Centre plans crop insurance scheme for small tea growers

The Centre is planning to roll out a crop insurance scheme for small tea growers. Initially, a pilot
will be run in three regions in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu for one crop-cycle spread over
two years commencing 2016-17.

Key facts:
The Tea Board would be the nodal agency for the scheme and the cost will be shared between
the Centre, the state governments and the growers in the ratio of 75:15:10. However, the
growers would have to pick up the state governments tab in case the government declines to
contribute its share.
The scheme aims to protect growers from anticipated losses in revenue caused by drop in
international/domestic prices, yield loss due to adverse weather or pest attacks or any other
reason beyond human control.
During the pilot period, the scheme would benefit small growers, covering about 44,223.6
hectares of plantation area. Large growers can also join the scheme, but will have to pay the
entire premium.
The three regions where the scheme is proposed to be run as a pilot are Golaghat (Assam),
Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) and Coonoor (Tamil Nadu) for the crop cycle of March to November
for two consecutive years.

Background:
The small tea growers, who are now an emerging force in the Indian tea industry (accounting for
more than 35% of the production), have suffered crop damage due to hale storms, excess rainfall
and pest attacks. There has been a massive crop loss ranging between 30 and 50% due to these
factors.

Indias wealth rises, as does disparity

According to a report on Global Wealth by Credit Suisse, the total quantum of wealth is rising in
India but so is the disparity between those who have wealth and those deprived of it.

Highlights of the report:

While wealth has been rising in India, growth is uneven. About 96% of the adult population
remains at the base of the wealth pyramid with wealth below $10,000, and a small fraction of
the adult population (0.3%) has net worth of more than $100,000.
Wealth in India is dominated by property and other real estate that make up 86% of its
estimated household assets.
Wealth in India in local currency terms increased 5.1% in 2016 but due to adverse currency
exchange movements, Indias household wealth fell by 0.8% to $3 trillion in dollar terms.
 The annual growth of wealth per adult in rupees has averaged 6 per cent between 2000 and
2016.
The number of millionaires in India is at 1.78 lakh with $973 billion in wealth. Among these,
ultra high-networth individuals increased by 5.2% to 2,260, including 1,040 with more than
$100 million.
The number of millionaires is projected to increase by 9.5% in the next five years to 2.8 lakh in
2021. Meanwhile, personal debts are estimated to be 9% of gross assets in India, much lower
than in most developed countries.

Global scenario:
Globally, the overall growth in wealth remained limited in 2016, continuing the trend that emerged
in 2013 and contrasting sharply with the double-digit growth rates witnessed before the global
financial crisis of 2008.
The total global wealth in 2016 edged up by 1.4% or $3.5 trillion to a total of $256 trillion, a
rise in line with the increase in the worlds adult population.
Sources: the hindu.

Facts for Prelims

5th International Tourism Mart:

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States
and West Bengal is organising the International Tourism Mart in Imphal, Manipur from 23rd
25th November, 2016.
This is the 5th International Tourism Mart. It is an annual event organised in the North Eastern
region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and
international markets.
It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight North
Eastern States and West Bengal. The event has been planned and scheduled to facilitate
interaction between buyers, sellers, media, Government agencies and other stakeholders.
Buyer and Media delegates from around the world and from different regions of the country are
participating in the Mart and will engage in one-to-one meetings with sellers from the North
East Region. This will enable the tourism product suppliers from the region to reach out to
international and domestic buyers, with the objective of promoting tourism to the region.
The International Tourism Marts are organised in the North Eastern States on rotation basis.
The earlier editions of this mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong and Gangtok.
The highlight of this 5th International Tourism Mart 2016 is that it is being organised during
the Sangai Festival. The Sangai festival is an annual major cultural festival organised by State
Government of Manipur every year from November 21 to 30.
Old coaches turn death traps
 Nearly 85 per cent of India's train coaches are not equipped with anti-
telescoping features, making them death traps in case of an accident like the
Rajendranagar-Indore Express derailment.
The Rajendranagar-Indore Express, which derailed near Kanpur, had Integral Coach
Factory (ICF) rakes which turned turtle and telescoped into each other after
jumping off the rails, claiming at least 148 lives.
Around 53,000 of the 63,000 rail coaches in operation are the old ICF rakes without
anti-telescopic features which would prevent them from toppling over and piling on top
of one another in the event of an accident or derailment.
Railways has decided to expedite the replacement of ICF coaches with LHB coaches.
There are only around 8,000 Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches in operations so
far, mostly in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. The LHB coaches have anti-telescoping
features and advanced coupling systems which prevent rakes from climbing onto to
each other.
The Indian Railways has also decided not to produce any more ICF coaches from
2018, the official said.
In 2012, the Anil Kakodkar high-level committee on railway safety had suggested
switching over to LHB coaches completely.
LHB coaches have been designed by a German firm and are manufactured in
Kapurthala, India
The Kakodkar panel had observed that ICF coaches were not desirable from the
safety point of view at the present operational speed of 100-120 kmph.
LHB coaches are currently used only in high-speed premium trains like
Rajdhani and Shatabdi.
The committee further highlighted that none of the passengers were hurt following the
derailment of Bhubneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express with LHB coaches in 2010.
Among other measures, the Railway Board decided to increase the frequency of
its ultrasonic fault detection test to detect rail fractures from monthly to bi-
weekly exercise, the official said.

