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Time: 45 min Date: 12-11-2021

Polity & Governance/ Modern Indian

National Education Day

Syllabus: GS2/ Government Policies and Interventions; GS1/ Modern Indian History - personalities

In News

● Every year since 2008, November 11 has been celebrated as the National Education Day to mark the birth anniversary of India’s first Education Minister Abul Kalam

Ghulam Muhiyuddin, also known as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Who was Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad?

● He was born on 11th November 1888.

● He served as the education minister of independent India from 1947 to 1958.

● He was posthumously honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1992.

● Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was a freedom fighter, a politician, and an eminent educationist who was well versed in Arabic, Persian, English, and other languages.

Image Courtesy: IE

● Early life:

○ Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 1888.

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○ His mother was an Arab and the daughter of Sheikh Mohammad Zaher Watri and Azad’s father, Maulana Khairuddin, was a Bengali Muslim of Afghan origins who came to Arab during the Sepoy Mutiny and proceeded to Mecca and settled there.

○ He came back to Calcutta with his family in 1890 when Abul Kalam was two years old.

● Education:

○ Azad pursued traditional Islamic education.

○ He was taught at home, first by his father and later by appointed teachers who were eminent in their respective fields.

○ Many languages:

■ Azad learned Arabic and Persian first and then philosophy, geometry, mathematics and algebra.

■ He also learned English, world history, and politics through self-study.

■ Azad also knew Hindustani, Hindi and English languages.

● Weekly Journals:

○ In 1912, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad started a weekly journal in Urdu called Al-Hilal to increase the revolutionary recruits amongst the Muslims.

■ Al-Hilal played an important role in forging Hindu-Muslim unity after the bad blood created between the two communities in the aftermath of the Morley-Minto reforms.

■ Al-Hilal became a revolutionary mouthpiece venting extremist views.

■ ‘The government regarded Al- Hilal as a propagator of secessionist views and banned it in 1914.

○ Another weekly journal called Al-Balagh with the same mission of propagating Indian nationalism and revolutionary ideas based on Hindu-Muslim unity.

■ In 1916, the government banned this paper too and expelled Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from Calcutta and exiled him to Bihar from where he was released after the First World War 1920.

● Indian National Congress:

○ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad supported the Non-Cooperation Movement started by Gandhiji and entered the Indian National Congress in 1920.

○ He was elected as the president of the special session of the Congress in Delhi (1923).

○ At an age of 35, he became the youngest person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress.

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○ Maulana Azad was arrested in 1930 for violation of the salt laws as part of Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha. He was put in Meerut jail for a year and a half. After his release, he again became the president of Congress in 1940 (Ramgarh) and remained in the post till 1946.

● Founder of Jamia Millia Islamia University:

○ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was one of the founding members of the Jamia Millia Islamia University, originally established at Aligarh in the United Provinces, India in 1920.

● Contributions in Modern Education System:

○ He is responsible for shaping the modern education system of the country.

○ The first IIT, IISc, School of Planning and Architecture and the University Grants Commission were established under his tenure as the education minister.

○ The most prominent cultural, literary academies were also built including the Sangeet Natak Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Sahitya Academy as well as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Source: IE

Geography

Earth’s First Landmass Emerged in Singhbhum

Syllabus: GS 1/ Geographical Features

In News

● Scientists have found sandstones in Singhbhum with geological signatures of ancient river channels, tidal plains and beaches over 3.2 billion years old, representing the earliest crust exposed to air.

Major Findings

● Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region: The Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, famous for its mica mines all over the world, can change the perspective of understanding the whole world.

○ A new study has challenged the widely accepted view that the continents rose from the oceans about 2.5 billion years ago.

○ It suggests this happened 700 million years earlier about 3.2 billion years ago and that the earliest continental landmass to emerge may have been Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region.

● Sandstones of Singhbhum: Scientists have found sandstones in Singhbhum with geological signatures of ancient river channels, tidal plains and beaches over 3.2 billion years old, representing the earliest crust exposed to air.

