International Booker Prize
Paper 2 Health, Education, Human Resources
Why in News?
Recently, renowned author Geetanjali Shree has been awarded the International Booker Prize for the year 2022.
Key Points
• Eminent author Gitanjali Sri has been awarded the International Booker Prize for the year 2022. She has been awarded the prestigious International Booker Prize for her novel ‘Tomb of Sand’.
• Gitanjali has thus become the first Hindi writer to win the International Booker Prize.
• It is worth mentioning that when ‘Tomb of Sand’ was ‘shortlisted’ for the International Booker Prize, it became the first work of Hindi language. Now it has also received the Booker Prize for 2022.
• This book of Gitanjali Sri was originally published in Hindi under the name of ‘ret Samadhi’. It has been translated in English as ‘Tomb of Sand’ by Daisy Rockwell.
• It competed with five other books for a literary award of £50,000, or about Rs 50 lakh. It is worth mentioning that the amount of this award will be equally distributed between the author and the translator.
• Earlier in 2021, French novelist David D’o’Eppe was awarded the ‘International Booker Prize 2021’. He was given the award for his book ‘At Night All Blood is Black’ translated into English.
About Gitanjali Sri
• Gitanjali Sri is a well-known storyteller and novelist of Hindi. Born in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, Geetanjali had her early education in various cities of Uttar Pradesh and then her further education was from Delhi.
• Gitanjali Sri is a well-known writer who has been active in the world of writing for the last three decades, her first novel ‘Mai’ and then ‘Our City That Year’ were published in the 1990s.
• His works have been translated into several languages including English, French, German besides Indian languages. The English translation of Gitanjali Sri’s novel ‘Mai’ was also nominated for the ‘Crossword Award’.
About the International Booker Prize
• The International Booker Prize was established in 2005 and until 2015, the award was given to a litterateur of any language all over the world for his overall contribution in the field of literature.
• Till 2015, the award was given at an interval of 2-2 years. After 2015, this award has been given every year.
• Since 2016, the award has been given annually to a single book translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
• The amount of 50,000 Pond payable under this award is divided equally between the author of the work and his translator in English.
Source – BBC
Learning Skills and India’s GDP: ADB Report
Paper 2 Health, Education, Human Resources
Why in News?
Recently, ADB in one of its researches said that India’s GDP will be damaged by the lack of learning.
Key Points
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its recent research paper ‘Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19 Related School Closures’, said that India, one of the countries with the longest school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, could face south Asia’s steepest decline in GDP in the coming days. The reason for which will be the lack of learning among the youth.
• According to the report Starting with a $10.5 billion dent in 2023, the India’s economy could take a nearly $99 billion hit by 2030, translating into a 3.19% reduction in GDP from the baseline growth trends.
• India may thus account for over 10% of the global GDP decline of $943 billion estimated by the ADB on account of earning losses in 2030, with jobs for skilled labour expected to decline by 1%, and unskilled labour by 2% that year.
• According to report India has notable enrolment in secondary education and among students in rural areas. Pandemic-induced school closures have also been more extensive there.
• Economies with a significant population of schoolchildren and college-going youth in rural areas and in the poorest and second wealth quintile — have been worst-hit as they lack access to stable Internet connection needed to study online.
• Learning and earning losses are significant because a notable portion of the impacted population will migrate to the unskilled labour force. A large part of India’s work force is constituted by unskilled labour — 408.4 million as per the ADB paper’s estimates, compared to 72.65 million skilled workers.
• In terms of absolute change, India experiences the highest GDP decline in South Asia, at about $98.84 billion in 2030. In percentage terms, its GDP decreases by 0.34% in 2023, 1.36% in 2026, and 3.19% in 2030.
• School closures lead to declines in global GDP and employment. Moreover, the losses in global GDP and employment increase over time. Declines in global GDP amount to 0.19% in 2024, 0.64% in 2028, and 1.11% in 2030.
• India has the highest number of children enrolled in primary and secondary education among the Asian economies covered in the paper, at 255.74 million. The number of students in tertiary education were second only to China at 36.39 million, as per January 2022 data used for the research.