ANIL KAKODKAR COMMITTEE ON RAILWAY SAFETY

Ultrasound fault detection test
BJP, Cong. not violated FCRA, Centre tells SC

The Centre told the Supreme Court that both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the
Indian National Congress had not committed any violations under the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 by accepting funds from the London-based
multinational firm Vedanta for political activities.
The government clarified its position before the Bench in a hearing on two separate
appeals filed by the BJP and the Congress against a Delhi High Court decision in
 2014 that the parties violated the FCRA by receiving funds from a foreign
source.
The High Court had ordered the government and the Election Commission to take
appropriate action against the two parties under the Representation of the People Act
and the FCRA.
However, the government said both parties were in the clear owing to certain
amendments made with retrospective effect in the FCRA in 2010.
The court said if the amendments in the FCRA indeed had a retrospective effect, the
appeals filed by the parties would by default become infructuous
Both political parties had challenged the High Court decision of 2014, which held
that Vedanta was a foreign company as per the Companies Act and therefore,
the Anil Aggarwal-owned company and its subsidiaries, Sterlite and Sesa, were
foreign sources under the FCRA.
In an affidavit, the government said that since the majority shares of these
companies were held by Indians, they did not come under the category of foreign
companies.
In fact, the FCRA 2010 provides that a company shall not be deemed a foreign
source if the nominal value of share capital is within the limits specified for
foreign investments under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, or
associated rules and regulations.
The definition of what comprises a foreign source under FCRA 2010 includes
companies in which more than one-half of the nominal value of its share capital
is held by the following entities: a government of a foreign country or territory;
foreign citizens, corporations incorporated abroad; trusts, societies or
associations set up abroad; or a foreign company.
GS III: S&T

India joins CERN as an associate member

India became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear

Research (CERN), the worlds largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory
and best known as operator of the Large Hadron Collider, which found the
elusive Higgs boson in 2012.
India was inducted as an Observer at CERN in 2004.
The latest upgrade allows Indian companies to bid for lucrative engineering
contracts for developing sophisticated equipment, software and instruments;
and Indians can apply for staff positions at the organisation.
The associate membership would cost India CHF (Swiss Franc) 11.5 million
(approximately Rs. 78 crore) annually though it still wouldnt have voting rights
on decisions of the Council.
The Union Cabinet had cleared Indias participation in 2015.
India can choose to apply for full membership after two years or continue with
associate member status for five years.
CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border.
It has 22 member states and four associate member states and other associate
members transitioning to full member status.
Associate members pay about 10 per cent what full members pay.
Though India was invited to be member of CERN at least two years ago, it tarried.
Incidentally, Pakistan became an associate member of the body in 2014. This,
even though Indias association with CERN goes back decades with an active
involvement in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in the areas of
design, development and supply of hardware accelerator components/systems and its
commissioning and software development and deployment in the machine.
Indian scientists have played a significant role in the Compact Muon Solenoid
(CMS) experiment, one of the two large experiments that led to the discovery of
the Higgs Boson.
GS III: ECONOMY - DEMONETISATION

For jute workers in Kolkata, the seams come undone

Ghost workers of the jute industry, also known as zero number workers, are hit
hard by the cash crisis triggered by the Centres demonetisation.
A bane of the nearly 160year-old industry, these are the faceless workers who work
in night shifts in jute mills.
Most have now been forced to go without wages, which are paid on a daily cash basis.
They arrive in truckloads at night and leave at dawn. No records are kept. These
nameless, faceless workers are mostly skilled and get daily wages around Rs. 330
per shift (against the Rs. 239-Rs. 250 range earning of a regular worker) .
They are arranged by labour syndicates that are run with the patronage of trade
unions and political leaders.
Says a mill manager .. it is a win-win situation for all ... the mill owners get labour on
demand on a hire and fire basis in a skill shortage industry and they have no liability
either on statutory payments [PF, ESI, gratuity].
 The agents get hefty commissions and the workers too feel they are getting a good
deal as they work regular shifts during day and double up as zero workers at night.