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○ The age was found by analysing the uranium and lead contents of tiny minerals.

○ These rocks are 3.1 billion years old and were formed in ancient rivers, beaches, and shallow seas.

○ All these water bodies could have only existed if there was continental land.

○ Thus, it is been inferred that the Singhbhum region was above the ocean before 3.1 billion years ago

○ Patches of the earliest continental land, however, exist in Australia and South Africa.

● Formation theory: The researchers studied the granites that form the continental crust of the Singhbhum region and found that these granites are 3.5 to 3.1 billion years old and formed through extensive volcanism that happened about 35-45 km deep inside the Earth.

○ They continued on and off for hundreds of millions of years until all the magma solidified to form a thick continental crust in the area.

○ Due to the thickness and less density, the continental crust emerged above the surrounding oceanic crust owing to buoyancy.

● Other findings: The researchers believe the earliest emergence of continents would have contributed to a proliferation of photosynthetic organisms, which would have increased oxygen levels in the atmosphere.

Significance of the study

● Understanding the existence: At a time when the entire world was debating about changes in climate, it is very important to understand how our atmosphere, oceans and climate came into existence and how they interacted with geological processes operating deep inside Earth to make our planet habitable.

● Link: It allows us to link the interior of Earth to its exterior in deep time.

● Making future studies easy: India has three other ancient continental fragments known as Dharwar, Bastar and Bundelkhand regions.

● The research also tends to break another well-accepted notion: continents rose above the ocean due to plate tectonics, which is the major driver today for increases in the elevation of landmasses.

Formation of the Earth’s Continents

● Initially, more than 4.6-billion years ago, the world was a ball of burning gas, spinning through space.

● At first, superheated gases were able to escape into outer space, but as the Earth cooled, they were held by gravity to form the early atmosphere.

● Clouds began to develop as water vapour collected in the air and then it began to pour with rain, causing the early oceans to rise up.

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● It took hundreds of millions of years for the first landmasses to emerge.

● About 250-million years ago, long, long after the Earth had formed, all the continents of the time had joined together to form a supercontinent called Pangaea.

● This supercontinent broke up about 200-million years ago to form two giant continents, Gondwana and Laurasia.

● Gondwana comprised what is now Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica and India. The Indian sub-continent lay off the east coast of Africa before it broke off and moved north rapidly.

● It collided with Asia, creating one of the world’s greatest mountain ranges, which extends for more than 2,500 kilometres – the Himalayas.

● The amazing process of plate tectonics, in which the Earth’s landmasses move slowly across the Earth’s crust, is still continuing.

● Far in the future, some scientists have predicted that the present continents will converge again, to form a new supercontinent.

Source: IE

Polity and Governance

ADR Report on Political Fundings

Syllabus: GS 2/ Polity and Governance

In News

● Over 55% of the donations received by regional parties in FY 2019-20 came from “unknown” sources, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report.

Highlights of the report

● Huge share from “unknown” sources: Electoral bonds accounted for nearly 95% of the donations from “unknown” sources.

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○ The report noted that donations received by national parties from “unknown” sources added up to 70.98% of their income.

● Parties from the south topped the list: Parties in the south such as TRS, TDP, YSR Congress Party, DMK and JD(S) topped the list of regional parties with the highest incomes from “unknown” sources.

● Share from “known” donors: The donations received by regional parties from “known” donors is 22.98% of their total income.

● TRS declared the highest income: Among the regional parties, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) declared the highest income from unknown sources.

● Recommendation made: It suggested that any organisation that receives foreign funding should not be allowed to support or campaign for any candidate or party.

○ The mode of payment of all donations income from the sale of coupons, membership fees, etc. should be declared by the parties in audit reports, submitted to the I-T department and ECI.

○ It is suggested that the ECI publicizes on its website details of the action

taken (if any) against political parties that fail to provide required details(such as name and address) of individuals, companies or entities making donations in cash.

○ Parties not adhering to the deadline fixed by the Election Commission of India should be penalized by making them liable to pay tax on 100% of their income from various sources.

