The Union Cabinet recently approved the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to facilitate the world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector. The IMC is to be constituted under the Chairmanship of Minister of Cooperation with the Minister of Agriculture (MoAFW); Minister of Consumer Affairs; and Minister of Food Processing Industries, etc., as other members.

Why does India need a grain storage plan?

Ø  India is the most populous country in the world, accounting for 18% (1.4 billion) of the global population (7.9 billion).

Ø  However, it accounts for only 11% (160 million hectare) of the arable land (1,380 million hectare) in the world.

Ø  Also, India runs the world’s largest food programme under the National Food Security Act, 2013, that covers about 81 crore people.

Ø  Therefore, to ensure food security of a billion plus population, a robust network of foodgrain storage facilities becomes essential.

Present Food grain Storage Capacity in India -

Ø  At present, India has a food grain storage capacity of 145 million metric tonnes (MMT) against the total food production of 311 MMT - leaving a gap of 166 MMT.

Ø  This means, India has a storage capacity of 47% of its total foodgrains production.

Ø  At the regional level, only a few southern states have the storage capacity of 90% and above. In northern states like UP and Bihar, it is below 50%.

Ø  At present, multiple government agencies, like the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehouse Corporation, Warehouse Development Regulatory Authority, Railways, and the civil supply departments of states are involved in grain management.

Ø  However, that has not yielded the desired results and in the absence of sufficient storage facilities, food grains are sometimes stored in the open, which results in damage.

Global scenario -

Ø  Several countries have better storage capacities. For instance, against the total food grain production of 615 MMT, China has a storage capacity of 660 MMT.

Ø  The USA, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, Ukraine, France, and Canada have the capacity to store more food grains than they produce.

What is the world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector?

Ø  Under the new plan, the Ministry of Cooperation aims to set up a network of integrated grain storage facilities through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the country.

Ø  A PACS is a basic unit and smallest co-operative credit institution in India that works on the grassroots level (gram panchayat and village level).

Ø  There are more than 1,00,000 PACS spread across the country with a huge member base of more than 13 crore farmers.

Ø  Spread over 1 acre of land, the integrated facility will be built at a cost Rs 2.25 crore - Rs 51 lakh will come as subsidy, while the remaining will come as margin money or loan.

Ø  The integrated modular PACS will have a custom hiring centre, procurement centres, primary processing units for cleaning and winnowing, a storage shed and container storage and silos.

Ø  Though the plan does not have a separate Budgetary allocation, it will be implemented by the convergence of 8 schemes. These schemes are -

Ø  The MoAFW’s Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM).

Ø  Two schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries: PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), and PM Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

Ø  Two schemes of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: allocation of food grains under the National Food Security Act, and Procurement operations at Minimum Support Price.

How will PACS function?

Ø  The new storage plan is based on the hub and spoke model with a grain storage capacity of 70 million tonnes.

Ø  Of the 63,000 PACS across the country, 55,767 will function as spoke and will have a grain storage capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes each,

Ø  While the remaining 7,233 PACS, which will function as hubs, will have a storage capacity of 2,000 metric tonnes each.

The plan is multi-pronged, which aims to —

Ø  Address the shortage of agricultural storage infrastructure in the country by facilitating establishment of godowns at the level of PACS,

Ø  Enable PACS to undertake various other activities, viz: Functioning as Procurement centres for State Agencies; Serving as Fair Price Shops (FPS); Setting up custom hiring centers; etc.

Ø  The IMC will modify guidelines/ implementation methodologies of the schemes of the respective Ministries as and when need arises, within the approved outlays and prescribed goals.

What are the benefits of the plan?

The modern silos will have the facility of computerised real-time monitoring systems.

It would reduce post-harvesting losses.

It would bring down the food grain handling and transportation cost.

Farmers would have a choice to sell their produce depending on the market conditions, and not be forced into distress sale.

Ahead of the third anniversary of the India-China Galwan clash, Senior Colonel of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, made a remark that “India is unlikely to catch up to China in the coming decades because of its weak industrial infrastructure.” Now it is for India’s decisionmakers to either dismiss this comment as an attempt at psychological warfare or to use it as a whip for accelerating the ‘Atmanirbharta Campaign. 

