kept anonymous, it could lead to an influx of black money. Others allege that the scheme was designed to help big corporate houses donate money without their identity being revealed.
Penicillin: Penicillin is one of the oldest antibiotics known to man and is still effective in many cases as not many organisms have developed resistance to it yet. Discovered in 1928.
Penicillin went out of production in India as a result of unrealistic price control.
What is Rheumatic fever? It is endemic in India. It remains to be one of the major causes of the cardiovascular disease which accounts for nearly 25 to 45 per cent of acquired heart disease.
Though, not all sore throats become rheumatic fever with severe joint pain or end up in rheumatic heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease is a condition in which the heart is affected by a disease that eventually leaves no option but to replace the heart valves.
What next? The government is planning to procure Penicillin centrally for a minimum of 3 years and give it to all children aged between 5 years to 15 years suffering from a sore throat, at least once.
The Bonds will be sold through Scheduled Commercial banks (except Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks), Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices, and recognised stock exchanges viz., National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited.
About the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme: The sovereign gold bond was introduced by the Government in 2015. Government introduced these bonds to help reduce India’s over dependence on gold imports. The move was also aimed at changing the habits of Indians from saving in physical form of gold to a paper form with Sovereign backing.
Key facts: Eligibility: The bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities, including individuals, HUFs, trusts, universities and charitable institutions.
Denomination and tenor: The bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. The tenor will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from the 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
Minimum and Maximum limit: The minimum permissible investment limit will be 1 gram of gold, while the maximum limit will be 4 kg for individual, 4 kg for HUF and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by the government from time to time.
Joint Holder: In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4 kg will be applied to the first applicant only.
Collateral: Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
Tenor: The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option after 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
Interest rate: The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50 percent per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value.
What are EDCs? Aimed at developing a cadre of indigenous entrepreneurs in the MSMEs, the EDCs will be similar to incubators for start-ups.
They shall be run by special purpose vehicles in partnership with the private sector, business management organisations, local industry associations.
Key features, roles and functions of EDCs: Offer “enterprise development courses, vocational guidance and skill development for budding entrepreneurs”. Have “enterprise clinics” for struggling firms, which the government hopes will reduce the number of small businesses falling into a debt trap financed by bank loans.
Offer credit facilitation and syndication, export promotion and supplier inclusion.
Incentives and loans by the government for the sector will also flow through the EDCs, after determining the capabilities of the firm through set parameters.
For effective implementation of relief measures in the wake of natural calamities, the Government of India has set up a National Crisis Management Committee.
Cabinet Secretary is it’s Chairman.
Other members: Secretaries of all the concerned Ministries /Departments as well as organizations are the members of the Committee. The NCMC gives direction to the Crisis Management Group as deemed necessary.
It flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km. The missile has been jointly developed with Russia and is named after the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva in Russia.
It is extremely difficult to be intercepted by surface to air missiles deployed on leading warships around the world.
The range of the BrahMos missile can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime or MTCR in 2016.
It is a multiplatform e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missilewith pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.
The Union Water Ministry has excavated an old, dried-up river in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) that linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
The “ancient buried river” is around 4 km wide, 45 km long and consisted of a 15-metre-thick layer buried under soil.
The newly discovered river was a “buried paleochannel that joins the Yamuna river at Durgapur village, about 26 km south of the current Ganga-Yamuna confluence at Prayagraj.