○ The National and Regional political parties must provide all information on their finances under the Right to Information Act. This will go a long way in strengthening political parties, elections and democracy.

What is the Electoral Bonds Scheme?

● Features:

○ Introduced with the Finance Bill, 2017, the Electoral Bond Scheme was notified on January 29, 2018.

○ An Electoral Bond is like a promissory note that may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India.

○ A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

○ The bonds are like banknotes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are interest-free.

○ Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the

Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.

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● Procedure:

○ The State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash

Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches.

○ The bonds are sold by the SBI in denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs

1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

○ One can purchase these bonds only digitally or through cheques.

○ The Electoral Bonds can be encashed by an eligible Political Party only

through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank.

○ The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account is

credited on the same day.

○ Electoral Bonds shall be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of

issue and no payment is being made to any payee Political Party if the

Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period.

Benefits of Electoral Bonds

● More Transparency: It helps the political parties to operate in a more transparent

manner with the election commission, regulatory authorities and the general

public at large.

● Ensures Accountability: Donations through Electoral Bonds will only be credited

in the party bank account disclosed with the ECI. As encashment of all the

donations is through banking channels, every political party shall be obliged to

explain how the entire sum of money received has been expended.

● Discouraging Cash: The Purchase will be possible only through a limited number

of notified banks and that too through cheque and digital payments. Cash will not

be encouraged.

● Maintains Anonymity: The individuals, groups of individuals, NGOs, religious

and other trusts are permitted to donate via electoral bonds without disclosing

their details. Therefore, the identity of the donor is being preserved.

Challenges for Electoral Bonds

● Hindering Right to Know: Voters will not know which individual, company, or

organisation has funded which party, and to what extent.

○ Before the introduction of electoral bonds, political parties had to disclose

details of all their donors, who have donated more than Rs 20,000. It makes

the political class even more unaccountable.

● Shallow Anonymity: Anonymity does not apply to the government of the day,

which can always access the donor details by demanding the data from the State

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Bank of India (SBI). This implies that the only people in the dark about the source

of these donations are the taxpayers.

● Unauthorized Donations: In a situation where the contribution received through

electoral bonds are not reported, on perusal of the contribution report of political

parties, it cannot be ascertained whether the political party has taken any donation

in violation of provision under Section 29B of the RPA, 1951 which prohibits the

political parties from taking donations from government companies and foreign

sources.

● Leading to Crony-Capitalism: It could become a convenient channel for

businesses to round-trip their cash parked in tax havens to political parties for a

favour or advantage granted in return for something. Anonymous funding might

lead to the infusion of black money.

● Loopholes: Corporate Entities may not enjoy the benefit of transparency as they

might have to disclose the amount donated to the Registrar of Companies;

Electoral bonds eliminate the 7.5% cap on company donations which means even

loss making companies can make unlimited donations etc.

Supreme Court’s Stance on Electoral Bonds

● The Supreme Court (SC) agreed that the scheme protects the identity of

purchasers of electoral bonds in a cloak of anonymity, but highlighted that

such purchases happened only through regular banking channels.

● In 2019, the Supreme Court asked all the political parties to submit details

of donations received through electoral bonds to the ECI. It also asked the

Finance Ministry to reduce the window of purchasing electoral bonds

from 10 days to five days.

● The Election Commission of India (ECI) also told the Supreme Court of

India that while it was not against the Electoral Bonds Scheme, it did not

approve of anonymous donations made to political parties.

Way Forward

● The government may reconsider and modify certain provisions of the Electoral

Bonds Scheme to ensure full disclosure and transparency.

● At the same time, the bonds should ensure that the funds being collected by the

political parties are accounted for clean money from the appropriate channels

without any obligation of giving and taking.

Source: IE

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Privilege Motion

Syllabus: GS2/ Indian Polity

In News

● Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha moved a privilege motion against Culture

Minister over the appointment of former MP as the chairperson of the National

Monuments Authority (NMA).

What is the Issue?

