Condition of Traditional Industries

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From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 6:10 PM
Subject: Releases............pt2

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises

Condition of Traditional Industries

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

 

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), supplements the efforts of the States/Union Territories for development and promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises, including khadi, village, coir and cottage industries, through various schemes/programmes relating to credit, infrastructural development, technology upgradation, marketing, entrepreneurial development, etc, throughout the country.  The value of production of khadi in the country has been showing an upward trend during the last 5 years.  The estimated value of production of village and coir industries has also shown consistently upward trend.  The details of growth in the value of production and sales of the KVI sector as well as employment during each of the last three years are given below:

 

Year	Production			S a l e s / Export (Value  Rs. crore)			Cumulative estimated Employment (lakh persons)
	Khadi (Value  Rs. crore)	V. I. (Value  Rs. crore)	Coir fibre (Quantity in lakh MTs)	Khadi Sale	V. I. Sale	Coir Export	Khadi	V. I.	Coir
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)
2006-07	491.52	13527.19	4.30	663.19	18888.21	605.17	8.84	80.08	6.41
2007-08	543.39	16134.32	4.38	724.39	20819.09	592.88	9.16	90.11	6.59
2008-09	585.25	16753.62	4.91	799.61	21948.59	639.97	9.50	94.41	6.75

         

Some 'micro enterprises'/Village Industry units/self-employment ventures do suffer losses and close down.  The reasons for such losses include use of obsolete technology, inconsistent quality of products, product design not being in keeping with market demand, lack of entrepreneurial and managerial skills, etc.  

 

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises since 2005-06 has been implementing a cluster-based scheme named SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Coir Board under which 29 khadi, 50 village industries and 26 coir clusters each having more than 500 traditional artisans, have been targeted by providing them with improved equipments, business development services, training, capacity building and exposure visits, design and marketing support, common facilities centres, etc., to make these activities competitive and sustainable.  There is also a scheme of 'Strengthening Infrastructure of existing weak khadi institutions and Assistance for Marketing Infrastructure' with a target of revitalization of 100 weak khadi institutions.  Under the scheme of Khadi Reform and Development Programme, revitalization of khadi activities have been targeted in 300 khadi institutions all across the country. 

 

 For increasing earnings and improving working conditions of coir spinners and weavers, the Ministry in March 2008 has launched a scheme, namely, 'Rejuvenation, Modernization and Technological Upgradation of Coir Industry' by providing assistance to groups of spinners and tiny/household units in the form of replacement of ratts and looms and providing worksheds at a total outlay of Rs. 243 crore, including government grant of Rs. 99 crore.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Dinsha Patel in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

rts/vn/dk/kol/17:43 hrs.

 

 

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises

Assistance under PMEGP

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

 

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the nodal agency for implementation of PMEGP assigns targets to its field offices/Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) of States/Union Territories and State Governments. Target at District level is decided by State Level Bankers' Coordination Committee (SLBCC). The State-wise targets in respect of KVIC/KVIBs are made available by KVIC to SLBCC where overall allocation of district-wise targets is decided. Any modification of the targets for which KVIC is directly responsible is permitted only with the concurrence of the Ministry. KVIC also identifies the Nodal Bank Branches in consultation with State Governments and places the Margin Money (subsidy) with these branches both for rural and urban areas.

Further, for assigning the targets of subsidy and other parameters (number of units, employment opportunities, etc.), KVIC adopts the criteria of rural population of the state, backwardness of the State, past performance of the State under REGP/PMEGP Scheme, urban unemployment level, etc.

The decision as to whether to sanction loan to a beneficiary recommended by District Level Task Force (DLTF) is finally taken by the Banks on the basis of their own judgment.  Complaints regarding insistence by Banks on collaterals even for projects having loan requirements below Rs.5 lakh, rejection by banks of cases recommended by DLTF, harassment of beneficiaries by bank staff, etc., are promptly taken up with concerned authorities and grievances were mitigated as per guidelines of the scheme. KVIC, which is the Nodal Agency has been asked to remain vigilant and alert the other implementing agencies and senior authorities of banks to ensure that genuine beneficiaries are not harassed. State Governments have also been requested to instruct the District Magistrates (who are heading the DLTF) to ensure that the cases of rejection are regularly reviewed in its meetings so that there is no arbitrary rejection of recommended cases, though Banks have the final say on sanctioning of cases.  

