- Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund
Why in news?
- The first tripartite Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the department of Fisheries Government of India, NARBARD and the Government of Tamil Nadu for the implementation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF).
- A dedicated fund has been created namely the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund with a total of Rs. 7522.48 crore to address the infrastructure requirement for fisheries sector.
- Government minister urged the coastal states to pay attention to deep sea fishing, post harvesting, cage culture and export promotion.
Key findings:
- FIDF provides concessional finance to the eligible entities, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs for development of identified fisheries infrastructure.
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NARBARD), National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC) and all scheduled banks are Nodal Loaning entities (NLEs) to provide concessional finance under the (FIDF).
- The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the FIDF provides interest subvention up to 3% per annum for providing the concessional finance by the NLEs at the interest rate not lower than 5% per annum.
- The Government of Tamil Nadu has signed the first Tripartite MoA for availing the initial concessional finance of Rs 420 crore from NARBARD for development of three fishing harbours in the State namely, (i) Tharangampadi in Nagapattinam Ditrict, (ii) Thiruvottriyur Kuppam in Tiruvallur District and (iii) Mudhunagar in Cuddalore District.
- These will create safe landing and berthing facilities for a large number of fishing vessels plying in the area, augment fish production in the regions, facilitate hygienic post–harvest handling of fish, stimulate growth of fisheries related economic activites and employment opportunities.
- NABARD as one of the Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs) provides concessional finance for development of fisheries infrastructure facilities through State Governments/State Entities under the FIDF, after execution of the Tripartite MoA.
- Proposals to the tune of Rs.1715.04 crore received from various State Governments and other Eligible Entities (EEs) have been recommended as date by the Central Approval and Monitoring Committee constituted in the Department for consideration under FIDF.
- The project proposals of Government of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for development of fishing harbours in their respective States form the major part of these recommended projects.
- Higher prevalence of mental disorders
Why in news?
- The first comprehensive estimates of disease burden attributable to mental health from 1990 prepared by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative was recently published in the Lancet Psychiatry.
Key findings of the study:
- Roughly one in seven Indians, or 197 million persons, suffered from mental disorders of varying severity in 2017.
- Of the total, 45.7 million people had depressive disorders, as one in three years lost due to a mental disorder was due to
depression. This was followed by anxiety — a total of 44.9 million people suffered from it and it accounted for the loss of 1 in 5 years. - The contribution of mental disorders to the disability adjusted life year (DALY) — the sum of total years of life lost and years lived with disability — has doubled between 1990 and 2017 increasing from 2.5% to 4.7%.
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh account for a higher prevalence of mental disorders that manifest primarily during adulthood in depression and anxiety.
About Socio-Demographic Index (SDI)
- In its State-wise analysis, the study divides different States into three categories on the basis of their socio-demographic index (SDI), i.e low, medium and high SDI States. The SDI is a composite measure of per-capita income, mean education, and fertility rate in women younger than 25 years and is calculated on a scale of one.
- Prevalence of depressive disorders was highest in Tamil Nadu (loss of 836 years per 1 lakh population ) in the high SDI State group and Andhra Pradesh (loss of 793 years) in the middle SDI State group.
- Anxiety disorders were found to be more common in Kerala (loss of 383 years per 1 lakh population) in the high SDI State group and Andhra Pradesh (loss of 328 years) in the middle SDI State group.
- Atal Bhujal Yojana (AJY)
Why in news?
Prime Minister launched a scheme to conserve ground water in regions with low water tables.
About
It is a Rs.6000 crore World Bank approved Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The funding pattern is 50:50 between Government of India and World Bank.
Aims to improve ground water management in priority areas in the country through community participation.
The scheme “envisages”:
- Community participation eg, “formation of Water User Associations”.
- Monitoring and dissemination of data.
- Water budgeting.
- Panchayat-level plans.
- Information, Education & Communication (IEC) activities.
Priority areas:
The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
These States represent about 25% of the total number of over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks in terms of ground water in India.
They also cover two major types of groundwater systems found in India – alluvial and hard rock aquifers- and have varying degrees of institutional readiness and experience in groundwater management.
Implementation of the scheme:
Funds under the scheme will be provided to the states for strengthening the institutions responsible for ground water governance, as well as for encouraging community involvement for improving ground water management to foster behavioural changes that promote conservation and efficient use of water. The scheme will also facilitate convergence of ongoing Government schemes in the states by incentivizing their focussed implementation in identified priority areas.