Harsh fact about Indian defence sector -

Ø  Continued Dependency on Imports —Despite being a nuclear-weapon state and space power, with the world’s third-largest defence budget, India remains a top importer of military hardware.

Ø  Misinterpretation of Terms ‘Indigenisation’ and ‘ToT (Transfer of Technology)’ —

Ø  India’s technologists and its military and politico-bureaucratic establishments misinterpreted “indigenisation” and “transfer of technology.”

Ø  This anomaly is best illustrated by India’s aerospace sector.

Reason behind India’s failure to seek and acquire technology - Continued Ineffectiveness of MoD (Ministry of Defence).

Ø  For India’s failure to seek and acquire technology from foreign manufacturers even after prolonged production runs, the responsibility falls on MoD.

Ø  Successive defence ministers failed to formulate a long-term vision for the nation’s giant defence-industrial complex.

Ø  MoD bureaucrats lacked the expertise and commitment to energise lethargic DPSUs and ordnance factories.

Ø  The “stove-pipe” structure of MoD engendered a lack of synergy between the military leadership and the DRDO.

Ø  Understanding China’s Progress as a military power in contrast to India -

Ø  China, starting in 1949 from an industrial baseline like India’s, took a different route and is, today standing at par with the USA for global technological leadership. The Chinese focused on —

Appropriation of Soviet Drawings and Technological Data —

Ø  In the early 1950s, the USSR had undertaken a massive transfer of arms to China, but soon ideological fissures emerged and the Soviets threatened to stop aid.

Ø  The Chinese leadership ordered the appropriation of drawings and technological data relating to Soviet weapons.

National Mission of Reverse Engineering —

Ø  Once the split occurred in the mid-1960s, the Chinese launched a national mission of reverseengineering (guochanhua) of Soviet weaponry.

Ø  Its first phase enabled China to establish serial production of Soviet-origin weaponry — tanks, artillery, submarines, and jet fighters.

Ø  Subsequent cycles of guochanhua (to localise production) have helped China acquire the latest military and dual-use technologies through purchase, coercion and, often, via industrial espionage.

Focus on Development of Indigenous Aeroengine —

Ø  In 1986, Chairman Deng Xiaoping ordered the development of an indigenous aeroengine to replace the Soviet-supplied power plants in use by the PLA Air Force (PLAAF).

Ø  By 2020, the WS-10 was accepted by the PLAAF for powering its frontline fighters.

Current challenges before India -

Ø  Russia's Inability to Meet India's Demand of Defence Equipment — Russia’s continued reliability as a supplier of defence equipment faces challenges due to —

Ø  First, its growing friendship and dependence on Beijing will fetter Moscow’s freedom of action.

Ø  Second, Russia’s military-industrial complex, burdened by the Ukraine war and stumbled by US sanctions, is no longer able to support India’s armed forces.

Continued Aggression by China on LAC —

Ø  Although Chinese and Indian troops have pulled back most forces since the 2020 Galwan clash, China continues to push India into a defensive posture along the LAC.

Ø  Recently in a provocative move, China renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.”

The US-India Cooperation under these circumstances -

Ø  Under these circumstances, the Indo-US relationship seems to have blossomed at the right time.

Ø  The ties between India and the US have witnessed considerable improvement owing to the political will of both the countries which ensured that the India-US ties remain on a growth track and become more profound year on year.

The US-India Roadmap for Defence Industry Cooperation -

Ø  A fortnight ahead of Indian PM’s visit to Washington, Defence Minister of India and US Secretary of Defence met in New Delhi to firm up an ambitious roadmap for defence cooperation on an unprecedented scale.

Ø  There could be an agreement for licenced-production of the General Electric F414 turbofan aero engine in India.

Ø  This would be a welcome development for our aerospace industry as well as the military, since the uncertain availability of an aero-engine has been a big difficulty for India’s indigenous fighter projects.

What should be India’s focus during negotiation with the US?

Ø  The decision-makers and negotiators must take a long-term view bearing two issues in mind.