Progress of implementation of PMEGP is reviewed at the national level by the Chief Executive Officer, KVIC and periodically in the National Monitoring Committee chaired by Secretary (MSME).  Government has recently formed two Core Groups in the Ministry,  one chaired by Hon'ble Minister and the other chaired by Secretary (MSME) where all schemes of KVIC including PMEGP are reviewed. In the State level also, progress is monitored regularly by Principal Secretary/Chief Secretary where representatives of banks are also invited.

The State/Union Territory-wise details of funds released under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) are  given at Annex.

 

Statement of funds released under PMEGP to the States through KVIC         (Rs lakh)
Sl No	State/ Union Territory	Released during 2008-09	Released during 2009-10	Allocation for 2010-11
1	Andhra Pradesh	5319.86	6159.93	4898.94
2	Bihar	5152.18	900.00	8760.64
3	Chhattisgarh	1736.78	1952.54	2983.58
4	Goa	86.59	136.59	435.71
5	Gujarat	3474.30	234.52	2542.54
6	Haryana	1431.16	1066.22	1387.82
7	Himachal Pradesh	452.14	567.79	971.78
8	Jammu & Kashmir	1300.00	1820.00	1367.82
9	Jharkhand	2366.52	300.00	3907.36
10	Karnataka	3571.24	1979.34	2896.02
11	Kerala	2123.80	1245.20	2686.19
12	Madhya Pradesh	3695.85	709.91	5440.13
13	Maharashtra	6642.23	3150.15	4793.82
14	Orissa	2946.68	3422.13	4449.26
15	Punjab	1800.00	1290.13	1317.28
16	Rajasthan	3313.19	1625.77	3807.83
17	Tamil Nadu	4220.23	3930.61	3389.80
18	Uttarakhand	1162.25	332.94	1120.18
19	Uttar Pradesh	11768.96	9739.75	11648.08
20	West Bengal	6500.00	7200.00	5343.17
21	Andaman &  Nicobar Islands	46.25	33.76	171.83
22	Chandigarh	59.94	0.00	159.96
23	Delhi	285.51	-150.00	433.65
24	Lakshadweep	6.66	0.00	155.38
25	Puducherry	59.94	6.57	171.27
26	Arunachal Pradesh	205.72	51.43	431.09
27	Assam	2050.54	3735.00	4469.66
28	Manipur	188.25	0.00	604.59
29	Meghalaya	483.96	156.01	856.94
30	Mizoram	238.28	27.40	451.52
31	Nagaland	430.68	0.00	714.16
32	Sikkim	125.80	120.00	295.54
33	Tripura	472.12	100.00	536.50
	Grand Total	73717.61	51843.69	83600.04

Note: 1.The figures in respect of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are included in Maharashtra and those in     respect of Daman and Diu are included in Gujarat.

2. A net amount of Rs. 1.5 crore was actually re-distributed from Delhi to better performing States.

3. An amount of Rs. 264.99 crore has been released to 16 States, which have utilized at least 50% of the margin money subsidy released to them during 2009-10 after exhausting the release of 2008-09.  A further Rs.70.70 crore is being released against 4 States/Union Territories for the year 2010-11.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Dinsha Patel in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

rts/vn/dk/kol/17:44 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Rural Development

Roads for unconnected Habitation

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

 

As per the Core-Network submitted by the States, State-wise details of total number of habitations, total number of  unconnected     habitations, number   unconnected habitations eligible for coverage under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY),   are given below:

