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The Vice President a few months back had advised top priority and coordinated action by both the Centre and the states to bring in reforms. He suggested that the 4 Ps – Parliament, political leaders, policymakers and press – must proactively adopt a positive bias towards agriculture.

Observing that many people are leaving agriculture and migrating to urban areas because of rising input costs and unfavourable market conditions, he said the problems that are holding back Indian farmers from realizing their full potential must be identified and solved.

India Agriculture: A backgrounder

While agriculture’s share in India’s economy has progressively declined to less than 15% due to the high growth rates of the industrial and services sectors, the sector’s importance in India’s economic and social fabric goes well beyond this indicator as:

• Population dependency: Nearly three-quarters of India’s families depend on rural incomes.
• Rural sector: The majority of India’s poor (some 770 million people or about 70 percent) are found in rural areas.
• Food Security: India’s food security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as increasing its production of fruits, vegetables and milk.

India is a global agricultural powerhouse. It is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices, and has the world’s largest cattle herd (buffaloes), as well as the largest area under wheat, rice and cotton.

It is the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, farmed fish, sheep & goat meat, fruit, vegetables and tea.

Challenges to Indian Agriculture

Three agriculture sector challenges will be important to India’s overall development and the improved welfare of its rural poor:

[1] Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land

• Raising productivity per unit of land will need to be the main engine of agricultural growth as virtually all cultivable land is farmed.
• Water resources are also limited and water for irrigation must contend with increasing industrial and urban needs.
• All measures to increase productivity will need exploiting, amongst them: increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.

[2] Reducing rural poverty

• Rural development must also benefit the poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes.
• Moreover, there are strong regional disparities: the majority of India’s poor are in rain-fed areas or in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains.
• Hence, poverty alleviation is a central pillar of the rural development efforts.

[3] Food security needs

• The sharp rise in food-grain production during India’s Green Revolution of the 1970s enabled the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food-grains and stave off the threat of famine.
• However, the recent slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern.
• India’s rice yields are one-third of China’s and about half of those in Vietnam and Indonesia. The same is true for most other agricultural commodities.

Ground challenges

[a] Small and Fragmented Land Holdings:

• Small and scattered land holdings apply to a small plot of land that is uneconomical.
• An agricultural farm must have a certain amount of land in order to be cost effective in terms of purchasing and utilizing inputs, as well as harvesting.

[b] Quality seeds

• The seed is a vital and essential inputs for the crops yields and maintaining agricultural production growth.
• The delivery of high quality seeds is just as important as its processing.
• Unfortunately, good superiority seed are out of reach for the majority of the farmers,  marginal farmers and particularly small, due to exorbitant seed  rates.

[c] Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides

• For hundreds of years, Indian soil were used to produce crops with no regard for replenishment. As a result, soils have been depleted and exhausted, leading to low productivity.
• Almost all of the crop has among the lowermost average yields in the world.
• It is a critical concern that can be resolved by increasing the use of fertilizers and manures.

[d] Irrigation challenges

• Despite  the  fact  that  India  is a  world’s 2^nd  largest  moistened  country  after  the  China,  only  one 3^rd  of  the  crop  production  is  irrigated. 
• In  a  rainy  climate  country  like  India,  where  rainfall  is  unpredictable,  unreliable,  and  erratic,  irrigation  is  the  most  significant  agricultural  input. 
• India will  not  be  able  to  make  sustainable  development in agriculture until and unless much than half of the collected area is irrigated.

[e] Lack of Mechanization

• Despite the large scales mechanization of the agriculture in few part of the world, most agricultural operation are still carried out manually.
• Irrigating, sowing, thinning, ploughing and pruning, harvesting threshing, weeding, and transporting the crops all make little or no use of machines.
• This is particularly true for small and marginal farmers.  It leads to significant waste of labour and human labour yields per capita.

Priority Areas for Support

[A] Enhancing agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and rural growth

(1) Promoting new technologies and reforming agricultural research and extension:

• Major reform and strengthening of India’s agricultural research and extension systems is one of the most important needs for agricultural growth.
• These services have declined over time due to chronic underfunding of infrastructure and operations, no replacement of aging researchers or broad access to state-of-the-art technologies.
• Research now has little to provide beyond the time-worn packages of the past.