• While mooting greater investments in education and skills with a focus on narrowing the digital divide, the paper’s authors have said the most immediate challenge for governments is to help students recover “lost opportunities” by conducting assessments among impacted children.
• It is important to identify the learning gap and specific learning needs of individuals. Effective learning programs should be devised to offer appropriate support such as tutoring or special classes and help them to bridge the learning gap.
ADB’s suggestion
• Governments need to direct adequate funding and resources to young populations most affected by closures, such as those from the poor, rural and socially disadvantaged groups.
• It is important to keep school-age children in education as much as possible by providing financial support and incentives, while giving additional support for skills training to youth already out of school.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank. It was established on December 19, 1966. The bank comprises members of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (now UNESCAP) and non-regional developed countries.
• The bank was set up with 31 members, now ADB now has 68 members. India is a founding member of ADB.
• Of the total members, 49 are from the Asia-Pacific region, while 19 are from other regions. ADB is headquartered in Manila, the Philippines.
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia.
• The ADB was drafted largely on the basis of the World Bank and, like the World Bank, it also has a system of weighted vote systems in which votes are distributed on the basis of the capital contribution ratio of the members.
• As of 31 December 2019, the five largest shareholders of ADB include Japan and the United States (with 15.6% of total shares each ), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%) and Australia (5.8%).
Source – The Hindud
Paper import monitoring system launched
Paper 3 Economics
Why in News?
Recently Commerce ministry launched paper import monitoring system.
Key Points
• The commerce and industry ministry on 26 may 2022 made import registration under PIMS mandatory for inbound shipments of 201 types of paper and paper boards such as glazed newsprint, handmade paper and tissue paper.
• The ministry has launched the Paper Import Monitoring System (PIMS), under which an importer will have to provide advance information online about the import of these papers and obtain a registration number.
• According to this The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has made registration of paper import compulsory under the newly implemented userfriendly interface ‘Paper Import Monitoring System’ (PIMS) from October 1, 2022.
• As per the notification, the import policy of major paper products has been amended from ‘Free’ to ‘Free subject to compulsory registration under Paper Import Monitoring System’ which will be available from July 15, 2022.
• This order shall be applicable on a range of paper products, such as newsprint, handmade paper, wallpaper base, duplicating paper, coated paper, uncoated paper, Litho and offset paper, tissue paper, parchment paper, carbon paper, wall paper, envelops, toilet paper, cartons, account books, labels, bobbins, etc.
• Paper products like currency paper, bank bond and cheque paper, security printing paper, etc. have been excluded from this policy change.
• Any importer will be able to obtain an automatic registration number online by paying a registration fee of Rs 500. The importer can apply for registration not earlier than 75th day and not later than 5th day before the expected date of arrival of import consignment.
• The automatic registration Number thus granted shall remain valid for a period of 75 days. Multiple Bill of Entries shall be allowed in same registration number within the validity period of registration for the permitted quantity.
• It is Noteworthy that Domestic paper industry has been raising issues of dumping of paper products in the domestic market by way of under-invoicing, entry of prohibited goods by mis-declaration, re-routing goods through other countries in lieu of trade agreements.
• A large proportion of paper products are imported under “Others” category Tariff Lines. The move will also go a long way in promoting Make in India and Atmanirbhar in this category.
Source – Indian Express
New Defence Estates Circle for Uttarakhand
Paper 2 Governance
Why in News?
Recently Defence Minister approves establishment of a new Defence Estates Circle for Uttarakhand.
Key Points
• on May 26, 2022 Defence Minister Mr Rajnath singh has approved the proposal for creation of a new Defence Estates Circle exclusively for Uttarakhand.
• In view of the difficulties faced in managing large tracts of defence land in the State and demand of residents of Cantonments located in Uttrakhand, MoD will establish an independent office of Defence Estates at Dehradun and a sub-office at Ranikhet.
• It is northworthy that The creation of a new Defence Estates Circle at Dehradun exclusively for Uttrakhand will facilitate the residents/ organizations in getting timely and quick access to various services of defence land management.
• In order to further decentralize the governance structure, Defence Ministerhas also approved establishment of a sub-office at Ranikhet under the administrative jurisdiction of Defence Estates Dehradun to deal exclusively with 6 districts of Kumaon region of the State.