Status of   Habitations Connectivity
#	States	Total No of Habitations	No. of Unconnected Habitations	Net Eligible
1	Andhra Pradesh	71,382	5,091	1,538
2	Arunachal Pradesh	3,880	2,741	804
3	Assam	23,152	17,975	10,869
4	Bihar	39,824	11,497	10,034
5	Chhattisgarh	27,606	18,049	9,855
6	Goa	369	55	20
7	Gujarat	34,187	7,420	3,290
8	Haryana	6,745	23	1
9	Himachal Pradesh	18,946	11,354	3,742
10	Jammu & Kashmir	9,270	3,946	2,724
11	Jharkhand	36,827	20,438	7,770
12	Karnataka	56,682	4,608	269
13	Kerala	14,899	475	435
14	Madhya Pradesh	52,117	35,253	19,615
15	Maharashtra	61,300	7,760	1,561
16	Manipur	2,984	1,220	654
17	Meghalaya	5,362	2,752	756
18	Mizoram	795	363	245
19	Nagaland	1,083	145	113
20	Orissa	50,101	29,023	18,131
21	Punjab	13,579	920	527
22	Rajasthan	39,954	19,945	10,850
23	Sikkim	901	410	318
24	Tamil Nadu	62,919	5,318	2,203
25	Tripura	8,133	4,301	1,952
26	Uttar Pradesh	170,004	89,246	13,944
27	Uttaranchal	16,800	8,613	2,439
28	West Bengal	58,263	33,904	11,805
	Total	888,064	342,845	136,464

 

So far, projects to connect 1,06,723 habitations have been sanctioned and as on May, 2010, 71241 habitations have been connected.  Projects for connecting habitations are sanctioned depending upon resources available, works at hand with execution agencies and their execution capacity.

 

The financial outlay / Allocation under PMGSY is as under:

 

Sr. No.	Years	Financial Outlay/Allocation (Rs. in crore)
1	2007-08	11,000
2	2008-09	15,280
3	2009-10	17,840
4	2010-11	22,000

 

This information was given by Shri Pradeep Jain 'Aditya'  Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development  in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

 

akt/st/bs/dk/kol/17:45 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Rural Development

Provision of Compensatory Dole Under MGNREGS

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

 

Section 7(1) of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA provides that if an applicant for employment under the scheme is not provided employment within 15 days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date from which employment has been sought in case of advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Proviso to Section 7(2) further provides that rate of unemployment allowance shall not be less than one-fourth of the wage rate for the first 30 days during the financial year and not less than one-half of the wage rate for the remaining period of the financial year.

 

Section 7(6) of the Act provides that the State Government may prescribe the procedure for payment of unemployment allowance under the Act. The unemployment allowance is sanctioned and disbursed by the Programme Officer or such local authority (including the Panchayats at the district, intermediate or village level) as the State Government may, by notification, authorize in this behalf.

 

As reported by the State Governments, details of the unemployment allowance  paid so far is given below: 

 

Un-employment allowance paid by the States under NREGA

 

Sl. No.	Name of State	Details of Un-employment allowance paid
1.	Madhya Pradesh	During 2006-07, In Badwani district, 1574 applicants were paid a sum of Rs. 4,75,386 as unemployment allowance
2.	Orissa	A total of 543 job seekers have been paid Rs. 1, 03,462 as unemployment allowance in three districts viz. Nawarangpur, Kalahandi and Bolangir.
3.	Karnataka	679 applicants have been paid Rs. 1, 68,068 as unemployment allowance in 8 Gram Panchayats of Raichur district.
4.	West Bengal	Eight job card holders in South 24-Parganas district of the State have been paid 14 days unemployment allowance each in 2007-08.
5	Kerala	An amount of Rs. 1063 was sanctioned to a job seeker ( Sri A.P. Vimlan, Ajnailikkal House, Padichira P.O., Pulpallly, Wayanad district) as unemployment allowance for 32 days during the year 2006-07
6.	Tripura	Unemployment allowance has been paid by the Government of Tripura during the year 2008-09 upto 31st December, 2008 to 51 registered job seeker.
7.	Jharkhand	Unemployment allowance of Rs. 138330.00 paid to 78 workers of Jerua & Kope villages in Latehar district of Jharkhand.
8.	Maharashtra	Unemployment allowance has been paid in Bhandara district in November 2007. Rs. 2,72,272. were paid to 1144 labours

 

This information was given by shri pradeep Jain 'Aditya' Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development  in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

 

akt/st/bs/dk/kol/17:46 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Food Processing Industries

Setting Up of Niftem

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

The Government has approved setting up of National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) on 31.08.2006, at Kundli, District Sonepat, Haryana. The Institute is to function as an apex national level institution in the area of basic research in food science and food technology, promote entrepreneurship and provide experiential learning with strong industry linkages. Giving this information in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply Shri Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister of Food Processing Industries informed the House that the mandate of NIFTEM is to –

 

Undertake frontier and inter disciplinary research in areas of relevance to the sector;

 

Provide industry friendly short-term courses, including regular degree and management courses leading upto B. Tech, M. Tech & Ph.D programmes, for developing HRD resources for the food processing sector;

 

To interact and work with all stakeholders, namely, industry, Government and consumers so as to remain economically viable and socially relevant and guide the growth of the food processing sector along healthy and modern lines.