● The educational and professional background of the current chairperson of NMA does not meet the requirements of the law passed by Parliament in March 2010.

● The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment

and Validation) Act, 2010 says that the Chairperson of the NMA should have “proven experience and expertise in the field of archaeology, country and town planning, architecture, heritage, conservation architecture or law.”

What is Privilege Motion?

● All Members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy rights and immunities, individually and collectively, so that they can discharge their duties and functions effectively.

● Any instance when these rights and immunities are disregarded by any member of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is an offence, called ‘breach of privilege’, which is punishable under the Laws of Parliament.

● Article 105 of the Constitution expressly mentions two privileges, that is, freedom

of speech in Parliament and right of publication of its proceedings.

● Apart from the privileges as specified in the Constitution, the Code of Civil

Procedure, 1908, provides for freedom from arrest and detention of members under civil process during the continuance of the meeting of the House or of a committee thereof and forty days before its commencement and forty days after its conclusion.

● Applicability:

○ The Constitution also extends the parliamentary privileges to those

persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees. These include the Attorney General of India.

○ The parliamentary privileges do not extend to the President who is also an integral part of the Parliament. Article 361 of the Constitution provides for privileges for the President.

● Role of the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairperson:

○ The speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of Rajya Sabha are the first levels of scrutiny of a privilege motion in the two Houses of Parliament. They can either take a decision on the privilege motion or can also refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.

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○ Once the Speaker or the House Chairperson gives consent under Rule 222, the concerned member is allowed to explain himself or herself.

● Rules Governing Privilege:

○ Rule No 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and correspondingly Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook governs privilege.

○ Rules say that a member may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or a committee thereof.

● Privilege Committee;

○ The Speaker of Lok Sabha nominates a committee of privileges consisting of 15 members of parliament from each party.

■ While the Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members.

○ The report prepared by the committee is submitted to the House for its consideration. The Speaker may also allow a half-hour debate on the report by the committee before passing orders or directing that the report be tabled before the House.

National Monuments Authority (NMA)

● About:

○ It is set up under the Ministry of Culture as per the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act (AMASR) which was enacted in March 2010.

● Functions:

○ Several functions have been assigned to the NMA for the protection and preservation of monuments and sites through management of the prohibited and regulated areas around the centrally protected monuments.

○ NMA also considers grant of permissions to applicants for construction-related activity in the prohibited and regulated areas.

● Appointment of the Chairman:

○ The chairperson of the NMA should have “proven experience and expertise in the field of archaeology, country and town planning, architecture, heritage, conservation architecture or law”.

Source: TH

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Polity & Governance

Char Dham Project (CDP)

Syllabus: GS2/ Government Policies & Interventions

In News

● Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has spoken of the need to balance national

security concerns with environmental issues in the context of the Army’s request to expand the Char Dham Project (CDP) roads leading to the Indo-China border.

About

● The court is considering two applications moved by the ministry of defence and the ministry of road transport and Highway to increase the width of three hill roads in Uttarakhand to a double-lane carriageway with a width of seven metres each.

● The Centre’s application has been opposed by the petitioner, Citizens for Green Doon, citing environmental concerns.

Chardham Project

● It is a project of the central govt. to improve the existing condition of Highways in Uttarakhand.

● In this project, the govt. will upgrade and develop the road which connects all four 'Dhams' i.e Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.

● The 12,000-crore dream project will turn 1100 km damaged highways of Uttarakhand into all seasons roads.

● The Project always had a strategic angle to it as the highways would facilitate troop movement to areas closer to the China border.

Concerns about the Project

● The Hills of Uttarakhand are not as stable as in Jammu & Kashmir or Himachal. The widening of roads can increase the rate of landslides, especially in the monsoon season. The Kedarnath disaster is a recent example of how instant rain can affect these mountains.

● The project may destroy about 690 hectares of forests with 55,000 trees and evacuate an estimated 20 million cubic metres of soil.

● Ruthless harvesting or uprooting of vegetation in the widening of roads can prove to be perilous for the biodiversity and regional ecology.

