Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
21-March, 2018 20:37 IST
Cabinet approves Revision of Energy Norms under New Urea Policy
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has accorded the following approval to the proposal of Department of Fertilizers:
(a) The Target Energy Norms under New Urea Policy-2015(NUP-2015) for 11 urea units to be implemented w.e.f. 1st April, 2018.
(b) The extension of present energy norms with token penalties, under the New Urea Policy-2015 for a further period of two years for 14 urea manufacturing units which failed to achieve the Target Energy Norms.
(c) Three Naphtha based urea units are also allowed the existing energy norms for another two years/till gas pipeline connectivity.
(d) The target energy norms as per NUP-2015 will be continued for 5 years w.e.f. 1st April, 2020.
The extension of present energy norms for further period of 2 years will ensure easy availability of urea to farmers throughout the country. It will also help to maximize the indigenous urea production and will lessen the import of urea.
The approval will also help to recover some part of the CAPEX invested by urea manufacturing units for making their units more energy efficient. Energy efficient urea manufacturing units shall reduce the carbon footprint and it will be more environment friendly.
Chemical Fertilizers have played an important role in making the country self-reliant in food grain production and provide a very vital input for the growth of Indian agriculture.
The energy efficiency norms notified by the Department for the year 2018-19 are capital intensive. The cost economics of the companies does not support the implementation of energy saving schemes as the simple pay back on investment is very long.
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Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
21-March, 2018 20:36 IST
Cabinet approves Central Sector "Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry" for sericulture sector
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for Central Sector Scheme "Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry" for the next three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
The Scheme has four components –
- Research & Development (R&D), Training, Transfer of Technology and IT Initiatives
- Seed Organizations and farmers extension centres
- Coordination and Market Development for seed, yarn and silk products and
- Quality Certification System (QCS) by creating amongst others a chain of Silk Testing facilities, Farm based & post-cocoon Technology Up-gradation, and Export Brand Promotion.
Financial Outlay:
A total allocation of Rs.2161.68 Crore has been approved for the implementation of the Scheme for three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The scheme will be implemented by the Ministry through Central Silk Board (CSB).
Impact:
The scheme is expected to increase the silk production from the level of 30348 MTs during 2016-17 to 38500 MTs by end of 2019-20 with the following interventions:
• Production of import substitute bivoltine silk to the tune of 8500 MTs per annum by 2020.
• Research & Development to improve productivity from the present level of 100 Kgs to 111 kgs of silk per ha. of plantation by the end of 2019-20.
• Large scale propagation of improved reeling machines (Automatic Reeling Machine for mulberry; improved reeling/spinning machineries and Buniyad reeling machines for Vanya silk) under Make in India programme to produce quality silk to cater to the market demand.
The scheme will promote Women Empowerment and livelihood opportunities to SC/ST and other weaker sections of the society. The scheme will help to increase productive employment from 85 lakhs to 1 crore persons by 2020.
Improvement over the earlier scheme:
The scheme has following improvement over the earlier scheme:
(i) The scheme aims to achieve self-sufficiency in silk production by 2022. To achieve this, production of high grade silk in India will reach 20,650 MTs by 2022 from the current level of 11,326 MTs thereby reducing imports to Zero.
(ii) For the first time, there is clear focus on improving production of highest grade quality of silk. It is proposed to increase 4A grade silk from the current level of 15% to 25 % of mulberry production by 2020.
(iii) The implementation strategy is clearly based on convergence at the State level with the schemes of other Ministers like MGNREGS of Rural Development, RKVY & PMKSY of Ministry of Agriculture, for maximizing benefits to the sericulturists.
(iv) The R&D projects pertaining to disease resistant silkworm, host plant improvements, productivity enhancing tools and implements for reeling and waving etc. will be done in cooperation with Ministries i.e. Science and Technology, Agriculture and Human Resource Development (HRD).
Details:
The core objective of the scheme is to improve the productivity and quality of silk through R&D intervention. The focus of R&D intervention is to promote improved crossbreed silk and the import substitute Bivoltine silk so that Bivotine silk production in India enhances to such a level that raw silk imports become nil by 2022 thereby making India self-sufficient in silk.
R&D interventions will include race improvement through development of improved host plant varieties and improved disease resistant silkworm breeds by having collaborative research with reputed National Research organizations like IITs, CSIR, IISc and international research institutes on Sericulture in Japan, China, Bulgaria etc.; Technological advancements with respect to pre coccon and post cocoon sectors. Thrust will be given on technology upgradation and making mechanization affordable.