 

To run various size of Incubation Centres & Pilot Plants for enabling the Industry to incubate their ideas. 

 

Promote cooperation and networking amongst existing institutions both within the country and international bodies, create a complete data base on domestic resources and bring in international best practices for improving the food processing sector;

 

Cooperate in setting standards as well as protocols for testing of food

 

With capacities developed in the aforesaid areas, assist Government in policy formation and regulatory framework;

 

The Institute has been established to meet the industry's demand for setting up a centre of global excellence for the food processing sector in the country so as to meet the demand for a cadre of world-class food scientists and technologists in frontier areas of food science and food management. The Institute would play a pivotal role in enhancing the farmer's income, increasing employment in rural and urban areas, generating income and integrating India with global food trade. The course curriculum has been uniquely designed and would meet the international standards.  

 

The Minister further informed that the Institute has only one campus with no branches in the country. The details of grant-in-aid released by the Government to NIFTEM since 2006 are as under –

 

Financial Year	Amount of fund released
2006-07	Rs.31.00 crore
2007-08	Rs.17.69 crore
2008-09	Rs. 40.00 crore
2009-10	Rs. 38.00 crore
2010-11	Rs. 55.00 crore

 

kkp/ska/dk/kol/17:46 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Agriculture

Capital Investment in Agriculture More Than Double in 4 Years

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

 

Capital investment in agriculture has increased from 5560.00 crore in  2007-08 to 15042.00 crore in 2010-11 (inclusive of State Plan Scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana).  The year-wise details are as under: -

 

(Rs. in crore)

Year	BE
2007-08	5560.00
2008-09	10105.67
2009-10	11307.07
2010-11	15042.00

 

The Government has launched a number of schemes to increase public investment in the agriculture sector. They include Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, National Food Security Mission and National Horticulture Mission, etc

 

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

mp: sb:cp: capital/dk/kol/17:47 hrs.

 

 

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Agriculture

Productivity of Bt Cotton

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

 

The area under Bt. Cotton has increased from 29,000 hectares in 2002-03 to 80 lakh hectares (anticipated) in 2009-10.  The average yield of Bt. Cotton has also increased from 300 kg per hectare in 2001-02 to 560 kg per hectare in 2007-08.  Cultivation of Bt. Cotton has resulted in 31% increase in yield, 39% reduction in pesticide usage and more than 80% increase in profitability of farmers (ISAAA 2009).  The factors identified for better yield include elite germplasm, better resistance to bollworms thus reducing pest incidence and thereby resulting in higher yield of Bt. Cotton.

 

The comparative figures for Bt. Cotton and non-Bt. Cotton in terms of yield, insecticide use and net revenue are as under:-

 

	2002-2003		2004-05		2006-07
	Bt.	Conventional	Bt	Conventional	Bt	Conventional
(i)Yield         (kg/ha)	1627.94	1212.92	1835.80	1360.33	2079.72	1457.71
(ii) Insecticide use(kg/ha)	5.11	10.30	5.06	10.35	3.01	3.83
(iii) Net Revenue (in Rs. /ha)	13082.02	7741.62	12161.84	5317.79	17595.55	10331.89

 

Source:    Bt. Cotton in India – A Status Report (2^nd ed.), Subramanian and Qaim, 2009.

 

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

mp: sb:cp: bt cotton/dk/kol/17:49 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises                  

Capital investment in MSME

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

The investment in fixed capital increased from Rs.91792.07 Crore in the registered Small Scale Industries as per the third All India Census of SSI (2001-02) to Rs 500758.36 Crore in Registered Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as per the quick results of fourth All India Census of MSME (2006-07), showing a growth rate of 40.40 per cent.

 

As per the existing policy, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in the MSME sector subject to sectoral caps.