● Good road and infrastructure will boost the tourism sector which increases the number of travellers in untouched and virgin areas of Uttarakhand vice versa it can spoil the real beauty of the Himalayas and fill it with plastic bags and bottles.

● More vehicles and tourists in the area will increase the temperature of the region, which simultaneously increase the rate of melting of glaciers.

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● This project attracts investors from around the world to do business in the local region, which increases the numbers of hotels, shops, local businesses etc in far-flung areas. People will sell their farming land to them for business and instead of using traditional methods like using their homegrown food and resources. People will have to directly depend on markets.

● This also increases the waste and garbage in the region which directly pollute the rivers like Ganga and Yamuna.

● It also increases the population of people in the local region but basic facilities like hospitals, schools, connectivity, gas agencies are not available there. It can unbalance the ratio of forest resources v/s people which will directly affect the Eco-system.

Benefits of Char Dham Highway Development Project

● It will boost the economy and industries related to travel in Uttarakhand.

● Decrements in the numbers of road accidents. New signboards and security measures help drivers to drive more safely.

● Two-lane roads, bridges and tunnels will decrease the overall time (30% to 40%) of travel and fuel cost.

● It will develop the trust and security between pilgrims and travellers for a safe journey.

● New jobs help local folks to make them financially strong which will decrease migration.

● It helps the army in the security of the Indian border along with China.

Sources: IE

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International Relations

Defence Technology & Trade Initiative

Syllabus: GS2/ Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

In News

● Recently, the 11th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) Group

meeting between India and the United States (US) was held virtually.

● The DTTI Group meetings are normally held twice a year, alternating between India and the US.

Key Highlights

● Co-chairs agree on a revised Statement of Intent to strengthen dialogue on

defence technology cooperation.

● First Project Agreement for Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle under Joint Working Group Air Systems signed.

● Defence Industry Collaboration ForumVirtual Expo was conducted to further encourage the development of niche technologies.

● DTTI Group aims to create opportunities for co-production &co-development of defence equipment.

Image Courtesy: Twitter

US | India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)

● Deepening bilateral defense cooperation is a strategic imperative for the United States and India, but for many years progress in this area was impeded by unique national bureaucratic structures, acquisition models, and budget processes.

● In 2012, the Department of Defense created a mechanism for overcoming or reducing these impediments. This effort has evolved into the India-U.S. Defense Technology and Trade Initiative or DTTI.

● DTTI is intended to focus senior U.S. and Indian leadership on real opportunities and challenges associated with strengthening our defense partnership.

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● While DTTI is not a treaty or law, it elevates the shared commitment of both countries to:

○ defense trade,

○ helps eliminate bureaucratic obstacles,

○ accelerates timelines,

○ promotes collaborative technology exchange,

○ strengthens cooperative research, and

○ enables co-production/co-development of defense systems for sustainment and modernization of our military forces.

● Under the DTTI Terms of Reference, the two leads will meet as the DTTI Group every six months alternating locations between the U.S. and India.

● The day-to-day DTTI effort is overseen by the DTTI Interagency Task Force

(DIATF).

● Four Service-led Joint Working Groups (JWGs) execute projects and activities under DTTI:

○ Land Systems (LS),

○ Naval Systems (NS),

○ Air Systems (AS), and

○ Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation (ACTC).

● Objective:

○ The main aim of DTTI is to bring sustained leadership focus to promote collaborative technology exchange and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of future technologies for Indian and US military forces.

● The PA for co-development of ALUAV has been overseen by the Joint Working

Group on Air Systems and is a major accomplishment for DTTI.

Significance

● Mutual trust:

○ The enhancement of mutual trust and a commitment to the long-term strategic relationship.

● Structured and efficient:

○ With these key defence pacts in place, cooperation between the US and India can take place in a more structured and efficient way, rather than in episodic bursts.

● Sharing of valuable asset, encrypted systems and classified information:

○ While LEMOA means one partner trusts the other enough to expose its

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valuable assets, COMCASA means one is confident that it can rely on encrypted systems to connect the two militaries. And the latest pact, BECA, means the countries can share highly classified information in real time without fear of being compromised.