• It is worth noting that Earlier the entire defence land and Cantonments in Uttrakhand were covered under two distinct Defence Estates Circles headquartered at Meerut and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
• These offices being distantly located posed various functional problems by causing delays and difficulties to Cantonment residents of Uttrakhand in getting timely and prompt redressal of their grievances, apart from managing of defence lands located in far and remote areas in the State.
• The Armed Forces also faced problems in land acquisitions, survey & demarcation of defence land and handling of litigation matters.
• The establishment of the new Defence Estates Circle for Uttarakhand is a huge step forward in bringing the Government closer to the people in keeping with the objective of ‘ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing business’.
About Directorate General Defence Estates
• Directorate General, Defence Estates (DGDE) is the Headquarters of the Indian Defence Estates Service. DGDE provides advisory inputs on all Cantonments and Land matters to the Ministry of Defence and Service Headquarters ie Army, Navy, Air Force and other organizations under Ministry of Defence. Acquisition of lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation of displaced persons, Hiring and requisitioning of lands and buildings, are some of the responsibilities of DGDE. It also ensures implementation of Cantonments Act 2006, Policies, Rules & Regulations and Executive instructions.
• DGDE has under its jurisdiction six Principal Directorates namely, Principal Directors, Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern, South-western and Western Command. Under the Principal Directorates there are 38 Defence Estates Offices and 4 ADEO Circles for management of defence lands in the country.
• There are 62 Cantonment Boards.These are local bodies responsible for providing civic administration and implementing the Central Govt schemes of social welfare, public health, hygiene, safety, water supply, sanitation, urban renewal and education.
Vision
• The vision of the Defence Estates Organisation is to develop Cantonments as model townships which offer a wholesome environment and urban living to its residents, both uniformed personnel and civilians;
• establish a system of land management that vigorously secures defence land and ensures its optimum utilization; and to maximize satisfaction of the public that comes in contact with it.
Source – India Today
Project ‘NIGAH’
Paper 3 Economics
Why in News?
Recently Delhi Customs launches Project ‘NIGAH’ at ICD Garhi Harsaru, Gurugram, let’s know what is Project ‘NIGAH’ ?
Key Points
• On 26 may 2022 Chief Commissioner, Delhi Customs Zone, Shri Surjit Bhujabal inaugurated project ‘NIGAH’ at ICD Garhi Harsaru, Gurugram.
• It is noteworthy that roject NIGAH is an initiative to track container by using ICTM (ICD Container Tracking Module) which will help in better visibility of the container movement inside the ICD.
• It will help Customs to expedite long standing containers and monitor timely clearances, thereby enhancing Ease of Doing Business along with ensuring lead preventive checks.
• ICTM has been developed in collaboration with the Custodian M/s. GRFL. A live demo of the project was given to all the participants.
Source – PIB
National Women Legislators Conference-2022
Paper 2 Governance
Why in News?
Recently, the President of India inaugurated the National Women’s Legislators Conference-2022, let’s know about it.s
Key Points
• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the National Conference of Women Legislators-2022 in Thiruvananthapuram on May 26, 2022.
• The conference has been organised by the Kerala Assembly as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
• It is a two-day conference which will be held on 26th and 27th May 2022. For the first time, the Kerala Assembly is organizing the National Women’s Legislators’ Conference 2022.
• The two-day National Women Legislators’ Conference will discuss various subjects of contemporary relevance such as women’s rights, gender equality, representation of adequate women in decision-making bodies, etc .
• Union Ministers, Lok Sabha Speaker, Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha and Members of Parliament along with all women MPs and women MLAs of the State Legislative Assembly will participate in the conference.
• Key Sessions: The National Conference of Women Legislators 2022 will have sessions on the following topics:
o “Constitution and Women’s Rights”
o “The role of women in India’s freedom struggle”
o “Women’s Rights and Legal Gaps”
o “Underrepresentation of Women in Decision Making Bodies”
• Speakers in the Sessions Constitution and Women’s Rights include Gujarat Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya, Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat.
• The panelists for the session “Role of Women in India’s Freedom Struggle” will be MPs Supriya Sule and JB Mether, as well as former MP Subhashini Ali, while the women’s rights and legal gaps for the session will be West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja, MP Jaya Bachchan, Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Kerala High Court.