 

To ensure adequate capital for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the Government has announced a 'Policy Package for Stepping up Credit to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)' on 10th August 2005 which envisages achievement of a minimum 20 per cent year-on-year growth in credit by public sector banks to the MSME sector. The Government has also announced in February, 2007 a 'Package for Promotion of Micro and Small Enterprises' with an objective to provide support in areas of credit, technology upgradation, marketing, infrastructure, etc. The Prime Minister's Task Force on MSMEs has made various recommendations in the areas of credit, taxation, labour issues, infrastructure/technology/skill development, marketing, etc., for providing an impetus to the growth of the sector. Based on the recommendations of the Task Force, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised the banks to achieve a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in credit to micro and small enterprises and a 10 per cent annual growth in the number of micro enterprise accounts in order to ensure that sufficient credit is available to micro enterprises within the MSE sector.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Dinsha Patel in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

rts/vn/dk/kol/17:49 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Rural Development                 

Restructuring of Pura

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

The Government has restructured the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) scheme for implementation on pilot basis during 11th Five Year Plan. The scheme aims at holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (s) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas. The scope of the scheme is to select private partners to develop livelihood opportunities, urban amenities and infrastructure facilities in select Panchayat / cluster of Panchayat. The private developer is given the flexibility to identify and select the Gram Panchayat for undertaking PURA projects based on their familiarity with the area or past experience of working at the grassroots level. However, the consent of the concerned Panchayats is mandatory.

 

This information was given by Shri Pradeep Jain 'Aditya' Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

 

akt/st/bs/dk/kol/17:50 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Food Processing Industries                  

Setting Up of Mega Food Parks

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (FPI) has got conducted the feasibility study in five States for setting up of Mega Food Parks. During the feasibility study, the assessment of the demand of various types of fruits and vegetables and their supply scenario has been undertaken. This information was given by Shri Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The Minister informed the House that while assessment has been undertaken on the basis of primary data, the assessment of the demand for fresh fruit and vegetables for the domestic users has been arrived at based on secondary data.

 

Shri Sahai said that the finding of the feasibility study and the demand projections of the fresh as well as the processed vegetables is extensively discussed at various Investors Meet and workshops, to encourage the potential investors to invest in Mega Food Parks.

 

In addition, the FPI Ministry has got conducted a techno feasibility study for setting up a Strategic Distribution Center (SDC). While conducting this study a comprehensive survey was undertaken which covered organized retail outlets, the expenditure pattern of the processed food items by the consumers based on which the demand of various food products has been estimated to establish the viability of the SDC.

 

Though milk and fruits & vegetables both fall under the category of perishable produce, nature and extent of perishability differ in both the category. Keeping in view of this, Mega Food Park Model provides for setting up of farm proximate infrastructure like Collection Center (CC) and Primary Processing Center (PPC) proposed to be linked to the state of the art Central Processing Center (CPC). The CCs and the PPCs aim at adequate infrastructure at the farm gate by providing facilities for cleaning, grading, sorting packing, dry warehouses, specialized cold stores including pre-cooling chambers, ripening chambers, reefer vans, mobile pre-coolers, mobile collection vans etc. This will minimize post harvest loses. Therefore the concept of strong backward linkages as demonstrated in Amul model has also been followed and customized appropriately in the case of Mega Food Park model, the Minister said.

 

kkp/ska/dk/kol/17:50 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Food Processing Industries                  

Investment in Food Processing Sector

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

As per Vision 2015 Document of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, investment to the tune of Rs. 100,000 Crores are required to achieve the targets specified in the Vision for the year 2015. Of these investment of Rs. 10,000 crores are expected from Government Sector and Rs. 45,000 Crores each from the Financial Institutions and the private sector. This information was given by the Shri Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

 

The Minister said that the food processing sector is presently growing at an average rate of 13.5% per annum. The level of processing has gone up by about 4% from existing 6% in 2005 to 10% in 2009 and value addition by 6% from 20% to 26% in the same period. The Vision Document 2015 envisages increasing the value addition from 20% to 35% by 2015, the Minister informed the House.