Ø  First, no country or company gives precious technology easily and therefore we must be prepared to pay a significant price; financial and/or political.

Ø  Second, the negotiation should include minutest details because it is easy for foreign companies to term “licenced-production” as ToT.

Conclusion -

India needs a long-term view and clarity on ToT (Transfer of Technology)and must ensure that its technical personnel acquire advanced expertise in all disciplines, related to diverse fields so that they become future designers and creators — not mere assemblers of old and rusty kits.

Recently, NASA released an image showcasing the jellyfish galaxy JO206 which was captured by the Hubble telescope.

About Jellyfish Galaxy (JO206):

Ø  Jellyfish Galaxy (JO206) is located approximately 700 million light-years away from Earth.

Ø  It is situated in the constellation Aquarius.

Ø  The name “Jellyfish” is given to galaxies that resemble their marine counterparts, and this resemblance is evident in the image of JO206.

Ø  In the image, the bright star formation in the form of “tentacles” can be seen trailing from the main disc of the galaxy.

Key facts about the Aquarius constellation:

Ø  Aquarius is one of the 12 zodiac constellations.

Ø  Its name, derived from Latin, means “the water-bearer” or “cup-bearer.”

Ø  The region of the sky where Aquarius lies is often referred to as the Sea, as it contains several other constellations associated with water.

Ø  Aquarius is the 10th largest constellation, covering an area of 980 square degrees.

Ø  It is one of the 15 equatorial constellations.

Ø  Located in the southern hemisphere’s fourth quadrant (SQ4), Aquarius can be observed at latitudes ranging from +65° to -90°.

MD of EXIM Bank of India recently said that India's future Lines of Credit (LoCs) to Africa could focus on defence exports to meet the requirements of the continent. 

About Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) -

It is the premier export finance institution of the country.

It was established by the Government of India, under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981 EXIM Bank wholly owned by the Government of India.

Services —

Ø  EXIM Bank provides financial assistance to exporters and importers.

Ø  It extends Lines of Credit (LOCs) to overseas financial institutions, regional development banks, sovereign governments and other entities overseas, to enable buyers in those countries to import developmental and infrastructure projects, equipment, goods and services from India, on deferred credit terms.

Ø  It functions as the principal financial institution for coordinating the work of institutions engaged in financing export and import of goods and services with a view to promoting the country's international trade.

Structure —

Ø  The operations of the Bank are governed by a Board of Directors.

Ø  The Board of Directors consists of a chairman, a managing director, two deputy managing directors; one director each nominated by the Reserve Bank of India; IDBI Bank Ltd. And ECGC Ltd.; and not more than 12 directors nominated by the Central Government.

What is a Line of Credit (LoC)?

Ø  It is a preset borrowing limit that can be tapped into at any time.

Ø  All LOCs consist of a set amount of money that can be borrowed as needed, paid back, and borrowed again.

Ø  The borrower can take money out as needed until the limit is reached.

Ø  As money is repaid, it can be borrowed again in the case of an open line of credit.

The Defence Ministry recently accorded its approval to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator drones (SeaGuardian variant) from the U.S. to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces. 

About MQ-9B Predator Drone -

Ø  The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper", an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.

Ø  These are high-altitude long-endurance drones armed with strike missiles which can take out enemy targets with high accuracy.

Ø  It was developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems(GA-ASI), primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF).

Ø  The MQ-9B has two variants — SkyGuardian and its sibling SeaGuardian.

Ø  The Indian Navy has been operating the MQ-9B Sea Guardian since 2020.

Features of MQ-9B SeaGuardian —

Ø  It can carry up to 5,670 kg and has a fuel capacity of 2,721 kg.

Ø  The drone can operate at over 40,000 feet.

Ø  The Predator also has a maximum endurance of 40 hours, making it useful for long-hour surveillance.

Ø  It can support land, maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike, electronic warfare and expeditionary roles.

Ø  It is also capable of automatic take-offs and landings.

Ø  It can safely integrate into civil airspace, enabling joint forces and civil authorities to deliver real-time situational awareness anywhere in the maritime domain — day or night.