Stubble burning

          About stubble burning:

           Stubble burning is the deliberate setting fire of the straw stubble that remains after wheat and other grains have been harvested.

         Stubble burning in India:

• Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, in northwest India has been cited as a major cause of air pollution in Delhi.
• From late September through October of each year, farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana burn an estimated 35 million tons of crop waste from their wheat fields after harvesting, as a low-cost straw-disposal practice to reduce the turnaround time between harvesting and sowing for the second (winter) crop.
• Smoke from this burning produces a cloud of particulates visible in images from space, and has produced a "toxic cloud" in New Delhi, resulting in declarations of an air-pollution emergency.

         Effects:

            The burning of stubble, contrasted with alternatives such as ploughing the stubble back into the ground has a number of                      consequences and effects on the environment.

• Quickly clears the field and is cheap.
• Kills weeds, including those resistant to herbicide.
• Kills slugs and other pests.
• Can reduce nitrogen tie-up.

        However, it has a number of harmful effects on the environment:

• Loss of nutrients.
• Pollution from smoke.
• Damage to electrical and electronic equipment from floating threads of conducting waste.
• Risk of fires spreading out of control.

        There is a perception that stubble burning contributes to atmospheric CO2. However carbon dioxide releases are only slightly greater than those from natural decomposition.

National Mission on Government e-Market (GeM) portal

About National Mission on Government e-Market (GeM) portal:

 objective of the Mission was to accelerate the adoption and use of Procurement by Major Central Ministries, States and UTs and their agencies (including CPSUs/PSUs, Local Bodies) on the GeM platform.

        The objectives of the NMG were to:

• Promote inclusiveness by catapulting various categories of sellers and service providers
• Highlight and communicate ‘value add’ by way of transparency and efficiency in public procurement, including corruption free governance.
• Achieve cashless, contactless and paperless transaction, in line with Digital India objectives.
• Increase overall efficiency leading to significant cost saving on government expenditure in Procurement.
• Maximizing ease in availability of all types of products and services bought by Government buyers.

        Importance of GeM:

• GeM has brought transparency, efficiency, and inclusiveness in public procurement.
• It has reduced the time of procurements, reduced the process and enabled ease of doing business for both buyers and vendors.
• There is huge savings in the cost of procurement, ranging from a minimum of 10% to 45% in different categories. The average saving based on the MRP/Listed price is about 28%.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages.
• Of 178,000 (1.7 lakh) habitations with a population of above 500 in the plains and above 250 in the hilly areas planned to be connected by all-weather roads, 82% were already connected by December 2017 and work-in-progress on the remaining 47,000 habitations was on-track for completion by March 2019.
• This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was introduced in 2000 by the then-prime minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayee.
• The Assam Tribune has reported that the scheme has started to change the lifestyle of many villagers as it has resulted in new roads and upgrade of certain inter-village routes in Manipur.
• The PMGSY is under the authority of the Ministry of Rural Development and was begun on 25 December 2000.
• It is fully funded by the central government. During November 2015, following the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, it was announced that the project will be funded by both the central government (60%) and states (40%).

        Aim:

         The aim was to provide roads to all villages

• with a population of 1000 persons and above by 2003
• with a population of 500 persons and above by 2007
• in hill states, tribal and desert area villages with a population of 500 persons and above by 2003.
• in hill states, tribal and desert area villages with a population of 250 persons and above by 2007.