 

kkp/ska/dk/kol/17:50 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution                              

Smart Card Based Delivery of Essential Commodities

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

Government has issued directions to State Governments to streamline functioning of TPDS by enforcing provisions of PDS (Control) Order, 2001. Besides this, the Government has also issued instructions to States/UTs to strengthen TPDS by improving monitoring mechanism and vigilance, increased transparency in functioning of TPDS, use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools and improving the efficiency of Fair Price Shop operations.

 

Government has approved implementation of the scheme of computerization of TPDS operations in phased manner to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the TPDS. In the first phase, the scheme has been approved to be implemented on pilot basis in three districts each of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Delhi and piloting of food grain bag tracking in one district in Chhattisgarh with the outlay of Rs. 53.47 crore. First installment of Rs.14.77 crore (Andhra Pradesh – Rs.4.405 crore, Assam – Rs. 3.485 crore, Chhattisgarh – Rs.4.085 crore and Delhi – Rs.2.80 crore) has been released to the State Governments.

 

To improve quality of delivery of services under TPDS and to assess reliability of new technologies, a pilot scheme on Smart Card based delivery of essential commodities was approved for Chandigarh UT and Haryana with an outlay of Rs.142.29 crore. Under the scheme, existing ration cards are to be replaced by Smart Cards. These Smart Cards as well as Smart Card transaction terminals will store details of transactions of TPDS commodities issued. The delivery of essential commodities to Smart Card holder's families will be made from the fair price shops only after verification of genuineness of the smart card holder through smart card transaction terminal. The smart cards as well as smart card transaction terminals will store details of transactions of TPDS commodities issued. An amount of Rs.25 crore to the Government of Haryana, Rs.1.10 crore to Chandigarh UT and Rs. 1.00 crore to National Informatics Center (NIC) has been released in advance as first installment. Chandigarh UT Administration and Government of Haryana have completed trial run on 7th June, 2010 and 17th June, 2010 respectively.

 

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

mp: sb:cp/dk/kol/17:50 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution                              

Ample Stock of Foodgrains in Central Pool

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

There are ample stocks of wheat and rice in the central pool. The Central Pool stock of wheat as on 1.7.2010 was 335.84 lakh tonnes and of rice was 242.66 lakh tonnes.

Buffer stock of rice and wheat is maintained by the Central Government. Allocation of foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is made for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families on the basis of 1993-94 poverty estimates of the Planning Commission projected on the population estimates of Registrar General of India as on 10.3.2000, or the number of families actually identified and ration cards issued by the State Governments, whichever is less. Accordingly, allocations of foodgrains for BPL and AAY categories are made @ 35 kg per family per month for all accepted 6.25 crore families in the country. Allocations under Above Poverty Line (APL) category are made depending upon the availability of stocks of foodgrains in the Central Pool and past offtake. Presently, these allocations range between 10 kg and 35 kg per family per month in different States/UTs.

India is not self-sufficient in some of the agricultural commodities, particularly edible oils and pulses. About 40% of edible oil and about 15% of the total pulses requirements are imported. The domestic production of pulses has been around 14 -14.8 million tonnes during the last three years. The demand for pulses was estimated around 17 – 18 MTs during the same period. The gap between demand and supply is filled by import of variety of pulses from different countries depending upon their availability. There was low sugar production in the country during the last sugar season 2008-09 and the anticipated low production of sugar during the current sugar season 2009-10 in comparison to the estimated domestic consumption.

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

mp: sb:cp/dk/kol/17:51 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Agriculture                  

Schemes to Strengthen Agricultural Markets

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

The Central Government provides assistance through various schemes for development and strengthening of market infrastructure. These are as follows:

 

The Scheme for Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization has been launched with the objective of strengthening of existing agricultural marketing infrastructure, providing of additional agricultural marketing infrastructure and to promote competitive alternative marketing infrastructure etc. Under the scheme, assistance is provided @25% of capital cost of the project subject to ceiling of Rs.50 lakh for each project. Subsidy is provided @33.33% for North East States, States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, SC/ST entrepreneurs and their cooperatives etc.

 

Under the market infrastructure component of National Horticulture Mission, assistance is provided for creation of rural primary market/apni mandi, wholesale market and terminal market complex to link farmers with producers. Under the scheme, assistance is provided @40% of the project cost up to Rs.20 lakh for rural primary markets and @25% of the project cost up to Rs.100 crore for wholesale markets. In addition, subsidy up to 40% is provided for setting up terminal market complex.