● Cut through hassles of Bureaucracy on both sides:

○ The whole idea of the DTTI was to cut through the government bureaucracies on the two sides.

○ As a mechanism for defence cooperation, it has to focus on advanced technologies.

Challenges

● The US wants India to move away from Russian equipment and platforms, as it feels this may expose its technology and information to Moscow.

● So far, India is going ahead with the purchase of the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia, and this has been a sticking point for American interlocutors.

Way Ahead

● Senior leaders from both countries need to engage consistently to strengthen the opportunities in the field of defence.

● The focus should be on strengthening India’s defence industrial base, exploring new areas of technological development and expanding U.S.-India business ties.

Source: PIB

Facts In News

Modern History

Acharya Kripalani

Syllabus: GS1/ Modern History, Personalities

In News

● On 11 November, the Prime Minister paid tribute to freedom fighter Acharya

Kripalani on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

Who was Acharya Kripalani?

● About:

○ He was born on 11 November 1888 in Hyderabad, Sindh.

○ His original name was Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani but was popularly known as Acharya Kripalani.

○ Before joining the freedom movement, Kripalani studied at Fergusson College in Pune, and then went on to become a school teacher.

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● Role in Indian Freedom Struggles:

○ He was actively involved in movements like Non-Cooperation Movement, Quit India Movement, and Salt Satyagraha.

○ Due to his active participation in the freedom movement, Kripalani joined the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and also climbed the political ladder faster than the others.

○ He served in the Interim Government of India (1946–1947) and the Constituent Assembly of India.

● Political Career:

○ He became one of the founders of the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP) after independence leaving congress.

○ He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952, 1957, 1963 and 1967 as a member of the Praja Socialist Party.

○ He contested the Lok Sabha seat in 1961 but sadly lost the rivalry to VK Krishna Menon.

○ Kripalani was well-known as a Gandhian and a socialist & was a harsh critic of both Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

○ He was arrested during Emergency in 1975 and My Times, his autobiography published posthumously in 2004.

● An educationist:

○ Kripalani was also well-known for his work in the field of education, environment and other social movements.

○ He earned the moniker ‘Acharya’ around 1922 when he was teaching at the Gujarat Vidyapith, founded by the Mahatma a couple of years before.

○ Kripalani had his roots in Sindh and Gujarat, and completed his education from Pune’s Fergusson College, earning an M.A. in History and Economics.

○ From 1912 to 1927, he taught at various places before becoming wholly involved in India’s freedom movement. He met the Mahatma during the Champaran Satyagrah in 1917.

Source: PIB

Government Policies

Nutrition Smart Villages

Syllabus: GS2/ Government Policies & Interventions, Issue related to Poverty & hunger

In News

● Recently, the Union Agriculture Minister announced the "Nutrition Smart Village" programme to reach out to 75 villages across India.

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About

● Objectives of the initiative:

○ Promoting nutritional awareness.

○ Education and behavioural change in rural areas involving farm women and school children.

○ Harnessing traditional knowledge through the local recipe to overcome malnutrition and

○ Implementing nutrition-sensitive agriculture through homestead agriculture and Nutri-garden.

○ To achieve the goal of Malnutrition free villages, intensive awareness campaigns and field activities will be undertaken focusing on the concept of Nutri-village / Nutri-food / Nutri-diet/ Nutri-thali etc. for strengthening the Poshan Abhiyan.

● The objectives are achieved through the All India Coordinated Research Project

(AICRP) on Women in Agriculture. The project is in operation in 13 centres located in 12 states of the country. Each AICRP centre will adopt five villages. The rest of the villages are to be adopted by the ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research).

Initiatives to tackle Malnutrition in India

● Integrated Child Development Services

● Matritva Sahyog Yojana

● Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

● Mid-Day Meal Scheme

● National Food Security Mission

● National Nutrition Mission

● National Nutrition Strategy

Source: PIB