Month: May 2012

Vinod Shankar Bairwa Media & Communication Officer, PIB, New Delhi.
India because of inadequate iron, folate intake and due to low vegetable and flesh food consumption. Majority of Indians over 50% of men, 60 % of women are anaemic. Anaemia begins in childhood, worsens during adolescence in girls and gets aggravated during pregnancy. Over 3/4th of pregnant women are anaemic. Prevalence of anaemia in children is high because of poor iron stores, low iron content of breast milk and complementary foods. There is thus an intergenerational self perpetuating vicious cycle of anaemia.
Level of Anaemia
Mild (10.0-10.9 g/dl)
Moderate (7.0-9.9 g/dl)
Severe (<7.0 g/dl)
Any anaemia (<11.0 g/dl)
Effects of Anaemia on School Children
Anaemia is associated with increased susceptibility to infections, reduction in work capacity and poor concentration. Anaemia in young children is a serious concern because it can result in impaired cognitive performance, behavioural and motor development, coordination, language development, and scholastic achievement, as well as increased morbidity from infectious diseases. One of the most vulnerable groups are children od age 6-23 months and school going children.
Adequate Quantities of Micro Nutrients Supply in MDM National Programme of Mid Day Meal in Schools (MDMS) is a flagship programme of the Government aiming at enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children studying in Government, Local Body and Government-aided primary and upper primary schools and the Centres run under Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS)/Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) and National Children Labour Project (NCLP) schools of all areas across the country.

The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August 1995, initially in 2408 blocks in the country. By the year 1997-98 the NP-NSPE was introduced in all blocks of the country. It was extended in 2002 to cover children studying in centres running under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) Scheme and Madarsas/Maktab. The scheme has been further extended to Upper Primary Schools in 2006-07. Since, 2009-10 the scheme covers children studying in National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Schools. MDM is also served in drought-affected areas during summer vacation also.
Under the Scheme cooked mid day meal with 450 calories and 12 grams of protein is provided to every child at Primary level and 750 calories and 20 grams of protein at Upper Primary level. This energy and protein requirement for a primary child comes from cooking 100 gms of rice/flour, 20 gms pulses and 50 gms vegetables and for an upper primary child comes from 150 gms of rice/flour, 30 gms of pulses and 75 gms To address hunger in schools by serving hot cooked meal, with the following objectives.
Food norm with effect from 1-12-2009
S. No.
Items
Quantity per day/Child
Primary
Upper Primary
1
Foodgrains
100 gms
150 gms
2
Pulses
20 gms
30 gms
3
Vegetables (leafy also)
50 gms
75 gms
4
Oil & fat
5 gms
7.5 gms
5
Salt & condiments
As per need
As per need
Protein Content (in gms)
It is well accepted that vegetables are a vital part of a balanced diet. They are good sources of a range of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and dietary fibre and they play an important role in preventing and controlling a micronutrient deficiencies, including deficiencies in vitamin A, B (folate), C and E.
Vegetables owing to their high natural vitamin C content, can also alleviate iron deficiency by boosting the absorption of non-haem iron food sources in plant foods, provided such vegetables are low in fibre.
Yellow/orange fruits and vegetables, (e.g. carrots, pumpkin, papaya and ripe mangoes) and dark-green leafy vegetables, including indigenous vegetables, are rich in provitamin A carotenoids, which human body can convert into the active form of vitamin A provided there is adequate fat in the diet. As per MDM Guidelines Green leafy vegetables should be added in the Mid day meal menu so that the children should get the nutritional benefits and one portion of the iron of the day can be fulfilled.
Mid Day Meal also envisages supply of adequate quantities of micro nutrients such as Iron, Folic Acid, Zinc and other appropriate supplementation depending on common deficiencies found in the local areas to the target beneficiary group through convergence with the School Health Programme of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, regular health check ups and weekly distribution of iron and folic acid tablets (to prevent iron deficiency Anemia).
(PIB Features.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/mdm-helps-in-reducing-anaemia/

Dilip Ghosh
The signing of Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement, GSPA with Turkmenistan on the 23 May, 2012 marks a major step towards India’s energy security. It will turn the dream of bringing natural gas from the Galkynysh field, better known by its previous name, South lolotan field in Turkmenistan into a reality. The gas will come via Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan and Multan and Quetta in Pakistan to Fazilka in India through the 1700 km long Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India, TAPI pipeline when it is complete by 2018. The pipeline will carry 90 million metric standard cubit metres, mmscm of gas per day. Of this, Afghanistan will get 14 mmscm and Pakistan and India each 38 mmscm of gas. Daniel Stein, Energy Advisor at the US Department of State said in a presentation in March this year that the pipeline alone will cost about 10 to 12 billion dollars. Besides, the development of the gas field will cost another 10 billion dollars.