Use of silkworm by-products (pupa) for poultry feed, sericin for cosmetic applications and product diversification into non-woven fabrics, silk denim, silk knit etc. will be given thrust for added value realisation.
Under Seed Sector, Seed Production Units will be equipped and strengthened to bring in quality standards in production network, besides increasing the production capacity to cater to the increased silk production target. Support would be provided for adopted seed rearers to generate quality seed cocoons, private graineurs to produce quality seed and Chawki Rearing Centres (CRCs) with incubation facilities to produce and supply chawki worms. Other efforts will include setting up new Cold storage, providing mobile disinfection units and equipment support for mechanization.
Registration process under Seed Act and reporting by seed production centres, basic seed farms and extension centres will be automated by developing web based software. All the beneficiaries under the scheme from silk farmers, seed producers and chawkirearers will be brought on a DBT mode with Aadhaar linkage. A Helpline will be set up for timely redressal of grievances and all outreach programmes.
Brand Promotion of Indian silk will be encouraged through quality certification by Silk Mark not only in the domestic market but in the Export market as well. High quality standards in silkworm seed, cocoon and raw silk will be promoted by setting up Cocoon Testing Centres & Silk Testing Centres. Efforts will be strengthened for collaborating with NIFT and NID for support on design and product development.
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Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
21-March, 2018 17:47 IST
States asked to submit their Annual Action Plan 2018-19 to the Centre latest by April 15, 2018 to disburse funds related to central schemes on Agriculture immediately: Shri Radha Mohan Singh
Union Agriculture Minister addresses Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries (Agriculture) and other senior officials of all States and UTs via video conferencing
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh today addressed via video conferencing the Chief Secretaries of States and Principal Secretaries and senior officials of State Agriculture Departments in New Delhi, today. In a first-of-its-kind meeting for the Agriculture Ministry, Shri Singh asked the States to submit their Annual Action Plan 2018-19 to the Ministry latest by April 15, 2018 so that the funds on account of central schemes on Agriculture and allied sectors are disbursed immediately. The Union Minister asked for inter-state criteria information on Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) to be sent urgently.
Shri Singh also asked States to organize regular meetings of the Steering Committee on Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) scheme and fill vacant positions. He also took stock of the unutilized funds of the States and UTs for 2017-18 and asked them to submit, in the next two days, the utilization certificates of the fund received on account of first installment so that the second installment is released before the end of financial year 2017-18. The Minister also requested States to utilize the leftover fund before the end of fiscal 2017-18.
Shri Singh called for the smooth operation of all the schemes, sought their suggestions and gave necessary instructions to the concerned officials.
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Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
21-March, 2018 15:42 IST
Paramparagat Krishi Vikash Yojana to promote organic farming: Radha Mohan Singh
Organic farming Revolution in India on the lines of the Green Revolution
Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers in Agriculture is a cause for concern and has drawn the attention of the government because of its implications on environment, socio-economic and production fronts. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh while addressing ASSOCHAM’s National Conference on Organic farming in New Delhi, today.
He said India is traditionally the world's largest organic farming country. Organic farming is already being doneon the basis of traditional knowledgein several parts of India. The government is committed to take India on the path of modernity in agriculture and wants to introduce new techniques. For a sustainable increase in production, the government has been promoting organic farming on priority.
He said it is the mission of Hon’ble Prime Minister to ensure a successful “Organic Farming Revolution” in India on the lines of “Green Revolution” so that the farming community benefits from it. Through government’s various schemes, approximately 23 lakh hectares of land has been made suitable for organic farming. In order to promote organic farming, the government has started the ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojana (PKVY), under which 2 lakh hectareshas been made suitable for organic farming thereby benefitting 5 lakh farmers.
The Minister said the main objective of National Centre of Organic Farming is to promote organic farming in the country. Other government institutions like APEDA and Ministry of Commerce, while playing a leading role in improvement and control of certification system, are promoting the export of organic products. The government has initiated the Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern region. The aim of the Ministry is to promote organic farming in hilly and tribal areas as the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in these areas is very low.
The Minister said the government’s target is to cover 50,000 hectares under organic farming in the North Eastern states, out of which 45,918 hectares have been made suitable for organic farming and 2429 Farmers Interest Groups have been formed, thereby connecting 48949 farmers with the scheme. He said that in line with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s dream, India should move towards becoming a chemical free organic country.
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