• In the last day’s session of the conference, “under the representation of women in the decision-making bodies”, Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri, Telangana MLC Kavita Kalvakuntala, and Indian National Women General Secretary Annie Raja will express their views.
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will begin the valedictory session, which will be addressed by state Devaswom and Parliamentary Affairs Minister K Radhakrishnan.
• It may be recalled that earlier, the National Conference of Women Legislators was organized by the Government in New Delhi in the year 2016.
Source – PIB
India Drone Festival 2022
Paper 3 Science Technology
Why in News?
On May 27, 2022, India’s biggest drone festival – Bharat Drone Festival 2022 is being inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, let us know about this festival.
Key Points
• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today (27 may 2022) inaugurated India’s largest drone festival – India Drone Festival 2022 – at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on May 27, 2022.
• During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi also interacted with farmers’ drone operators and companies and startups engaged in various activities including farming, fertilizer spray, military, security, border, monitoring.
• The India Drone Festival 2022 is a two-day event, which is being held on May 27 and 28.
• More than 1600 delegates including government officials, foreign diplomats, armed forces, central armed police forces, public sector undertakings, private companies and drone start-ups etc will participate in the festival.
• Over 70 exhibitors will be showcasing about the various uses of drones in the exhibition. The festival also includes virtual distribution of drone pilot certificates, launching of products, panel discussions, flight demonstrations, exhibition of Made in India drone taxi prototypes etc. among other events.
• It is worth mentioning that during this festival, PM Modi will also display a prototype of drone taxi. This will be the highlight of the Made in India Drone Taxi Prototyping Festival. E-Plane, a company started by IIT Madras, has prepared it. It is expected to get a certificate by 2025. In this episode, it will be first tested with the army. It is estimated that by 2028-29, drone taxis may be seen flying in the Indian sky.
Drone industry and government support
• India, which has been completely dependent on imports for drones until some time ago, is rapidly moving towards self-reliance in this regard.
• February itself with an aim to boost the domestic industry 2022 In The Central Government has Ban on import of drones possessive case-ending also it was announced। Now only R&D, Drone import is allowed only for defence and security. They will also need clearance.
• The move to ban imports will benefit domestic drone manufacturers. It is worth noting that there is no ban on the import of drone parts.
• Along with this, the government has also launched the Purchase Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the drone industry, which has received a very good response.
• The government estimates that by 2026, the drone industry will reach Rs 15,000 crore. There are currently 270 drone startups, it will further increase in the coming time. In the next 5 years, 5 lakh employment opportunities will also be created in the drone industry.
Source – PIB
Commissioning of Survey Vessel ‘Nirdeshak’
Paper 3 : Security, Internal Security
Why in News?
Recently, the Indian Navy’s survey ship ‘Nirdeshak’ was commissioned in Chennai.
Key Points
• The second of the four survey ships (large) being built under the SVL (Survey Vessel Large) project for the Indian Navy, ‘Nirdeshak’ was launched on 26 May 2022 at Kattupalli in Chennai.
• Vice Admiral Biswajit Das Gupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, landed the ship in the Bay of Bengal at a ceremony.
• It may be mentioned that these vessels are being constructed in collaboration with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at the Kattupalli factory.
• Following the maritime tradition of the Navy, Smt. Sarabani Dasgupta launched the vessel by chanting the call of atharvaveda. The vessel has been named after its predecessor, the Nirdeshak ship, which was an Indian Naval Survey ship and was decommissioned in December 2014 after 32 years of glorious service.
• It may be noted that three of the four ships of SVL are being partially constructed under a collaborative approach between GRSE and L&T shipbuilding at L&T in Kattupalli. This model of public-private partnership will lead to successful cooperation in the future for warship building in India.
• It may be recalled that on October 30, 2018, a contract for the construction of four SVL vessels was signed between the Ministry of Defence and Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE). The first-class ship ‘Sandhyak’ was launched on December 5, 2021 at GRSE, Kolkata.
Features of the survey vessel
• This SVL vessel will replace existing evening class survey ships with new generation hydrographic equipment to collect ocean-related information. This survey vessel (large) has a capacity of about 3400 tonnes and 226 personnel.