The deal was signed between the Indian public sector company, Gas Authority of India and Turkmenistan’s national oil company, Turkmengaz. India’s Petroleum Minister, Mr. Jaipal Reddy was there at Awaza in Turkmenistan to witness the signing of the agreement. Later, addressing the 3rd Turkmenistan Gas Congress there, he said, “For India the signing of the GSPA is no ordinary event. While the GSPA could be construed by some as a mere contractual document, for India this particular GSPA is a triumph of multilateralism, regional cooperation and economic integration”. Mr. Reddy congratulated the petroleum ministers of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan for their vision for making a project of this magnitude happen and expressed hope that the TAPI Gas Pipeline will transform the politics of this region and increase its economic integration. He said, hopefully, the spin-off benefits of this pipeline will encourage these four countries to emphasise trade and investment issues and enable them to build trust and confidence among themselves as neighbours and partners in progress.
India joined the TAPI project on 24th April 2008 when Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan. This was followed by the signing of the intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline which was signed on 11th December 2010 in the Turkmenistan capital, Ashgabat. Then protracted negotiations on transit fee with Afghanistan by both India and Pakistan continued till the 16th May this year when the upper House of the Afghan Parliament, Meshrano Jirga cleared the transit fee proposal. The Jirga fixed the transit fee for allowing the gas to flow over the Afghan territory at 50 cents per million British thermal units, mmBtu. The next day the Indian Government gave its go ahead to the Gas Authority of India, GAIL to sign the deal with its Afghan and Pakistani counterparts. It was decided that the transportation charges for the gas will be fixed after a consortium is formed to look after the maintenance of the pipeline. Besides negotiations on transit fee, discussions on the construction of the pipeline which involves great security challenges also took a long time.
All the four countries involved in the TAPI project will stand to hugely benefit once the pipeline is complete. The pipeline will help India and Pakistan diversify their gas supply. India will benefit as the delivered price of gas on the Indian border works out to $10-12 per mmBtu as compared to $16 per mmBtu rate of gas imported in ships in its liquid form, LNG. Turkmenistan will benefit as it wants to triple annual gas exports to 180 billion cubic metres by 2030, looking beyond its traditional partner Russia to wider export markets. Afghanistan apart from getting 14 mmscm gas per day, will get 18 million dollars per year as transit fee. In return it will provide security to 735 km stretch of the pipeline running over its land.
Though the GSPA was signed among the four countries yesterday, the idea of bringing gas out of Turkmenistan is very old. The GSPA has been signed for 30 years and South lolotan field is the second largest in the world, but India’s search for energy sources has not ended. India which aims to become the world’s second largest economy by 2050, must keep its growth engine running. Besides tapping domestic thermal, hydro and nuclear energy sources, the country will continue to import oil and gas from other countries to achieve its 12th Five Year Plan target of 76,000 mega watt of power generation. (PIB Features.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/gspa-triumph-of-multilateralism-economic-integration/

Prabeer Kumar Basu
Secretary, Agriculture & Cooperation, Government of India.
Indian agriculture is on a long-term growth path. Not only is it growing steadily, it has become more diverse and resilient as compared to the past. This despite many challenges such as high dependence on monsoon rains, pressure on cultivable land and water resources, and climate change.
As per the latest crop production data available, India produced a record 252.56 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2011-12. Many major food crops such as rice, wheat and urad have seen record levels of production. Among non-food crops, cotton production too has crossed the earlier record. The production of fruits and vegetables also has seen significant rise in production.
While this rise in production of various crops has been helped by a favourable monsoon, it would not have been possible without the many new initiatives taken by the Central Government, the support given by State Governments to agriculture, and positive response from the farming community.Focused Approach Pays During the last five years, the Central Government has initiated a number of new schemes with focus on crops and areas with potential for high productivity. The approach has been to harness the unutilized potential by encouraging best practices, distributing quality inputs, bridging gaps and – no less important – constantly monitoring implementation.
One of the major focused interventions for increasing the production of rice, wheat and pulses in a time-bound manner is the National Food Security Mission (NFSM). This mega scheme is in operation in 480 districts in 18 states. The targets for enhanced production of rice by 10 million tonnes, wheat by 8 million tonnes and pulses by 2 million tonnes by 2012 with NFSM interventions have already been achieved.