(2) Improving Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management

• Agriculture is India’s largest user of water.
• However, increasing competition for water between industry, domestic use and agriculture has highlighted the need to plan and manage water on a river basin and multi-sectoral basis.
• As urban and other demands multiply, less water is likely to be available for irrigation. Ways to radically enhance the productivity of irrigation (“more crop per drop”) need to be found.
• Piped conveyance, better on-farm management of water, and use of more efficient delivery mechanisms such as drip irrigation are among the actions that could be taken.

(3) Facilitating crop diversification to higher-value commodities

• Encouraging farmers to diversify to higher value commodities will be a significant factor for higher agricultural growth, particularly in rain-fed areas where poverty is high.
• Moreover, considerable potential exists for expanding agro-processing and building competitive value chains from producers to urban centers and export markets.
• While diversification initiatives should be left to farmers and entrepreneurs, the Government can, first and foremost, liberalize constraints to marketing, transport, export and processing.

(4) Promoting high growth commodities

• Some agricultural sub-sectors have particularly high potential for expansion, notably dairy.
• The livestock sector, primarily due to dairy, contributes over a quarter of agricultural GDP and is a source of income for 70% of India’s rural families, mostly those who are poor and headed by women.
• Growth in milk production, at about 4% per annum, has been brisk, but future domestic demand is expected to grow by at least 5% per annum.
• Milk production is constrained, however, by the poor genetic quality of cows, inadequate nutrients, inaccessible veterinary care, and other factors.

(5) Developing markets, agricultural credit and public expenditures

• India’s legacy of extensive government involvement in agricultural marketing has created restrictions in internal and external trade.
• Even so, private sector investment in marketing, value chains and agro-processing is growing, but much slower than potential.
• While some restrictions are being lifted, considerably more needs to be done to enable diversification and minimize consumer prices.
• Improving access to rural finance for farmers is another need as it remains difficult for farmers to get credit.

[B] Poverty alleviation and community actions

• While agricultural growth will, in itself, provide the base for increasing incomes, for the 170 million or so rural persons that are below the poverty line, additional measures are required to make this growth inclusive.
• For instance, a rural livelihoods program that empowers communities to become self-reliant has been found to be particularly effective and well-suited for scaling-up.
• This program promotes the formation of self-help groups, increases community savings, and promotes local initiatives to increase incomes and employment.

[C] Sustaining the environment and future agricultural productivity

(1) Over-use management

• In parts of India, the over-pumping of water for agricultural use is leading to falling groundwater levels. Conversely, water-logging is leading to the build-up of salts in the soils of some irrigated areas.
• In rain-fed areas on the other hand, where the majority of the rural population live, agricultural practices need adapting to reduce soil erosion and increase the absorption of rainfall.
• Watershed management programs can be implemented where communities engage in land planning and adopt agricultural practices that protect soils.
• This can lead to increase in water absorption and raise productivity through higher yields and crop diversification.

(2) Climate change mitigation

• More extreme events – droughts, floods, erratic rains – are expected and would have greatest impact in rain-fed areas.
• The watershed program, allied with initiatives from agricultural research and extension, may be the most suited agricultural program for promoting new varieties of crops and improved farm practices.

[D] Marketing reforms

• In the absence of properly organized market and sufficient transportations facilities, Indian farmers face a problem of the low incomes from their vendible surplus crops.
• As a result, farmers have fallen prey to distributers for the fast discarding of their crop at the lower price and uneconomic.
• Price fluctuations in agricultural product are also a significant threat in Indian agriculture.
• Price stability is important not only for farmers, but also for buyers, exporters, and agro-based industry.
• The price movements of the agricultural product in India are neither the smooth nor the uniform, resulting in a fluctuating pattern.

Various govt initiatives

The Government of India has taken several steps which include:

• Improvement in soil fertility through the Soil Health Card scheme.
• Providing improved access to irrigation and enhanced water efficiency through Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).
• Supporting organic farming through Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• Support for creation of a unified national agriculture market to boost the income of farmers.
• A new scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been launched for implementation from Kharif 2016 to mitigate the risk of crop loss in agriculture sector.
• Marketing reforms through the three farm laws.

