Current Affairs 12-NOV-2023 (The Hindu)

PM-Kisan Bhai Scheme

(D => Pg-13)

PM-Kisan Bhai Scheme

• Aim: Giving farmers more control over their crops and prices.
• How? By helping farmers store their crops for at least 3 months after harvesting.

Implemented in Pilot Phase in Seven States

• Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.

Objective

• To empower farmers by breaking the monopoly of traders in determining crop prices.
• To break the traditional practice of compelling farmers to sell their crops around the harvest period.

Components

Warehousing Rental Subsidy (WRS)

• Storing farmer’s produce at warehouses at a very low cost.
• Eligibility: Small and marginal farmers + farmer producer organizations (FPOs).
• Storage rate: ₹4 per quintal per month.
• Products stored for 15 days or less are not eligible for subsidy.
• Subsidy is calculated on a day-to-day basis.

Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI)

• Additional interest subvention under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme.
• For farmers storing their produce at warehouses.
• Estimated 3% interest reduction.

Practice Question – Prelims

Consider the following about PM Kisan scheme and Kisan Credit Card Scheme:

1. Both the schemes help to address the post-harvest and working capital needs of the farmer.
2. Both the schemes help the farmers from falling into the debt trap.
3. Both the schemes provide low-cost credit to the farmers.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) None

Cloud Seeding

(D => Pg-6)

Cloud Seeding

• Weather Modification Technology: Involves the creation of artificial rain.
• Condition: Presence of enough pre-existing clouds in the atmosphere. (Note: Cloud seeding does not create new clouds.)
• Discovery: Modern cloud seeding technology was discovered at the General Electric labs in New York.

Process

• Spreading of Rain Seeds: Into the upper part of clouds using iodides of silver or potassium, dry ice (solid CO2), or liquid propane.
• Result: Condensation of smaller particles into larger rain droplets, leading to precipitation.

Advantage of Cloud Seeding

• Increase in Rainfall Rates: Approximately 10% to 30% per year.
• Cost-Effective: Cloud seeding is cheaper than other methods of creating artificial rains.

Benefits of Cloud Seeding

• Creation of Rain in Dryland Farming Regions: Leads to an increase in crop yield. (Example: Cloud seeding in Karnataka in 2019.)
• Environmental Applications: Helps in fighting forest fires, smog, reducing air pollution, fog dispersal, hail suppression, and cyclone modification.
• Example: Cloud seeding during the bushfires in Australia.

Question: With reference to cloud seeding, consider the following statements:

1. It is a weather modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow by introducing tiny ice nuclei into certain types of subfreezing clouds.
2. Aluminum hydroxide is the most common chemical used for cloud seeding.

Select the correct statement using the code given below:

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2