Oilseeds sector in india UPSC

  Oilseeds Sector In India

Statistics from PIB
📊 Around 56-60% of the edible oils consumed in the India, worth Rs 1,17,000 crore, is met through imports

Reasons for less production of Oilseeds in India
🅾️ Low crop yield due to poor quality seeds and usage of outdated technology
🅾️ Land fragmentation limits the potential for increased production
🅾️ Price fluctuations in markets
🅾️ Inadequate storage and distribution facilities
🅾️ Lack of value addition infrastructure
🅾️ Heavy competition from other crops like wheat, paddy, cotton, sugarcane, etc
🅾️ Long gestation period for crops like oil palm and it means low income in this period
🅾️ Lack of govt incentives for the cultivation of oilseeds

Govt initiatives to boost domestic production
✅ Oil Palm Area Expansion under Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana : increase MSP of oilseed crops, cluster development and create a buffer stock for oilseeds
✅ National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) aimed to have an additional 6.5 lakh hectares for palm oil by 2025-26.
✅ PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) for improving water use efficiency
✅ PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to protect farmers against crop losses
✅ Kisan Credit Cards to ensure timely credit support to farmers for  agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc.

Way Forward
🌱 Promote oilseeds cultivation in areas where there is assured irrigation.
🌱Invest in development of High Yielding Oilseeds
🌱 Provide incentives to private sector participation in processing and value addition infrastructure
🌱 Raise MSP for various oilseeds to encourage farmers
🌱 Promote cooperative farming to resolve issue of land fragmentation

Clean tech

 Clean tech

Definition and Examples
📌 It refers to any technology or process that reduces environmental impact, pollution, or waste.
📌 Examples of clean tech include solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and water purification systems.

Challenges
🅾️ Investors are often hesitant to invest in clean tech startups due to the long payback period and high capital costs.
🅾️ Lack of adequate policy support for the clean tech industry.
🅾️ Limited infrastructure to supplement clean tech for examples less EV charging stations, inadequate network of power grid especially in rural areas, etc
🅾️ Affordability and accessibility issues
🅾️ Heavy dependence on fossil fuels because they are cheaper 
🅾️ Lack of skilled professionals having expertise in this field
🅾️ Requirement of critical raw earth materials supply

Benefits
✅ Reduced carbon emissions and arrest global warming
✅ Energy security in future because fossil fuels are exhaustible.
✅ Reduced dependence on fossil fuels
✅ Sustainable development
✅ Improve public health due to less pollution
✅ New business avenues
✅ More jobs

Way forward
🤝 Encouraging the growth of startups in the clean tech industry
🤝 Increase spending on R&D
🤝 Create link between academia & industry for faster product development
🤝 Use CSR funding for PPP partnership
🤝 Prepare clean tech promotion policy to avoid uncertainty in investors' mind regarding future of clean tech industry
🤝 Develop supporting infrastructure
🤝 Skill development to generate qualified professionals
🤝 Combine clean tech with conventional sources of energy to increase efficiency.
🤝 International cooperation to ensure supply of critical raw materials for clean tech industry.

Safety of Women at Workplace UPSC

 Topic: Safety of Women at Workplace

In News due to
🗞 Cases of alleged sexual harassment faced by female wrestlers in India

Reasons for lack of women's participation in workforce
• Gender discrimination faced by women during recruitment and promotions
• Challenging for women to balance work and unpaid care activities at home. 
• Sexual harassment at workplace : According to NCW, nearly 30000 complaints of this matter were received since 2014.
• Experiencing glass ceiling effect at workplace
• Lack of education and skills
• Cultural beliefs and social stigmas
• Child marriages is also one of the reasons

Legal framework in india
 The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

Govt Initiative to Empower Women
• NIRBHAYA Fund 2013
• One stop centres are established to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence.
• Ujjawala Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Rescue & Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme
•Any woman facing sexual harassment at the workplace can register their complaint through SHe-Box portal.
• The National Rural Livelihoods Mission to empower rural women by providing them with skills training and access to credit

Way forward

• Need to start reform from our home by teaching boy child to respect girl child
• Generate awareness among women about their legal rights & remedies
• Strictly enforcement of the Vishaka guidelines framed by the Supreme Court of India in 1997
• Constitution of Internal Complaint Committees in every organisation which is  mandatory under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
• Create women friendly infrastructure including separate washrooms, breastfeeding rooms and security measures.