Why in the News?
Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying George Kurian officially launched the National Marine Fisheries Census (MFC) 2025 at ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
About National Marine Fisheries Census, 2025:
- Objective: To collect detailed data on fishermen population, crafts, gear, livelihood patterns, and welfare indicators for evidence-based policy and blue economy planning.
- Overview: The 5th national enumeration of India’s marine fisheries sector after 1980, 1998, 2005, and 2010 rounds.
- Implementing Agencies: Conducted by the Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, coordinated by ICAR–CMFRI with Fishery Survey of India (FSI) as operational partner.
- Coverage: Encompasses 1.2 million fisher households across 4,000–5,000 marine fishing villages in nine coastal states and four UTs, including Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
- Funding & Legal Basis: Financed under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with an allocation of ₹16.2 crore for digital census operations.
Key Features:
- Digital Data Collection: First paperless marine census using apps, VyAS Bharat, VyAS Sutra, and VyAS NAV, enabling geo-tagged, real-time data capture and validation.
- Technological Integration: Uses drone-based craft surveys and live dashboards at CMFRI; establishes a National Marine Fisheries Data Centre for analytics and storage.
- Expanded Scope: Covers ornamental fisheries, seaweed farming, and post-harvest value chain activities; includes data on credit, insurance, and welfare access.
- NFDP Linkage: Mandates registration on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP) to ensure DBT-based benefit delivery under PM Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY).
- Inclusive Approach: Involves 1,000+ trained enumerators with state departments and fisher cooperatives, promoting community participation for accuracy.
- Government Initiative: Promotes safety tools like vessel transponders and turtle excluder devices (TEDs); embodies the vision “Smart Census, Smarter Fisheries.”
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
