14 February 2024

• Agriculture: Farmers demanded a legal guarantee for MSP. Only 6 per cent of farmers receive MSP benefits; 94 per cent are outside the system.
• International Relations: The first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East, the BAPS Hindu Mandir, was inaugurated in Abu Dhabi.
• Governance: Law Commission Report 286 recommended a comprehensive review of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.
• Environment: The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund received commitments of 1.1 billion US dollars from GEF member governments.

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Government Policy)

Farmers across Punjab and Haryana, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and other groups, resumed protests demanding a law to legally guarantee the Minimum Support Price.

• What MSP is: The minimum price at which the government purchases crops from farmers through procurement agencies like FCI (Food Corporation of India) and NAFED. It is calculated at 1.5 times the cost of production (C2 formula) as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
• Current legal status: MSP has no statutory backing. The government announces MSP but is not legally obligated to purchase all produce at that price.
• Coverage: Government announces MSP for 23 crops: 14 kharif, 6 rabi, and 2 commercial crops. But government procurement is active mainly for wheat and rice.
• Gap: Only approximately 6 per cent of farmers actually receive MSP benefits because government procurement centres are not widely accessible and much produce is sold in private markets below MSP.
• Swaminathan Commission (National Commission on Farmers 2004-06): Recommended legalising MSP at C2+50 per cent. This became a rallying demand.

The case against legalising MSP is economic: if every farmer can demand MSP for 23 crops regardless of demand, the government's procurement bill could run into tens of lakh crore annually, with serious implications for fiscal management and market distortion.

Static linkage: Economy (agriculture, MSP, farm policy, fiscal management).

GS area: International Relations, Art and Culture

The first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

• Builder: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha), a Hindu religious organisation.
• Scale: Built on 55,000 square metres of land donated by the UAE government. Hand-carved by artisans from Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Architecture: Seven shikhars (spires), each representing one of the UAE's seven emirates. The architectural style is Nagara (North Indian temple architecture).
• Significance: The UAE's decision to donate land for the temple reflects the transformation of India-UAE bilateral relations. The UAE is home to approximately 35 lakh Indian residents, the largest Indian diaspora in any country.
• India-UAE context: Both countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in May 2022 and a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in 2024.

Static linkage: International Relations (India-UAE, diaspora diplomacy), Culture (temple architecture, Nagara style, BAPS).

GS area: Governance, Polity (Legislative Reform)

The Law Commission of India submitted Report No. 286, recommending comprehensive revision of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.

• The 1897 Act: India's primary legislation for controlling epidemic diseases. It has just four sections and was enacted by the colonial government to deal with bubonic plague in Bombay. It grants the central and state governments emergency powers to prescribe regulations for disease control.
• COVID-19 inadequacy: The pandemic revealed the Act's shortcomings: no definitions for "outbreak," "epidemic," or "pandemic"; no framework for mandatory quarantine enforcement; no clear role for the central government beyond giving advice to states.
• Common uses today: The Act is routinely invoked for dengue, swine flu, cholera, and other disease outbreaks.
• Law Commission recommendations:
  • Definitions for outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic.
  • State-primary responsibility for outbreak response with a clear central role.
  • Coordination mechanism between Centre and states.
  • A more modern public health emergency law.

Static linkage: Governance (public health law, epidemic management), History (colonial-era legislation).

GS area: Environment, Economy (Agriculture)

NITI Aayog announced the GROW (Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry) initiative.

• Objective: Convert degraded and wasteland into productive agroforestry zones.
• Technology used: Remote sensing and GIS to map suitability; an Agroforestry Suitability Index was developed.
• Current coverage: Agroforestry (growing trees alongside crops on the same land) currently covers 8.65 per cent of India's land area.
• Wasteland extent: India has approximately 55 to 60 million hectares of degraded and waste land.
• Agroforestry benefits: Increases soil carbon, reduces erosion, provides additional income from timber and non-timber forest products, and maintains biodiversity corridors between forests.
• National Agroforestry Policy 2014: India's framework for promoting agroforestry.

Static linkage: Environment (land degradation, agroforestry, climate mitigation), Economy (agriculture policy).

GS area: Environment (International Treaties, Biodiversity Finance)

GEF member governments committed 1.1 billion US dollars to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund at a pledging conference.

• GBFF: Established in 2023 to finance implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), adopted at COP15 of the CBD in December 2022.
• KM-GBF: Also called the "30x30" framework. Its headline target: protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030. 23 global targets in total.
• GEF: The Global Environment Facility provides funding to developing countries for global environmental projects. It is the financial mechanism for the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Trustee: The World Bank acts as trustee for the GBFF.
• Major pledges: Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Spain (10 million euros).

Static linkage: Environment (CBD, Kunming-Montreal Framework, GEF, biodiversity finance).

GS area: Geography, Environment

Kawal Tiger Reserve is located in northeastern Telangana and borders the Godavari River and Maharashtra.

• Forest type: Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest. Dominant vegetation: teak and bamboo.
• Connectivity: Forms a critical corridor connecting Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra and Indravati Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh.
• Wildlife: Tiger, leopard, wild dog (dhole), gaur.
• Issue: Teak smuggling within the reserve led to suspension of forest staff.
• Project Tiger: Kawal is one of India's 53 tiger reserves under Project Tiger, managed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

Static linkage: Environment (tiger reserves, Project Tiger, NTCA, Deccan plateau ecology).