Relevance IN - Prelims (about Anthurium + cross pollination + National Innovation Foundation + tissue culture) + Mains (GS III awareness in the field of Science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• D Vasini Bai, a women innovator from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has developed ten varieties of Anthurium, a flower with high market value, by cross-pollination.

• Anthurium (Anthurium spp.) is a vast group of beautiful blooming plants available in a wide range of colors.
• Anthurium is one of the best domestic flowering plants in the world. They are beautiful but also purify the surrounding air and remove harmful airborne chemicals like formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, xylene, and allergens.
• The National Innovation Foundation-India has facilitated mass multiplication and large scale production of four highly demanded varieties through tissue culture technique at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore, for the diffusion of the varieties in similar agroclimatic zones of the country.

• Tissue culture is a technique in which small tissue pieces or organs are removed from a donor plant and cultured aseptically on a nutrient medium.
• By manipulating the chemical composition of the nutrient medium and other environmental parameters, the growth and development of the tissues in culture can be directed into different channels.

The process of cross-pollination using an animal pollinator.

• Cross pollination is when one plant pollinates a plant of another variety. The two plants' genetic material combines and the resulting seeds from that pollination will have characteristics of both varieties and is a new variety.

• NIF India is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
• It was set up in February 2000 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat to provide institutional support for scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up the grassroots innovations across the country.

Human Resource Development
#MyBookMyFriendcampaign launched on World Book Copyright Day

Relevance IN - Prelims (about World book and Copyright day + initiatives taken by MHRD on this day)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launches #MyBookMyFriendcampaign on #WorldBookDay.
• #MyBookMyFriend campaign will run for the next 7 days

WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario

• On the occasion of WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY the Ministry of HRD participated in a WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario organized by National Book Trust, India and FICCI
• Over 180 participants logged-in to join the webinar across India, which included Publishers, Authors, Editors, Teachers, Booksellers, Digital content Creators, and Publishing professionals from different areas.
• The Webinar provided insights on the post-Covid scenario for the publishing Industry and probable shift in the publishing, teaching, learning methods, while understanding the ways in which the education will be re-looked into with the rising e-learning practices.

Know! all about World Book Day

• World Book Day, celebrated by UNESCO and other related organisations since 1995, is the global celebration of books and reading material observed in more than 100 countries.
• The objective is to encourage people about books, reading, to understand copyright laws and measures to protect intellectual copyright.
• April 23 was selected by UNESCO to pay homage to renowned literary figures including William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.

World Book Capital

• UNESCO and organisations representing publishers, booksellers and libraries select the World Book Capital for a year to maintain the celebrations of books and reading.
• For the year 2019, Sharjah, UAE had been declared as the World Book Capital.
• Kuala Lumpur has been officially recognised as this year's UNESCO's World Book Capital (KLWBC 2020), with an online launch celebration on April 23.

Know! about Copyright

• Copyright (or author's right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works.
• It is the exclusive right given to the creator of a creative work to reproduce the work, usually for a limited time
• Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.

Food Processing Industries
Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology ( IIFPT)
Relevance IN - Prelims (about IIFPT)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology ( IIFPT), a pioneer Research and Educational Institution under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI), is supporting India's fight against Covid-19.
• IIFPT has started the initiative to manufacture nutrient rich foods for COVID-19 patients at a time when the need for healthy and immunity boosting foods is indispensable.

Know! about IIFPT

• Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), formerly Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology is an education and research institution under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)
• The IIFPT offers various services in areas of food processing, value addition, food quality and safety, and business incubation.

Government Schemes
Cabinet approves fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates

Relevance IN - Prelims (about NBS Scheme and its objective) + GS III Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices)
What's the NEWS

• The Centre slashed the subsidy on non-urea fertilisers, a move that would reduce the burden on the exchequer to Rs.22,186.55 crore in this fiscal amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Know! more about it

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister has given its approval for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers for the year 2020-21.

• The CCEA also approved the inclusion of a complex fertilizer namely Ammonium Phosphate (NP 14:28:0:0) under the NBS Scheme.
• Government is making available fertilizers, namely Urea and 21 grades of P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidized prices through fertilizer manufacturers/importers.
• The subsidy on P&K fertilizers is being governed by NBS Scheme w.e.f 01.04.2010.
• The subsidy would be released to fertilizer companies as per the above given price so that they can make available fertilizers to farmers at a cheaper price than it would have been otherwise.

The Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme

• It simply means that the price of fertilizer is determined by the weight of Particular nutrient present in the fertilizer
• It is being implemented by the Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
• In 2010, the government had launched the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) programme under which a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on an annual basis, is provided on each grade of subsidised phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers, except for urea, based on the nutrient content present in them.(before NBS it was product based subsidy regime)
• Retail prices of non-urea fertilisers such as Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP) and NPK are decontrolled and are determined by manufacturers, while Centre gives a fixed subsidy each year.
• The main drawback of NBS Scheme is that it left out Urea (main source of Nitrogen) and its price is still controlled by the government of India.
  
  

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