• The vessel is designed to operate at a cruise speed of 14 knots and a maximum speed of 18 knots (knots).
• Bo and stern thrusters have been fitted for better efficiency at the low speed required during the shallow water survey works. The hulls of these vessels have been made from DMR 249-A steel indigenously developed by Steel Authority of India Limited .
• The primary role of the ships with the capability of carrying four survey motor boats and an integrated helicopter will be to carry out full-scale hydrographic surveys of coastal and deep water of ports and navigational channels.
• Ships will also be deployed to collect oceanographic and geophysical data for defence as well as civilian applications. At the same time, apart from using ships as hospitals during emergencies, their secondary role is to be able to provide limited protection.
• Despite the challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, GRSE has made substantial progress and has set a target of handing over the SVL’s first vessel Sandhyak by January 2023. The delivery of the second vessel i.e. the Nirdeshak is likely to take place by April 2023. The launch of the second survey ship reaffirms our resolve to build indigenous vessels under the thinking of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
• It is to be noted that the survey vessel (large) will have more than 80 percent indigenous material depending on the cost. It will also ensure that large-scale defence production is carried out by Indian manufacturing units, thereby creating employment and capacity within the country.
Source – PIB
‘Road Accidents in India-2020’ Report
Paper 2 Health, Education, Human Resources subjects
Why in News?
Recently, the ‘Road Accidents in India-2020’ report was released by the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, let us know the highlights of the report.
Key Points
• It may be mentioned that the existing section of ‘Road Accidents in India-2020’ provides information on various aspects of road accidents in the country during the year 2020. It has ten squares and road accidents have been reported by quoting the length of the road and the number of vehicles.
• The data/information available in this report has been taken from the Police Departments of the States/UTs. These have been prepared as per the standard format on year-specific basis. This standard format has been made available by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) basic project.
• According to the report, the scale of road accidents has registered a significant decline in the year 2020 as compared to the year 2019. Looking at the average of last year, there has been an average reduction of 18.46 per cent in total accidents and 12.84 per cent in the number of people killed in accidents.
• Similarly, the number of injured has also registered a decline of 22.84 per cent. During the year 2020, states and Union Territories reported a total of 3,66,138 road accidents. In these accidents, 1,31,714 people lost their lives and 3,48,279 people were injured.
• According to the report, road accidents have been witnessing a decline since 2016, with a marginal increase of 0.46 per cent in just 2018. In the second year in a row, in 2020, there has also been a decline in road accident deaths. Similarly, the number of injured has been declining since 2015.
• In the third year in a row 2020, most of the victims of fatal road accidents have been young people, who belonged to the working age group. The number of victims during 2020 has been 69 percent, quoting adults in the age group of eighteen to 45. Similarly, 87.4 per cent of the people who lost their lives in road accidents are in the age group of 18 to 60 years in the working group.
• According to the report, the number of fatal accidents, i.e., an accident in which at least one person has lost his life, has declined. A total of 1,20,806 fatal accidents were reported in 2020, which is 12.23 per cent lower than the 2019 figure of 1,37,806 .
• According to the report, two-wheelers have been proved to be the most deadly two-wheelers among road accidents in 2020. Of the total 1,31,714 deaths, nearly 44 per cent are of two-wheelers. During this period, 56,873 people using two-wheelers have died. This was followed by the deaths of 23,477 pedestrians. As many as 17,873 people have died during the use of cars, taxis, vans and other light vehicles. However, the number of these deaths has come down compared to 2019. But one figure is shocking. In 2020, there has been an increase in the number of deaths of people who use bicycles compared to 2019. In 2020, this figure has increased by 2.8 per cent to 4,276.
• It may be mentioned that the year 2020 has registered a decline in the incidence of accidents, deaths and injuries on National Highways, State Highways and other roads as compared to the previous year.
• The major states where road accidents have come down significantly in the year 2020 are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. And, the major states where the number of people killed in road accidents has come down in 2020 are Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Source – PIB
Lavender Festival Inaugurated
Paper 3 Agriculture
Why in News?
In Jammu and Kashmir, a two-day lavender festival is being organised in Bhaderwah town.