GS III: ECONOMY - DEMONETISATION

Employers, workers left in a quandary

The sudden demonetisation policy and the consequent cash crunch have resulted in
unusual repercussions for employers and wage workers.
Employers are worried that once the wages of the seasonal, migrant, casual,
temporary workers whom they usually hire without a legal contract are paid
through cheque or direct deposits in bank accounts, it could be treated as
proof of employment. This could then help such workers to claim that they
should technically be considered as part of the payroll and be made eligible for
statutory benefits; such as those related to the Employees State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC), Employees Provident Fund (EPF), accident compensation and
maternity.
On the other hand, labourers, many of whom belonging to the Below Poverty Line
(BPL) category, fear that they might lose various benefits provided by the government
for the poor (including food security-related, pension, medical treatment, as well as
benefits meant for the girl child and economically weaker sections) if it is found that
the wages getting credited in their bank accounts are more than the stipulated
income thresholds for availing such benefits.
Out of Indias total workforce of about 474 million, about 75 per cent do not have
written legal contracts and about 80 per cent do not get any social security
benefits.
It is claimed that workers want more cash at hand and do not want any
deductions from their wages or salary towards EPF and ESIC benefits. Moreover,
since most of these workers constantly shift places of work, contractors and
employers, they also do not trust the EPF and ESIC systems and prefer cash
payments.

GS II: INTERNATIONAL - ASIA

IS used chemical arms 52 times in Syria, Iraq

The Islamic State (IS) has used chemical weapons,

including chlorine and sulphur mustard agents, at least 52 times on the
battlefield in Syria and Iraq since it swept to power in 2014, according to a new
independent analysis.
 More than one-third of those chemical attacks have come in and around Mosul, the
IS stronghold in northern Iraq, according to the assessment by the IHS Conflict
Monitor, a London-based intelligence collection and analysis service.
The U.S. and Iraqi military officials have expressed growing alarm over the prospect of
additional chemical attacks as the allies press to regain both Mosul and Raqqa, the IS
capital in Syria.
Col. John Dorrian, a military spokesman in Iraq, said the IS ability to use chemical
arms is rudimentary, and that American, Iraqi and other allied troops are equipped to
deal with the impact of these chemical attacks typically rockets, mortar shells or
artillery shells filled with chemical agents. The effects of these chemical munitions thus
far have been limited to the immediate area where they land.
GS II: BILATERAL INDIA-CHINA

China agrees to import rice from 17 mills in India

In a major breakthrough that New Delhi had been waiting for, China has agreed
to import rice, non-basmati and basmati varieties, from 17 registered mills in
India, following efforts to ensure market access for Indian products in that
country.
India had repeatedly sought market access for items including non-basmati rice,
pharmaceuticals and many fruits and vegetables among others, citing the countrys
widening goods trade deficit with China. Indias goods trade deficit with China has
ballooned from $1.1 billion in 2003-04 to $52.7 billion in 2015-16.
China is the worlds largest rice importer. However, Beijing had so far not
granted market access to Indias non-basmati rice claiming that the item had
failed to meet Chinese norms on quality, health and safety.
Its apprehensions included the possibility of the Khapra beetle (or cabinet beetle)
pest getting transported along with Indian non-basmati rice consignments to
China.
Official sources said after numerous requests from the Indian side, Chinese officials
visited India in September to inspect 19 rice mills registered with the National Plant
Protection Organization (NPPO). These mills are in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh
and Madhya Pradesh.
To export to nations including China, it is mandatory that Indian rice exporters
are registered with NPPO, the Indian government agency for inspecting the mills
and granting certificates on plant health for export purposes.
The NPPO assisted its Chinese counterpart AQSIQ during the inspection for pest-risk
analysis and plant quarantine purposes to ensure that the non-basmati consignments
from India will be pest-free, safe and of good quality.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
(APEDA) under the Indian Commerce Ministry was also involved in the process.