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  • Urban Floods

    Why cloudbursts could become more frequent?

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Disaster Management

    Recently, cloudbursts have been reported from several places in J&K, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. A

    What is a Cloudburst?

    • Cloudbursts are short-duration, intense rainfall events over a small area.
    • According to the IMD, it is a weather phenomenon with unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 square km.

    What causes Cloudburst?

    • A study published last year studied the meteorological factors behind the cloudburst over the Kedarnath region.
    • They analyzed atmospheric pressure, temperature, rainfall, cloud water content, cloud fraction, cloud particle radius, cloud mixing ratio, total cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction, and relative humidity during the cloudburst, before as well as after the cloudburst.
    • The results showed that during the cloudburst, the relative humidity and cloud cover was at the maximum level with low temperature and slow winds.
    • It is expected that because of this situation a high amount of clouds may get condensed at a very rapid rate and result in a cloudburst.

    Impact of climate change

    • Several studies have shown that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts in many cities across the globe.
    • As temperatures increase the atmosphere can hold more and more moisture and this moisture comes down as a short very intense rainfall for a short duration.
    • This results in flash floods in the mountainous areas and urban floods in the cities.
    • Also, there is evidence suggesting that globally short duration rainfall extremes are going to become more intense and frequent.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the:

    1. meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky
    2. lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
    3. violent upward movement of air and water particles

    Select the correct option using the codes given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) None of the above

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    NEET’s All India Quota, and OBC & EWS reservation

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    The Union government has approved reservations for the OBC and EWS (Economically Weaker Section) categories within the All India Quota (AIQ) for NEET, the uniform entrance examination for medical and dental colleges across the country.

    What is NEET?

    • The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is the entrance examination for entry to all undergraduate (NEET-UG) and postgraduate (NEET-PG) medical and dental courses in the country.
    • Until 2016, the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) was the national-level entrance examination for medical colleges.
    • State governments used to hold separate entrance tests for seats that were not contested at an all-India level.
    • NEET was held for the first time in 2003, but discontinued the following year.
    • On April 13, 2016, the Supreme Court upheld the newly inserted section 10-D of the Indian Medical Council Act.
    • This provided for a uniform entrance examination to all medical educational institutions at the undergraduate level and postgraduate level in Hindi, English and various other languages.
    • Since then, NEET has been the uniform entrance test for medical courses across the country.

    What is the All-India Quota?

    • Although the same examination is held across the country, a chunk of the seats in state medical/dental colleges is reserved for students domiciled in their respective states.
    • The remaining seats —15% in UG and 50% in PG — are surrendered by the states to the All India Quota.
    • The AIQ scheme was introduced in 1986 under the directions of the Supreme Court to provide for domicile-free, merit-based opportunities to students from any state to study in a good medical college in any other state.
    • A student domiciled in Uttar Pradesh, for example, may be eligible for admission to a seat in a state government medical college in West Bengal, provided she scores high enough in the national merit list.
    • If her score is not high enough for AIQ, she may still hope for admission under the state quota in her home state.
    • In deemed/central universities, ESIC, and Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), 100% seats are reserved under the AIQ.

    What was the reservation policy followed so far?

    • Until 2007, no reservation was implemented within the All-India Quota for medical admission.
    • On January 31, 2007, in Abhay Nath v University of Delhi and Others, the Supreme Court directed that reservation of 15% for Scheduled Castes and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes be introduced in the AIQ.
    • The same year, the government passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2007 providing for 27% reservation to OBC students in central government institutions.
    • While state government medical and dental colleges provide reservations to OBCs in seats outside the All India Quota, this benefit was so far not extended to seats allocated under the AIQ in these state colleges.
    • The 10% EWS quota under the Constitution (One Hundred And Third Amendment) Act, 2019, too, has been implemented in central educational institutions, but not in the NEET AIQ for state institutions.

    What led to the decision?

    • The denial of OBC and EWS reservations has been the subject of protests for years.
    • In July last year, the Madras High Court ruled that OBC students too can avail reservation in the AIQ.
    • It held that the reservation could not be implemented for the then academic year for want of time, and can be implemented from 2021-22.

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  • ISRO Missions and Discoveries

    Geo-imaging satellite EOS-03

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Geo-imaging satellite for earth observation EOS-03, which would enable near real-time monitoring of natural disasters like floods and cyclones, is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2021.