Key Points
• In Jammu and Kashmir, the Council of Research in Science and Technology under the aegis of the Ministry of Science and Technology is organizing a two-day lavender festival at Bhaderwah town in Doda district.
• It may be mentioned that this festival is being organized under the Central Government Aroma Mission to promote one product, one district programme.
• On May 26, 2022 , Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, formally inaugurated the Lavender Festival by blowing up a thousand purple balloons. It is worth noting that lavender is an aromatic plant.
• Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Singh said that lavender has been selected for the launch of one district, one product and for the first time this festival was organized in Bhaderwah. This has given bhaderwah valley recognition as the lavender capital. On this occasion, the farmers and start-up owners thanked Dr. Singh for promoting lavender cultivation in Bhaderwah.
• Later, Dr. Singh also inaugurated six oil extracting plants from lavender in different villages of Bhaderwah Valley under aroma mission. MoUs on Lavender Oil were also signed with industrialists of Punjab, Mumbai and Uttarakhand.
• Many industrialists, potential farmers were also felicitated during the Lavender Festival. The festival is being attended in large numbers by scientists, progressive farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs from different parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir.
• CSIR-IIIM introduced lavender for farmers in Doda, Rama, Kishtwar, Kathua, Udhampur, Rajouri, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kupwara and Bandipora districts.
• Lavender cultivation has employed nearly 5,000 farmers and young entrepreneurs in the geographically remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir. More than 1,000 farmer families are cultivating it on more than 200 acres of land.
What is lavender?
• Lavender (lavendula) is one of the 39 flowering plants of the pudina family “Lamiaceae”.
• It is a perennial crop and can also be cultivated on wasteland. It requires minimum irrigation.
• It can also be grown with other crops. Lavender lives for 10 to 12 years once planted.
• It is worth mentioning that lavender is a European crop. It was first introduced to Kashmir. It was then planted in Doda, Kishtwar and Bhaderwa areas of Jammu. Seeing its benefits, thousands of farmers today want to cultivate lavender.
Usage
• Lavender is extensively used with herbs and aroma therapies.
• English lavender produces essential oil with a sweetener and can be applied for balm, medicine, perfume, cosmetics and topical use.
• Lavedin, lavendula intermedia (also known as Dutch lavender), produces essential oil that contains a quantity of turpentine and camphor that is used for a sharp scent.
• The Mexican lavender, lavendula stecus, is not used for potions, but primarily for landscaping.
• The essential properties of lavender oil are antiseptic and reduce inflammation. It is used to disinfect the floors and walls in the hospital. Thisis used for the aroma of bath products.
• Apart from this, lavender is also used in many home remedies.
Why do we need lavender cultivation ?
• It is worth mentioning that the productivity of crops in high altitude areas is low. Here farmers sometimes have half an acre or less of the land. With the income that comes from this farming, people are not able to bear the annual expenses. Therefore, there was an initiative to plant some crops in these areas which would give more benefit to the farmers than their traditional farming. One of them is the cultivation of lavender.
• Due to this, 8 lakh saplings have been given free of cost by CSIR-IIIM to 500 farmers under aroma mission in Jammu till March 2020 for cultivation of lavender in 100 acres of land.
• The last 10 years have seen a surge in lavender cultivation acreage in the Union Territory due to various initiatives of CSIR-IIIM, Jammu and their implementation. Lavender is being grown in an estimated acreage of 900 acres in Jammu and Kashmir with an annual production of 3000 kg of lavender oil.
• The institute is increasing the acreage of the crop. It seeks to increase the area of lavender cultivation to 1500 hectares in the next 2-3 years to meet the growing demand for lavender oil at the national and international level, so as to establish a permanent system of production.
• Farmers cultivating lavender get 5-6 times more income (Rs 4.00-5.00 lakh per hectare) than traditional crops.
• In addition, animals that harm farming do not harm the lavender. It produces flowers once for 30-40 days during June-July. It provides lavender oil, lavender water, dry flower and other things.
• At least 40 to 50 kilograms of oil will be released every year from the crop planted in one hectare. The price of lavender oil today is around 10,000 rupees per kg.
Source – All India Radio