Conclusion

• Among the major sources of agrarian distress are low levels of farmers’ incomes and their fluctuations over the years.
• The problem is acute and is getting severe with the passage of time, affecting large chunks of the population that make living with agriculture.
• Persistent low levels of income may also adversely affects the future of agriculture sector in India.
• Adequate attention is required to improve the agricultural incomes and thus the welfare of the farmers to secure future of agriculture in the country.
• Reaching this end will reduce persistent disparity between farm and non-farm income, alleviate agrarian distress, encourage inclusive growth and infuse dynamism in the farming sector.
• Decent incomes in farm sector will also attract youth towards the farming profession relieving the non-farm job sector of the continuing burden.

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UPSC PRELIMS-2021 || Current Affairs Based Most Probable Questions on International Relations – by Sukanya Rana

Q1) Consider statements on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Partnership Initiative:

1. Apatani wet rice cultivation and Kuttanad wetland agriculture are sites under FAO GIAHS.

2. Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System is the only system in India that favours rice cultivation below sea level.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q2) Consider the following statements on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR):

1. The ICCPR is monitored by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

2. All UN members are part of ICCPR.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q3) Consider the following statements:

1. Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

2. Non signatories to biological weapons convention include: Israel, Somalia, Iran, Syria.

Select correct option:

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) 1 and 2

d) None

Q4) Consider the following statements:

1. Prevention of arms race in outer space is a document governed under the outer space treaty.

2. Fissile material cut off treaty is legally binding on its signatories.

Select correct option:

a) 1 only

b)2 only

c) 1 and 2

d) None

Q5) Consider the following statements with respect to Exercise Shantir Ogroshena 2021 

1. It is a multilateral military exercise conducted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

2. India and Pakistan are participating in the exercise along with Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 

a) 1 only 

b) 2 only 

c) Both 1 and 2 

d) Neither 1 nor 2

16th Sept 2021

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Vedas

• It is written in highly stylized poetic style and the language is full of symbols and myths.
• The Vedas were initially handed down orally by generations of Brahmin families but it is estimated by historians that they were compiled around 1500 BC-1000 BC.
• In the Hindu tradition, they are considered sacred because they are the divine revelations, which were determined by gods to guide humans eternally.
• They also have larger implications on our lives as they treat the universe and its inhabitants as one big family and preach Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
• There are four major Vedas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. These were mostly written by vedic seers and poets called the rishis who envisioned the cosmic mysteries and wrote them in the form of Sanskrit poetry.
• All the Vedas give prominence to yagna (sacrifice). The Brahmanas, the Upanishads and the Aranyakas accompany each Veda.

Brahmanas

• The Brahmanas are part of the Hindu sruti (revealed knowledge) literature. Each Veda has a Brahmana attached to it, which is essentially a collection of texts with commentaries on the particular Veda.
• They are usually a mixture of legends, facts, philosophy and detailed explanations of Vedic rituals.
• They also consist of instructions as to how to properly conduct rituals and enunciate the science of sacrifice.
• They also explain the symbolic significance of the sacred words used in the rituals.
• Each Veda has its accompanying Brahmana.

Arayankas

• The Arayankas are also texts attached to the Vedas and they describe the rituals and sacrifices involved in the Vedas from various perspectives.
• They are said to be compilations of ritualistic information on the birth and death cycles as well as the complexity of the soul.
• It is argued that holy and learned men, called Munis, who preferred to dwell within the limits of the forests, taught them.

Upanishads

• We have more than 200 known Upanishads and the teacher usually passed them down verbally to his students in the forest while they sat in front of him.
• This tradition was part of the guru-shishya parampara.
• These are treatises written in Sanskrit and give an account of the Vedas in predominantly monastic and mystical terms.
• As they are generally the last part of the Vedas, they are also known as Vedanta or ‘end (anta) of the Veda’.
• The Upanishads are said to have the ‘truth’ about human life and show the way towards human salvation or moksha.
• Out of the above-mentioned 200 Upanishads, a set of 108 Upanishads has been called the Muktika Canon.