    EOS-03

    • ISRO has realized a geo-imaging satellite, “EOS-03”, for Earth Observation from Geostationary Orbit.
    • EOS-03 is capable of imaging the whole country four-five times daily and would enable near real-time monitoring of natural disasters like floods and cyclones.
    • In addition to natural disasters, EOS-03 would also enable monitoring of water bodies, crops, vegetation condition, forest cover changes.

    Other developments: Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)

    • The first developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
    • The SSLV is a cost-effective, three-stage and all-solid launch vehicle with a payload capability of 500 kg to 500 km planar orbit or 300 kg to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit.
    • It is ideal for the on-demand, quick turn-around launch of small satellites.
    • The major technologies developed as part of SSLV are flexible nozzle control with electro-mechanical actuators for all stages, miniaturized avionics, and a velocity trimming module in the upper stage for precise satellite injection.

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    [pib] Various initiatives for Minorities

    PIB | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Social Empowerment

    The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has informed about various initiatives for minorities.

    A brief of the schemes/programmers being implemented by the Ministry for the educational/economic empowerment of Minority students/candidates are as under:

    Educational Empowerment

    • Scholarship Schemes: Pre-Matric Scholarship, Post-Matric Scholarship and Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship.
    • Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme: It provides financial assistance to students from notified minority communities and whose annual income is below Rs. 6.0 lakh per annum from all sources, to pursue higher education such as M.Phil and Ph.D.
    • Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship: It provides scholarship for meritorious girls belonging to notified minority communities studying in Classes IX to XII.
    • Naya Savera: It is a free coaching scheme which aims to enhance skills and knowledge of students and candidates from notified minority to get employment in Government Sector/ PSU, jobs in private sector, and admission in reputed institutions in technical and professional courses at UG and PG levels.
    • Nai Udaan: Support for notified minority community students, on clearing Prelims conducted by UPSC, State Public Service Commission (PSC) Staff Selection Commission (SSC) etc.

    Economic Empowerment

    • Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn): It is a skill development initiative for minorities and aims to upgrade the skills of minority youth in various modern/traditional skills depending upon their qualification, present economic trends and market potential, which can earn them employment or make them suitably skilled to go for self-employment.
    • Upgrading the Skill and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD): A mission has been launched under scheme to give an effective platform to minority artisans and culinary experts from across the country to showcase and market their finest handicraft and exquisitely crafted products through “Hunar Haats” organized by the Ministry.
    • Nai Manzil: A scheme to provide education and skill training to the youth from minority communities.
    • Gharib Nawaz Employment Training Programme: It provides for short-term job oriented skill development courses to youths belonging to minority communities.
    • National Minorities Development Finance Corporation (NMDFC) Loan Scheme: It provide concessional loans for self-employment and income-generating activities for the socio-economic development of the ‘backward sections’ amongst the notified minorities.

    Others: Equal Opportunity Commission

    • Among several recommendations, the Sachar Committee opined for an Equal Opportunity Commission to ensure the upliftment of deprived Muslims in the country.
    • It was formed during the first United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 to recommend policy measures for the upliftment of linguistic and religious minorities.
    • It stormed the country when it stated that the condition of Muslims in some states are worse than Dalits.

    Back2Basics: National Commission for Minorities (NCM)

    • The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
    • Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in Gazette of India as minority communities by the Union Government all over India .
    • Original notification of 1993 was for five religious communities; Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Muslims.

    Commission has the following functions:

    • Evaluate the progress of the development of Minorities under the Union and States.
    • Monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament and the State Legislatures.
    • Make recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests of Minorities by the Central Government or the State Governments.
    • Look into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Minorities and take up such matters with the appropriate authorities.
    • Cause studies to be undertaken into problems arising out of any discrimination against Minorities and recommend measures for their removal.
    • Conduct studies, research and analysis on the issues relating to socio-economic and educational development of Minorities.
    • Suggest appropriate measures in respect of any Minority to be undertaken by the Central Government or the State Governments.
    • Make periodical or special reports to the Central Government on any matter pertaining to Minorities and in particular the difficulties confronted by them.
    • Any other matter which may be referred to it by the Central Government.

    The Commission has the following powers:

    • Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath.
    • Requiring the discovery and production of any document.
    • Receiving evidence on affidavit.
    • Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    [pib] 14 Indian Tiger Reserves get Global CA/TS recognition

    PIB | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The Environment Ministry has released the names of the 14 tiger reserves that had received the accreditation of the Global Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards (CA|TS), an accreditation tool agreed upon by tiger range countries.

    Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS)

    • CA|TS has been agreed upon as an accreditation tool by the global coalition of Tiger Range Countries (TRCs) and has been developed by tiger and protected area experts.
    • Officially launched in 2013, it sets minimum standards for effective management of target species and encourages the assessment of these standards in relevant conservation areas.
    • CA|TS is a set of criteria that allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation.
    • The Global Tiger Forum (GTF), an international NGO working on tiger conservation, and World Wildlife Fund India are the two implementing partners of the National Tiger Conservation Authority for CATS assessment in India.

    Which are the 14 reserves?

    The 14 tiger reserves which have been accredited are:

    • Manas, Kaziranga and Orang in Assam,
    • Satpura, Kanha and Panna in Madhya Pradesh,
    • Pench in Maharashtra,
    • Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar,
    • Dudhwa in Uttar Pradesh,
    • Sunderbans in West Bengal,
    • Parambikulam in Kerala,
    • Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and
    • Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu

    Significance

    • CATS accreditation is a global recognition of good tiger governance.
    • This recognition means a lot in the context of adaptation to climate change, sustainability of ecosystem services, and safeguarding disruption of zoonotic cycles, through an umbrella species approach.
    • The aspects monitored for accreditation include the importance and status of a reserve, management, community participation, tourism, protection, habitat management, and tiger populations.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”? (CSP 2020)

    (a) Corbett

    (b) Ranthambore

    (c) Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam

    (d) Sundarbans

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  • Air Pollution

    [pib] Centre launches Secured Logistics Document Exchange (SLDE) and GHG Calculator

    PIB | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    With an aim to further improve ease of doing business, Centre today launched the “Secured Logistics Document Exchange” along with a Calculator for Green House Gas Emissions.

    Secured Logistics Document Exchange (SLDE)

    • The SLDE platform is a solution to replace the present manual process of generation, exchange and compliance of logistics documents with a digitized, secure and seamless document exchange system.
    • It is set to improve logistics efficiency, reduce logistics cost, and promote multi-modality and sustainability in a big way.
    • This will enable generation, storage and interchange of logistics-related documents digitally using Aadhaar and blockchain-based security protocols for data security and authentication.
    • It will also provide a complete audit trail of document transfer, faster execution of transaction, lower cost of shipping and overall carbon footprint, easy verification of authenticity of documents, lowered risk of fraud, etc.
    • The proof of concept of the platform has been developed and executed with banks (ICICI, Axis Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank) and stakeholders including freight forwarders, exporters, importers and vessel operators.

    Green House Gas (GHG) Emission Calculator

    • The GHG Calculator is an efficient, user-friendly tool and provides for calculating and comparing GHG emissions across different modes.
    • It allows for a commodity-wise comparison of GHG emissions and total cost of transportation, including their environmental cost, between movement by road and rail.
    • The tool is intended to facilitate appropriate modal choice for all concerned.

    Back2Basics: Green House Gases (GHGs)

    • A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect.
    • The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor (H 2O), carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2O), and ozone (O3).
    • Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth’s surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).
    • The atmospheres of Venus, Mars, and Titan also contain greenhouse gases.

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  • Promoting fiscal federalism

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    Context

    States are facing financial constraints in the backdrop of lockdown and consequent dwindling revenue collection. The situation also highlights the issues of fiscal federalism in India.

    Issues facing fiscal federalism in India

    1) Issue of 14% compensation

    • As per the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, compensation on account of the implementation of GST will be available for a period of five years.
    • 14% increment assurance: At the time of introducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law assured States a 14% increase in their annual revenue for five years (up to July 1, 2020).
    • But the Union government has deviated from the statutory promise and has been insisting that States avail themselves of loans.
    • The future interest liability of these loans should not be placed on the shoulders of the States.
    • Borrowing limits built into loan: Moreover, the borrowing limit of States, as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, should not be built into these loans.

    2) Conditional increase in borrowing limit

    • Last year, the Union government increased the borrowing ceiling of the States from 3% to 5% for FY 2020-21.
    • But conditions are attached to 1.5% of the 2% of increased ceiling.
    • Attaching conditions for expenditure out of the borrowed amount would clip the wings of the States and goes against the principle of cooperative federalism.

    Way forward

    • Introduce special rate: A special rate could be levied for a specified period in order to raise additional resources to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19 with the approval of the GST Council.
    • As per Section 4(f) of Article 279A, the Union government can consider introducing any special rate to raise additional resources during the pandemic (any natural calamity or disaster).
    • The present GST compensation period will end in 2021-22.
    • Increase the period beyond five years:  Compensation beyond five years requires a constitutional amendment.
    • If this period is not increased, it will create serious financial stress to the States, especially to those which require higher compensation.

