TNPSC Current Affairs January 10, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs January 10, 2020 (10/01/2020)

Topic: Latest Diary of Events

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2020

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India.

9th January was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa and eventually led India’s freedom struggle.

Topic: India and its Neighbouring Countries, International Events

Nepal’s Seke ‘near-extinct’

Recently, The New York Times reported that the “near-extinct” Nepalese language Seke has just 700 speakers around the world.

About Nepal’s Seke language and threats to it:

According to the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), Seke is one of the over 100 indigenous languages of Nepal.

In recent years, Seke has been retreating in the face of Nepali, which is Nepal’s official language and is considered to be crucial for getting educational and employment opportunities outside villages.

According to ELA, difficult conditions at home and job prospects elsewhere have brought speakers of Seke to places such as Pokhara, Kathmandu and even New York.

Therefore, the vulnerability of the language is linked to the migration of people to places where Seke is not spoken, which has reduced the intergenerational transmission of the language. Furthermore, the younger generation does not find much use in learning the language, giving preference to Nepali and English.

Topic: Welfare Oriented Govt Schemes and their Utilities, Profile of States

Green Credit Scheme

Forest Advisory Committee has approved the implementation of Green Credit scheme.

Key facts:

It allows “forests” to be traded as a commodity. It allows the Forest Department to outsource one of its responsibilities of reforesting to non-government agencies.

Implementation:

The scheme allows agencies — they could be private companies, village forest communities — to identify land and begin growing plantations.

After three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the Forest Department’s criteria.

An industry needing forest land could then approach the agency and pay it for parcels of such forested land, and this would then be transferred to the Forest Department and be recorded as forest land.

The participating agency will be free to trade its asset, that is plantation, in parcels, with project proponents who need forest land.

Background:

This is not the first time that such a scheme has been mooted. In 2015, a ‘Green Credit Scheme’ for degraded forest land with public-private participation was recommended, but it was not approved by the Union Environment Minister, the final authority.

Topic: Public Awareness and General Administration, Profile of States

Zero Budget Natural Farming

The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with German firm KfW regarding Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF).

The MoU is aimed at encouraging natural farming in the State. As part it, the government has taken a loan of ₹711 crore out of the estimated amount of ₹1,015 crore earmarked for ZBNF.

What is Zero Budget Natural Farming?

It is a method of farming where the cost of growing and harvesting plants is zero. This means that farmers need not purchase fertilizers and pesticides in order to ensure the healthy growth of crops. It is, basically, a natural farming technique that uses biological pesticides instead of chemical-based fertilizers.

Topic: Public Awareness and General Administration, Profile of States

Amma Vodi scheme launched in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Amma Vodi Scheme in Chittoor. It is one of the nine flagship programmes of the Andhra Government. The programmes are called Navratanalu. The scheme is first of its kind in the country.

Key Facts:

The scheme aims at benefitting school students studying in classes I to XII. It includes both public and private schools.

Under the scheme, these students belonging to Below Poverty Line will get Rs 15,000 per annum. However, the guardian or mother of the child should ensure 75% attendance of the child.

Topic: Public Awareness and General Administration, Profile of States

Gujarat to import water soluble fertilizers from China

The Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation (GAIC) will import water-soluble fertilizers from China. So far, the state agency has imported 300 tonnes.

Key Facts:

The GAIC agency will import, pack and sell the water-soluble fertilizers to farmers. The new fertilizers have been named AGRO. These fertilizers are best suited for precision agriculture. As Gujarat has a good land area under drip irrigation, the fertilizers are being distributed at the right time. Gujarat has the maximum land under drip irrigation of all the states in the country.