13 February 2024

• Agriculture: Parliamentary committee published a report on India's jute industry. India is the largest jute producer in the world; 73 per cent of production is concentrated in West Bengal.
• Culture: Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati's 200th birth anniversary was commemorated.
• Economy: RBI launched a wholesale CBDC pilot for tokenisation of government bonds.
• Health: Maharashtra and Gujarat launched the Kilkari Programme for audio-based maternal and child health guidance.

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Industry), Geography

The Standing Committee on Labour and Textiles released a development report on India's jute industry.

• Global position: India is the largest jute producer globally, accounting for approximately 70 per cent of world jute production. It is also the largest exporter of raw jute.
• Geographic concentration: 73 per cent of jute mills are concentrated in West Bengal, specifically along the Hooghly River belt. Assam is the second-largest producing state.
• Cultivation conditions: Jute grows best at temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius and requires 150 to 250 cm of rainfall. Alluvial soil (river deltas) is ideal.
• Employment: The jute industry directly employs over 3 lakh workers in mills and several crore farmers.
• Key challenges: High procurement costs, obsolete mill machinery, competition from synthetic alternatives (plastic bags), and labour disputes.
• Policy tools:
  • Jute Packaging Materials Act 1987: Mandates use of jute packaging for food grains and sugar procured by the government.
  • National Jute Development Programme (under National Jute Board Act 2008).
  • Jute SMART (an e-government initiative for jute procurement).
  • Golden Fibre Revolution: Policy push for jute as a crop.

Static linkage: Economy (jute industry, agricultural crops), Geography (West Bengal, river delta agriculture).

GS area: History (Modern India, Social Reform Movements)

The 200th birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883) was observed.

• Arya Samaj: Founded by Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 in Bombay (Mumbai). The Arya Samaj sought to reform Hinduism by returning to the Vedas and rejecting idol worship, untouchability, and caste discrimination.
• Key contributions:
  • Championed Shuddhi (reconversion) movement to bring back those who had left Hinduism.
  • Advocated women's education and widow remarriage.
  • Wrote "Satyarth Prakash" (The Light of Truth) in Hindi, making Vedic philosophy accessible.
  • Promoted Hindi as a national language.
• Gurukula system: The Arya Samaj established Gurukula schools promoting Sanskrit education alongside modern subjects.
• Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) schools: Founded after his death by his followers, now a large chain of schools across India.

Static linkage: History (19th-century social reform, Arya Samaj, Shuddhi movement).

GS area: Economy (Monetary Policy, Digital Currency, Fintech)

The Reserve Bank of India launched a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot for tokenisation of government securities (bonds).

• CBDC: A digital form of sovereign currency issued by the central bank. Unlike cryptocurrency (decentralised, private), a CBDC is centralised and government-backed. The RBI launched its retail CBDC (e-Rupee) pilot in December 2022 and wholesale CBDC in November 2022.
• Tokenisation: Converting ownership rights of an asset into a digital token recorded on a blockchain or distributed ledger. A government bond token represents ownership of that bond in digital form.
• Benefits of tokenised bonds:
  • Fractional ownership: A bond worth 10,000 rupees can be split into 100 tokens of 100 rupees, widening retail investor access.
  • Increased liquidity and faster settlement.
  • Traceability and auditability of every transaction on the ledger.
• Wholesale vs Retail CBDC: Wholesale CBDC is used for large interbank settlements. Retail CBDC is for everyday consumer transactions.

Static linkage: Economy (RBI, CBDC, digital currency, government securities, blockchain).

GS area: Social Policy, Governance (Health Schemes)

Maharashtra and Gujarat launched the Kilkari Programme, a mobile health initiative:

• Kilkari: An IVR (Interactive Voice Response) based programme delivering pre-recorded audio health messages to pregnant women and new mothers. Messages cover reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH topics).
• Timing: Messages begin in the second trimester of pregnancy and continue through the child's first year.
• Content: Pre-recorded in the voice of a fictitious "Dr. Anita," making it relatable and easy to understand. Available in multiple regional languages.
• Availability: The programme operates in 18 states and Union Territories.
• Mobile Academy: A companion programme training frontline health workers (ASHAs) through mobile phone modules.
• Policy context: Both are part of the RMNCAH+N strategy under the National Health Mission, targeting reductions in maternal and infant mortality.

Static linkage: Social Policy (maternal health, NHM, ASHA workers), Governance (digital health delivery).

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Insurance)

Three new crop insurance and agricultural support tools were launched:

• Kisan Rakshak Helpline 14447: A dedicated toll-free helpline for farmers seeking information about PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) claims, premiums, and disputes.
• SARTHI Platform: Agri-Insurance Sandbox Framework Technology Initiative for Holistic Insurance. A digital platform developed with UNDP India to provide insurance products through digital payment modes.
• LMS Platform: A Learning Management System for training PMFBY and MIIIS (Modified Interest Intervention Scheme) implementers.
• PMFBY: India's flagship crop insurance scheme, covering yield losses from natural calamities, pests, and diseases. Premium is shared between the farmer, state government, and central government.

Static linkage: Economy (agriculture, crop insurance, PMFBY, digital governance).

GS area: Geography (World Physical Geography, Environmental Disasters)

The Aral Sea, historically the world's fourth-largest lake, was a continuing case study in human-induced environmental disaster.

• Current state: Reduced to less than a quarter of its former size.
• Cause: Soviet irrigation projects from the 1960s diverted the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, the Aral Sea's primary feeders, to irrigate cotton fields in Central Asia.
• Basin countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
• Consequences: Loss of fishing industry (the sea supported 60,000 fishermen); salt and dust storms from the exposed seabed; regional climate change; public health crises.
• UNESCO Memory of the World: The documentation of the Aral Sea disaster is listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
• Partial recovery: The northern portion (Small Aral Sea) in Kazakhstan has partially recovered due to a dam built in 2005 with World Bank funding.

Static linkage: Geography (Central Asia, rivers, environmental disaster), Environment (water bodies, human impact).