Sanskrit Drama

Other Major Sanskrit texts

Literature in Pali and Prakrit

• It is said that Lord Buddha used Pali to give his sermons and it is in the same language that they have been recorded. The Buddhist literature can be divided into Canonical and Noncanonical works.
• The Canonical literature consists of ‘Triptikas’ or baskets (of knowledge).
• The three Tripitakas are: Vinaya Pitaka, which covers the rules and regulations, which should be followed by the Buddhist monks. The Sutta Pitaka contains dialogues and speeches of the Buddha that deal with morality and righteous dharma. Lastly, the Abhidhamma Pitaka that concentrates on the philosophy and metaphysics.
• It also contains discussions on various topics like ethics, theory of knowledge and psychology.
• The Jatakas are the best example of Buddhist non-canonical literature. These are compilation of the stories from the previous births of Buddha.
• The stories of the Bodhisattva or the (future) would-be Buddha are also discussed in these Jatakas. Although these stories propagate Buddhist religious doctrines, they are available in Sanskrit and Pali. Each story of the birth of the Buddha is equivalent to a Jataka tale.
• It was believed that Buddha passed through 550 births before he was born as Gautama. These tales combine the popular tales, ancient mythology as well as sociopolitical conditions in North India between 600 BC and 200 BC.
• The great epic Buddhacharita by Aswaghosha (78 A.D.) is another example of Buddhist literature in Sanskrit. Another major religion, Jainism, produced texts in Prakrit.
• They form the basis of the Jain canonical literature. Some of the Jain texts were also written in Sanskrit like the Upamitibhava Prapancha Katha of Siddharasi (906 A.D.).
• The most important Jain texts written in Prakrit are the Angas, the Upangas and the Parikramas. Apart from these the Chhedab Sutra and the Malasutra are also considered to be sacred by the Jains.
• Amongst the secular writers attached to the Jains were Hemachandra who wrote a treatise on lexicography and grammar. Mention could also be made of Haribhadra Suri who wrote in the eighth century.
• These treatises help us to expound on the sociopolitical history of areas densely populated by the Jaina community, which mostly comprised of traders.
• Lastly, Prakrit poetry has some elements of erotica through texts like the Gathasaptashati (700 verses) by Hala written in 300 A.D.
• While Hala has only contributed 44 verses in this volume, what sets this apart is a large number of female poetesses who have contributed to this work.
• The most prominent amongst them are Pahai, Roha, Sasippaha, Mahavi and Reva.

Other Buddhist literary texts

• Dipavamsa: It was probably written in 3rd-4th centuries BCE in Anuradhapur (Sri Lanka), during the reign of King Dhatusena. It literally means “Chronicle of the Island”. It mentions about the visit of Buddha to Sri Lanka and the relics of Buddha.
• Milinda Panha: It contains a dialogue between King Meander (or Milinda) and Buddhist monk Nagasena. It means “Questions of Milinda”. These are one of the highest philosophical enquiries.
• Mahavamsa: It is an epic poem written in Pali language. It dates back to 3rd-4th centuries BCE during the reign of King Vijaya. It is a historical account of various kingdoms of South Asia.
• Mahavastu: It contains Jakata and Avadana tales. It is written in mixed Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit. It is said to compiled between 2nd century BC-4th century AD.
• Lalitavistara Sutra: meaning “The play in full”, it is an important Mahayana text. It contains various stories associated with the life of Buddha till his first sermon at Sarnath.
• Udana: It is one of the oldest Theravada (Old School) Buddhist text. It contains the famous story of “Blind Men and the Elephant”.
• Bodhi Vamsa: It was prose-poem, written in century 10th century in Sri Lanka. It was translated from a Sinhalese version. It was written by Upatissa and is written in Pali. Udanavarga: It is a compilation which contains utterances of Buddha and his disciples. It is written in Sanskrit.
• Mahavibhasa Shastra: It is said to be written around 150CE. It contains discussions about other non-Buddhist philosophies also. It is essentially a Mahayan text.
• Abhidharmamoksha: It is written by Vasubandhu and is a widely respected text. It is written in Sanskrit. It contains discussion on Abhidharma.
• Visuddhimagga: It is written by Buddhagosha in 5th century. It is a text of Theravada doctrine. It contains discussions on various teachings of Buddha.

Jain Literature

• Apart from writing in Prakrit and Ardha Magadhi, Jain monks wrote in many other languages depending on the era, region and the patrons who supported them.
• They wrote in Tamil during the Sangam Age in south India.
• They also wrote in Sanskrit, Shauraseni, Gujarati, and Marathi.
• They can be broadly divided into two major categories; Canonical or religious texts called Jain Agamas or Agam and non-canonical literary works.