    Conclusion

    There is a need for measures on part of the Central government to consolidate fiscal federalism in the aftermath of pandemic and implementation of the GST regime in India.

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  • Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

    How to exit farming risk trap

    op-ed snap | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Issues Related To Farm Subsidies & Msp,PDS, Buffer Stock & Food Security

    Context

    The farmers’ protest against farm laws brings into focus the factors afflicting agriculture in India.

    Issues of Indian agriculture

    • Some 50 years after the Green Revolution, an all-India agricultural landscape is characterized by relatively low productivity levels that co-exist with high levels of variation in crop yields across our farming districts.
    • Excessive control: Various government agencies have a say on all aspects of the farmer’s livelihood — the latest count includes 13 central and countless state ministries and agencies.
    • These agencies oversee rural property rights, land use, and land ceilings; commodity prices, input subsidies, and taxes, infrastructure, production, credit, marketing and procurement, public distribution, research, education, trade policy, etc.
    • Poor policies: The result has been a mix of arbitrary and conflicting policy interventions by both the central and state government agencies.
    • Poor provision of basic public goods: This, combined with poor and varying levels of provision of basic public goods, including irrigation explains the poor state of Indian agriculture.

    Risk-to-return in agriculture

    • The following figures indicate the median (typical) district-level yield (in tonnes-per-hectare) for four major crops — rice, wheat, maize, and cotton — along with the geographic variability of this yield (risk) across all reporting districts for each year from 1966 to 2018.
    • Combining these two values — median district yield and its geographic variability across all farming districts — provides us a measure of the all-India level of risk-to-return, in percentage terms.

    Lessons from risk-to-return profile

    • One, the large gap in rice and wheat yields that opened up between Punjab and Haryana and the farm districts in the rest of the country remains far from being closed.
    • Limited mobility of ideas: There is severe unevenness in the provision of common goods across districts — irrigation, roads, power, etc.
    • There is also the absence of well-functioning markets for agricultural land, crops, and inputs, the slow labour reform, and the poor quality of education.
    • These two factors have worked to reduce overall resource mobility within and across our farming districts.
    • Most importantly, they have limited the mobility of ideas and technology needed to increase productivity and reduce the variation of yield across districts.
    • Decentralization failed: As a result of lack of mobility, the real promise of a decentralized system — of experimentation, of learning from each other, and the adoption of best practices and policies — has failed to materialize.
    • Distortion due to subsidies: Various input subsidies and minimum price guarantee procurement schemes provided by the state have worked to worsen the overall levels of productivity and the risk in agriculture, generating adverse effects for all of us, through the degradation of our water resources, soil, health, and climate.
    • At the same time, these policies have tightened the trap our farm households find themselves in.
    • Thus, as is evident in the next chart, outside of rice and wheat, the risk-to-return levels are even higher in the case of maize and cotton, including for Punjab.
    • As a result, the farm households of Punjab and Haryana fear both, the loss of state support for rice and wheat and the higher risks implied by a switch to other crops.

    Way forward

    • Minimize risk: The guiding principle for three farm laws must be to create conditions that allow farm households to maximize their income while minimizing the overall level of risk in Indian agriculture.
    • Freedom of choice: Farmers must be made free to determine the best mix of resources, land, inputs, technology, and organizational forms for their farms.
    • More freedom: Farmers, just as entrepreneurs in the non-farm sector, must be allowed to enter and exit agriculture, on their own terms and contract with whomever they wish.
    • Allow entry of corporates: Entry of the large or small private corporates in the Indian agricultural stream will help the Indian farmer, along with the rest of us, move to a low-risk, high-return path of progress.

    Conclusion

    The more we delay the needed reforms, the more difficult it will prove to be for all of us to extract ourselves out of these risk-laden currents of agriculture.

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  • Important Judgements In News

    Supreme Court strikes down part of Constitution Amendment on cooperative societies

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary,Federalism

    Context

    In Union of India vs Rajendra N. Shah, the Supreme Court of India partially struck down the 97th Constitutional Amendment.

    Background of the 97th Constitutional Amendment

    • The 97th Constitutional Amendment came into effect from February 15 2012.
    • The amendment added “cooperative societies” to the protected forms of association under Article 19(1)(c), elevating it to a fundamental right.
    • It also inserted Part IXB in the Constitution which laid down the terms by which cooperative societies would be governed, in more granular detail than was palatable.

