As we prepare ourselves to bid adieu to yet another eventful year, GNBC brings you 10 reasons to cheer and start a new year on a positive note. The ‘Top 10 News 2015’ is a collection of best news of the year in each category. Only those Good News are selected that have had a commendable impact on different sections of the society.
1. National e-Agriculture Market in the Offing
Aiming to maximise the farmers’ earning potential and moderate the food inflation, the Agriculture Ministry is working on establishing an online national agriculture market through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund. It will integrate 585 wholesale markets across India. Government agency Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) plans to implement it in three phases by 2017-18. A similar platform is already in place for farmers in Karnataka.
News Source: Economic Times
Image Source: Ruralmarketing.in
2. ICFA: An Apex body of Food and Agriculture
The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA), an integrated body taking care of the interests of the stakeholders in the agriculture sector, at home and abroad, has finally been established. Adapting from the international agriculture related institutions, the national body focuses on fine tuning policy formulation, research and academia, technology and finance to further the development of Indian agriculture.
News Source: Southasia.oneworld.net
Image Source: Inhabitat.com
3. DD Kisan: A Farmer-Centric Channel
The Indian government has launched a dedicated 24-hour channel, DD Kisan to provide seamless authentic farming knowledge to the farmers. Being included under the genre infotainment (Hindi), it has become a mandatory channel for every cable and Direct to Home (DTH) operator to provide to its subscribers.
Glossary
Kisan- Hindi- Farmer
News Source: India Today
Image Source: Succeed Socially
4. Web-portals Launched to Check Soil Health and Promote Organic Market
Addressing the fundamental concerns plaguing agriculture, the Union Agriculture Ministry has launched three web portals viz. Soil Health Card (SHC) portal, Fertiliser Quality Control System (FQCS) portal and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) – India portal. The first two aim to gauge the health of the soil and recommend adequate spectrum of fertiliser dose. The PGS-India is a decentralised organic farming quality assurance certification system dedicated to promote domestic organic market.
News Source: Press Information Bureau
Image Source: PGS Organic, Krishi Jagran
5. MPEDA Launches e-Services for Farmers
Bringing some order to the chaotic and risk-prone life of an aquaculture farmer, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has made them available some commendable services. An android based mobile application, mKRISHI, has been launched for book keeping, advisory services and real time weather information. Farmers can take an informed decision on harvest by knowing the current market price trends of shrimps over SMS by giving a missed call. Also, the MPEDA website has been revamped to enable the online registration of exporters.
News Source: The Hindu
Image Source: Vanik E-Paper
6. New Mobile App to Boost Milk Yield
Empowering dairy farmers with the right knowledge, the National Dairy Development Board has launched a mobile application Pashu Poshan, that guides them with ways to raise milk yield. Once the complete animal profile and the current food intake with the cost are provided in the application, it generates the best bet for the animal’s balanced diet. So, with the feed cost reduced and the milk yield increased, the farmers’ income will see a dramatic rise.
News Source: Economic Times
Image Source: Networked India
7. A Comprehensive Scheme for Efficient Water-Use
Providing convergence to the host of national and regional schemes for expanding cultivable area under assured irrigation and water budgeting, a new scheme Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been launched. The scheme has been approved with an outlay of INR 50,000 crore over a period of five years.
Glossary
Pradhan Mantri – Hindi- Prime Minister
Krishi- Hindi- Agriculture
Sinchayee-Hindi- Irrigation
Yojana- Hindi- Scheme
News Source: Press Information Bureau
Image Source: India Infoline
8. KISAN Project and Hailstorm App Unveiled
The KISAN project [C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoiNformatics] of the Union Agriculture Ministry envisages to use satellite and drone-based imaging and other geospatial technology to collect precise data on crop yields. Also, the Hailstorm, the android based mobile application developed by the ISRO, will help in assessing the extent of standing crop damage during a hail storm.
News Source: Tribune India
Image Source: Economic Times
9. Agartala Gets North-East India’s First KCC
A round-the-clock expert advice is just a call away for the farmers in Agartala. The Kisan Call Centre is equipped with the experts of agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and animal husbandry. They guide and provide immediate solutions to the farmers on issues like seed procurement, agro-metric, fertiliser and pesticides usage, soil health and marketing.
Glossary
Kisan- Hindi- Farmer
News Source: Zee News
Image Source: Khichdi Online
10. A Timely Government Intervention Cheers-Up the Cotton Farmers
A move that will go a long way in alleviating cotton farmers’ distress and stabilising the cotton prices, the union government authorised the Maharashtra State Co-operative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation to undertake MSP operations as a sub-agent of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) during the 2014-15 cotton season. It has also announced the hike of INR 50 per quintal each in the minimum support price of medium- and long-staple cotton.
News Source: The Hindu
Image Source: © P.Dabas 2009