Jain Agamas

• They are the sacred texts and are said to be the teachings of the Jain tirthankars. They are said to be originally compiled by the Gandharas who were immediate disciples of Mahavira.
• These texts are important for Svetambaras. The present Angas are said to re-compiled in a council of monks of Svetambaras sect held in Vallabhi (Gujarat) during mid-5th century AD.
• The Digamabara sect believes that original teachings were lost long ago and they do not accept the authority of Agamas compiled in Valabhi. Agamas comprised of 46 texts.
• They are 12 Angas, 12 Upanga, 10 Prakirnakas, 4 Mulasutras, 6 Chedasutras, 2 Chulika Sutra. They were written in Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit language.
• The Angas teach reverence for all forms of life, strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, compassion and non-violence.
• The 12 Angas are:

1. Acharanga Sutra: Oldest agama.
2. Sutrakritanga: describes code of conduct for Jain monks, metaphysics etc
3. Sthananga Sutra.
4. Samavayanga Sutra: discussion on essence of Jainism, astronomy, mathematics, etc.
5. Vyakhyaprajnapti or Bhagavati Sūtra
6. Jnatrdharma Katha.
7. Upasakadasa
8. Antakrddaasah
9. Anuttaraupapatikadasah.
10. Prasnavyakaranani: Description of sins.
11. Vipakasruta: stories and illustrations.
12. Drstivada: contained 14 Purvas

• Digambaras gave sacred status to two works: the Karmaprabhrita (discussion on Karma) or Shatkhandagama and the Kashayaprabhrita.
• Some other important Jain works and authors are:
• Bhadrabahu (3rd century BC) is one of the greatest Jain monks and was the teacher of Chandragupta Maurya. He wrote the sacred Uvasaggaharam Stotra, Kalpa Sutra (Biographies of Jain Tirthankars). He was the pioneer of the Digambara sect.
• Acharya Kundkund’s Samayasara and Niyamasara discusses the Jain philosophy.
• Samanta Bhadra’s Ratna Karanda Sravakachara (Life of a Jaina householder) and Aptamimansa was written around 2nd century AD.
• Ilango Adigal’s Silappadikaram considered one of the greatest epics of Tamil literature written in 2nd century AD, is a moralistic discourse. It revolves around Kannagi, who having lost her husband to a miscarriage of justice at the court of the Pandyan Dynasty, wreaks her revenge on his kingdom.
• Tirutakkatevar’s Civaka Cintamani is also one of the epics of Tamil literature.
• Nalatiyar, an ancient Tamil text was written by Jain monks.
• Umasvati’s Tattvartha-sutra (1st -2nd century AD) is an important jain work in Sanskrit on logic, epistemology, ethics, and astronomy.
• Jinasena (8th-9th centuries) was a revered Digamabara monk. He wrote Mahapurana and Harivamshapurana. He was the disciple of another famous Jain monk Virasena.
• Haribhadra Suri (6th century AD) a Jain author wrote in Sanskrit.
• Hemachandra Suri (12th century), a famous scholar wrote grammars of Sanskrit and Prakrit.

Tamil (Sangam) Literature

• ‘Sangam’ means fraternity and this literature was very popular amongst the masses.
• This literature is a collection of works that contains approximately 2381 poems that have been attributed to 473 poets and there is a corpus of literature written by 102 poets that remains anonymous.
• The poets included men and women from different classes of society. The literary tradtion was so popular that the period between 300 BC and 300 AD, during which most of these were composed and compiled, is often called Sangam period.
• There are two major schools of Sangam literature: aham/agam which is the ‘inner field’ and concentrates on the abstract discussion of human aspects like love, sexual relations, etc.
• The second school is the ‘puram’ or the ‘outer field’ which discusses the human experiences like social life, ethics, valour, customs, etc.
• This literature bears the name ‘Sangam’ because the kingdom of Pandya organised assemblies where poets, bards and writers would flock from various parts of South India.
• These assemblies were called ‘Sangamas’ and the literature produced in the duration of these assemblies was called Sangam literature.
• There were three Sangams organized over a period of 600-700 years. However, the conclusive historical account of the first two Sangams are not available.
• The first and second Sangams are considered legends and myths by many scholars. There were three major Sangams organized:

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