    Why was the Amendment struck down?

    • The Constitution can be amended only by the procedure provided in Article 368.
    • The amendment procedure requires a majority of the total strength of each of the Houses of Parliament and two-thirds majority of those present and voting.
    • A proviso to the Article lists out some articles and chapters of the Constitution, which can be amended only by a special procedure.
    • The special procedure requires that the amendment will also have to be ratified by the legislatures of half of the States.
    • It is precisely on the grounds of violation of this additional requirement that the 97th Constitutional Amendment was challenged.
    • The Gujarat High Court struck down the amendment in 2013 on the grounds that it had failed to comply with the requirements under Article 368(2) by virtue of not having been ratified by the States and had also given an additional finding that the 97th Amendment violated the basic structure of the Constitution.
    • The Union Government challenged the Gujarat High Court judgment before the Supreme Court, arguing that the amendment neither directly nor effectively changed the scheme of distribution of powers between the Centre and the States.
    • The court took the example of the 73rd and 74th Amendments which were similar in impact on the legislative power of the States, had been passed by the special procedure involving ratification by State legislatures.
    • Procedural lacuna: The court noted that the procedure had not been followed in this case.
    • The Supreme Court clarified that the does not go into the question of the amendment being violative of the basic structure of the Constitution.
    • The judgment makes a distinction between cooperative societies operating in one State and multi-State cooperative societies and holds that while a ratification by half the State legislatures would have been necessary insofar as it applies to cooperative societies in one State.

    Increasing control of the Union government

    • Union government has been acquiring incrementally greater control of cooperative societies over the years.
    • Cooperative banks have been brought under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India.
    • Union Government recently established Union Ministry for Cooperation.

    Issues with Central control over cooperative sector

    • Domain of States: The idea that the cooperative sector ought to be controlled at the State level and not at the central or Union level goes back all the way to the Government of India Act, 1919 which placed cooperatives in the provincial list.
    • Part of State list: Entry 32 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution confer power on the State legislatures to make laws pertaining to incorporation, regulation and the winding up of cooperative societies.
    • The cooperative sector has always been in the domain of the States or provinces.
    • Different organising principles: The organising principles and mechanism of these cooperatives differ from area to area and depend on the industry or crop which forms the fulcrum of the cooperative.
    • Homogeneity nor require: Homogeneity in this area would only result in the creation of round holes in which square pegs no longer fit.
    • They also would not really serve to break the control some political interests have taken over cooperatives.

    Conclusion

    It is best that the Government takes this judgment in the right spirit and stays away from further meddling in the cooperative sector, notwithstanding the creation of the new Ministry.

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  • Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

    What is National Farmers Database?

    | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues

    The Centre’s new National Farmers Database will only include land-owning farmers for now as it will be linked to digitized land records.

    National Farmers Database

    • The Central government had proposed an Agristack initiative to create a digital database that focuses on farmers and the agricultural sector.
    • As part of the first step of this initiative, the government has initiated a farmers database that would serve as the core of the Agristack.
    • The database would be linked to the digital land record management system and would thus only include farmers who were legal owners of agricultural land.
    • The database would facilitate online single sign-on facilities for universal access and usher in proactive and personalized services to farmers such as DBT, soil and plant health advisories, weather advisories
    • It would also facilitate seamless credit & insurance, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticide-related information.

    Need for such database

    • India has 140 million operational farmland holdings.
    • The availability of a database would serve an important role in the formulation of evidence-based policies for the agricultural sector.
    • Also, the government can make use of the database for targeted service delivery with higher efficiency and in a focused and time-bound manner.
    • The database could be used to select beneficiaries of government schemes.
    • The availability of data will make it possible to implement digital technologies like AI/Machine Learning, IoT in the agricultural domain, thus opening up the sector to immense opportunities for improvement in productivity.

    Back2Basics: AgriStack Initiative

    • The AgriStack is a collection of technologies and digital databases proposed by the Central Government focusing on India’s farmers and the agricultural sector.
    • The central government has claimed that these new databases are being built to primarily tackle issues such as poor access to credit and wastage in the agricultural supply chain.
    • Under AgriStack’, the government aims to provide ‘required data sets’ of farmers’ personal information to Microsoft to develop a farmer interface for ‘smart and well-organized agriculture’.
    • The digital repository will aid the precise targeting of subsidies, services, and policies.
    • Under the program, each farmer of the country will get what is being called an FID, or a farmers’ ID, linked to land records to uniquely identify them.

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