 

Under Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) under the Ministry of Rural Development, there is a provision for setting up of permanent marketing centres or haats at village, district and state level to promote the sale of products of beneficiaries covered under the programme. Assistance is provided up to Rs.15 lakh for creation of village haats, up to Rs.1.5 crore for a district level haat and up to Rs.3.00 crore for a haat at the state capital.

 

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

mp: sb:cp: marketing/dk/kol/17:51 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Agriculture                  

Significant Achievements Under NFSM

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

There has been an impressive increase in expenditure during last 3 years of NFSM implementation in the States and the expenditure in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 is 42%, 68% and 84% respectively.

 

Significant achievements under NFSM have been recorded during last three years i.e. during 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 as per the progress reports received from the States. New farm practices have been encouraged through 3.00 lakh demonstrations of improved package of practices. As many as 53438 demonstrations on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as well as 24189 demonstrations on hybrid rice have also been conducted. Nearly, 85.79 lakh qtls of seeds of high yielding varieties of Rice, Wheat and Pulses and hybrid rice have been distributed. About 65.88 lakh ha of area has been treated with soil ameliorants (gypsum/lime/micro nutrients) to restore soil fertility for higher productivity. An area of about 25.77 lakh ha has been treated under Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Further, nearly 15.31 lakh numbers of improved farm machineries including water saving devices have been distributed. Capacity building of farmers has been encouraged through arranging 28821 farmers' field schools (FFS) at the farm level so far.

 

This information was given by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

mp: sb:cp: nfsm/dk/kol/17:51 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Civil Aviation                              

AAI Clarification on IGI Airport Radar British Prime Minister's Flight under Constant ATC Monitor

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

The British Prime Minister's aircraft and all other arrivals and departures on 28 July, 2010 were constantly monitored simultaneously on Autotrack-2 system as well as the Autotrack -3 system and there was no impact on the ATC operations at any stage on that day. Contrary to media reports, there was no safety concern or scare. The Autotrack-2 system was all along maintained as a hot stand-by, i.e. it was simultaneously operational alongwith the Autotract-3 system as an emergency backup. There was no disruption of incoming or outgoing flights as the Autotrack-3 system, an upgrade to existing Autotrack-2 system, was under validation process at the IGI airport Delhi. This is a normal procedure for any system upgradation / validation.

 

This has been clarified by the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel while answering questions in the Rajya Sabha during the Calling Attention Motion regarding "serious safety problems faced by airline industry in the country in the context of Mangalore aircraft crash". This has also been clarified by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in view of contrary media reports.

 

The British Prime Minister's flight call sign BAW9101 type B744 from Bangalore to Delhi was continuously monitored on radar and the aircraft was radar vectored for Instrument Landing System [ILS] for runway 11. The Pilot of the aircraft reported established on ILS and subsequently changed over to tower control. The consoles of Autotrack 3 system in control tower was working alright and the Tower controllers monitored the aircraft till it has landed. The aircraft landed on runway 11 at time 1756 IST without any delay.

 

The existing Autotrack-2 system was being maintained as Hot/active standby during the validation process of the Autotrack-3 system. On 28th July 2010 at 1750 hours, there was some software glitch in the Autotrack-3 system due to which some of the Controller's display units of the system failed. However, the Controller's display units of Autotrack-2 in the control tower was operating normal. The ATC operations were continued using the Autotrack-2 system.

 

mc/mk/dk/kol/17:51 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

* * * * * *

Ministry of Civil Aviation                              

Goa To be Additional Embarkation Point for HAJ 2010

New Delhi: August 3, 2010.

 

Taking due cognizance of the convenience of Haj pilgrims from Goa, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel has taken the initiative to add Goa as an additional embarkation point for Haj 2010.

 

This has been a long pending demand from the Goa Government, Goa State Haj Committee and the local populace of Goa.

 

This initiative of the Government will ensure direct flights for Hajis from Goa who hitherto had to come to Mumbai to board for Jeddah/Medinah. It will benefit more than 500 pilgrims from Goa.

 

mc/mk/dk/kol/17:52 hrs.

 

 

--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/