An area focused scheme, Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India, was started two years back to give a boost to foodgrain production in the eastern parts of the country, which remained untouched by the Green Revolution of ‘60s and ‘70s. This scheme is in operation in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The production figures of the last two seasons from this area show that the scheme is helping in fast rise in production of crops, especially rice.
Since pulses are a very important source of protein and India has to import a large part of its pulses requirement, a series of steps have been taken in the recent years to promote production of these crops.
While pulses have been integral to the NFSM scheme, a new programme of Integrated Development of 60,000 Pulses Village in Rainfed Areas is being implemented in 11 major pulses growing States, specifically to promote pulses production in rainfed area. So as to intensify the effort, villages have been selected and locally suitable practices are promoted in these villages.
New crop specific initiatives include setting up of a National Mission to promote saffron cultivation in Jammu & Kashmir and a National Bamboo Mission in 27 States. Specific programmes are in operation to promote vegetable cultivation near cities, oilpalm, other oilseeds, maize, millets and fodder crops.
Encouraging States to Invest in Agriculture
A Rs. 25,000 crore scheme, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), was launched five years ago to incentivizing States to invest more in agriculture. The structure of the scheme is such that States have complete flexibility in use of funds for any activity that supports farming and allied activities. States are also given awards for their achievements. Planning for RKVY projects starts at district level to cater to local needs. This single scheme has resulted in significant rise in investments coming from States towards agriculture, and it will have a long term impact towards invigorating the entire agriculture sector.
In the last five years, States have used RKVY funds and supplemented these with their own funds for projects in areas ranging from land reclamation, micro-irrigation, organic farming, mechanization, creation of storage facilities and seed farms to dairy development and fisheries.
Rising Investment in Agriculture
The growth of Indian agriculture remained stagnant after the green revolution mainly due to low level of investment. The trend, however, has reversed in the last few years, especially after launch of RKVY and government’s high focus on food security. The Gross Capital Formation (GCF) – a measure of investment – in agriculture sector has risen from about Rs. 76,000 crore in 2004-05 to over Rs. 142,000 crore in 2010-11. While GCF was 13.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in agriculture in 2004-05, it is over 20% now. State Plan expenditure on agriculture has grown substantially since the launch of RKVY.
States were allocating about 4.9% of their plan funds to agriculture five years back; in 2010-11 they allocated 6.04% to agriculture.
Farmers Must Get Their Due
So that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce, the Government announces Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of major crops and makes provisions for procurement of the produce at MSP through various agencies. The MSP of major foodgrains, especially pulses, have been raised substantially in the last few years. The rise has been more pronounced in the case of pulses and millets – the protein crops.
Ensuring remunerative prices for major foodgrains is also one of the major planks of the strategy for growing enough foodgrains to meet India’s demand and generating surplus. This is perhaps one factor that has contributed in a major way to the record production of a large number of crops in the recent years.
Credit: A Key Input
Farming operations require funds starting from preparing the field for cultivation until the harvest is sold in the market. The farmer also needs money for other operations, purchase of machinery, dairying, animal husbandry and many more activities. Availability of credit, and in right quantity, therefore, is a very critical requirement for various farming operations.
The Government is striving to reach credit in adequate quantity and at low interest to farmers when they need it. There is special emphasis on bringing all farmers, especially small farmers, under institutional credit so that they are not fleeced by moneylenders. The thrust given to institutional credit has resulted in the growth of farm credit from about Rs. 85,000 crore seven years back to above Rs. 5 lakh crore this year. The Government has been paying subsidy (interest subvention) on farm loans to make them affordable. Because of this, farm loans are available at 7% per year and crop loans up to Rs. 3 lakh at 4% per year.
Horticulture and Food Processing : The Sunrise Sectors
For fast growth in horticulture, a National Horticulture Mission has been established. Another similar Mission is in operation to look into the special needs of hilly States with regard to horticulture.
These schemes have been giving support to States and individual farmers for a large number of horticulture related activities starting from providing quality planting material to storage, marketing and processing.
The Government is giving incentives to entrepreneurs, farmers and state agencies to create storage and marketing facilities for grains as well as the highly perishable horticultural produce.
For encouraging the food processing sector, Mega Food Parks are being set up throughout the country so that industries get all services at one place.
These and many other initiatives taken in the recent years are bolstering the intrinsic strength of Indian
agriculture and making it more productive. These will help it not only face the challenges of deficient monsoon, climate change etc but also keep it on the path of sustainable growth. (PIB Features.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/indian-agriculture-prepares-itself-for-a-new-phase/