Government Schemes
Kamdhenu Chair

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Kamdhenu chair + about Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog + about Rashtriya Gokul Mission) + Mains ( GS III System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.

What's the NEWS

• Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog organized a National Webinar on ‘Kamdhenu Chair in Universities and Colleges' in association with UGC, AICTE and Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
• To educate the youth about agriculture, Health, Social, Economic and Environmental importance of our Indigenous Cows.
• There is need to bring forth the Science related to Indigenous Cows and our Education system should provide platform as well as push in Research on benefits mentioned about Cows with modern scientific and process oriented approach.
• The move will promote evidence based scientific mind set on many things that we know but need to prove and make acceptable to all scientifically.

Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog

• The Government of India has constituted the "Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog" to organize animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and to take steps for preserving and improving breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
• It is an apex advisory body to address the issues related to conservation, protection and development of cows and their progeny, proper implementation of laws with respect to prohibition of slaughter and / or cruelty to cows and to provide policy and direction to the cattle conservation and development programmes in the country.
• The Aayog is a high powered permanent apex advisory body with mandate to help the Central Government to develop appropriate programmes for conservation, sustainable development and genetic upgradation of Indigenous breeds of cows.
• The Aayog will review existing laws, policies as well as suggest measures for optimum economic utilization of cow wealth for enhanced production and productivity, leading to higher farm income and better quality of life for the dairy farmers.
• It also aims at transmission and application of improved technology and management practices at the farmers' doorstep through coordination with dairy cooperatives, farmer producer companies and dairy industry as well as research institutions.
• Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will function as an integral part of Rashtriya Gokul Mission.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission.

• Rashtriya Gokul Mission has been initiated by Government of India in December 2014 with the aim of development and conservation of indigenous bovine breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and enhancing milk production and productivity of bovines thereby making milk production more remunerative to the farmers.
• The scheme comprises of two components namely National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB) and National Mission on Bovine Productivity (NMBP).

Conservation of Indigenous breeds (why it is vital?)

• India has 299.6 million bovine population out of which 190.9 million are cattle and 108.7 million are buffaloes. Of this, 80% of cattle are indigenous and Non- descript breeds.
• The bovine genetic resource of India is represented by 41 registered indigenous breeds of cattle and 13 registered buffalo breeds.
• Indigenous bovine are robust and resilient and are particularly suited to the climate and environment of their respective breeding tracts. The milk of indigenous animals is high in fat and SNF content.
• The productivity of indigenous breeds will be impacted to a much lesser extent than exotic animals due to climate change. However, the number of indigenous animals is declining and some breeds like Punganur have become threatened. For this purpose RGM has been initiated to promote conservation and development of indigenous breeds.

Gokul Gram:

• To promote indigenous cattle rearing and conservation in a scientific manner.
• To propagate high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.
• To optimize modern Farm Management practices and promote Common Resource

National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre:

• Under RGM, two "National Kamdhenu Breeding Centres" (NKBC) are being established as Centres of Excellence to develop and conserve Indigenous Breeds in a holistic and scientific manner.

Economy
Financial Stability and Development Council

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about FSDC and its role + Mains ( GS III economic activity)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 23rd Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)
• The meeting reviewed the major macroeconomic developments and Financial Stability issues (global and domestic) with special reference to vulnerability related issues
• The Council discussed the challenges involved in smooth transition of London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) based contracts and noted that a multipronged strategy involving relevant stakeholder institutions and departments is required in this regard.
• The Council also took note of the activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee chaired by the Governor of RBI and the action

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)

• It is an apex-level body constituted by the government of India. The idea to create such a super regulatory body was first mooted by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008.
• It has been setup such an autonomous body dealing with macro prudential and financial regularities in the entire financial sector of India.
• An apex-level FSDC is not a statutory body.
• The recent global economic meltdown has put pressure on governments and institutions across the globe to regulate their economic assets.
• This council is seen as India's initiative to be better conditioned to prevent any economic meltdown incidents in future.
• The new body envisages to strengthen and institutionalise the mechanism of maintaining financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination along with monitoring macro-prudential regulation' of economy.
•  No funds are separately allocated to the council for undertaking its activities.

Composition of the council

• Chairperson: The Union Finance Minister of India

Members:

• FSDC was formed to bring greater coordination among financial market regulators.

• The council is headed by the finance minister and has the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor and chairpersons of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority as other members along with finance ministry officials.

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)

• The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans.
• LIBOR is actually a set of several benchmarks that reflect the average interest rate at which large global banks can borrow from each other.
• The leading indicator used to price loans and other debt instruments, it is produced once a day by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Prelims Factoids
Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Army in partnership with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) held a one day Webinar on "Agile EME : Facilitating Boots on Ground through Aggressive Industrial Outreach".
• The initiative will help the Indian Army to plan modernisation of its Repair Echelons in line with latest technology trends worldwide and also promote indigenisation to reduce dependency on imports and cut cost on repairs.
• The initiative will help reduce the time for which critical equipment of the field army remains unserviceable awaiting some critical spares/components to come from abroad (new or repaired)
• The three distinct sessions and panel discussions of webinar were dedicated to indigenisation, modernisation of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) Workshops and use of Condition Based Monitoring for repair of equipment.

Know! about SIDM

• The Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) is a not-for-profit association formed to be the apex body of the Indian defence industry.
• SIDM plays a proactive role as an advocate, catalyst, and facilitator for the growth and capability building of the defence industry in India.
• SIDM invites membership from companies registered in India, academic institutions, R&D institutions, government bodies as well as societies.

Space Awareness
Communication satellite CMS-01

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about PSLV- C50 and CMS -01) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of space)
What's the NEWS

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch a communication satellite on 17 December from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
• The communication satellite CMS-01 will be onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C50).

PSLV-C50

• PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of the PSLV in the 'XL' configuration, and the 52nd PSLV flight.
• ISRO added that this will be the 77^th launch vehicle mission from SDSC, SHAR.
• The PSLV is 44-metre-high and has four stages with six strap-on booster motors on to the first stage that gives it's a higher thrust during the initial flight moments.
• ISRO has developed and used different PSLV variants, including ones with either two or four strap-on motors, or the Core Alone variant without any strap-on motors.
• As the PSLV is not a reusable rocket, the first stage won't be reclaimed and it will crash into the Indian Ocean.

The payload: CMS-01

• CMS-01 is the 42nd communication satellite from India and weighs around 1,410 kgs.
• It will be replacing the ageing GSAT-12 satellite that was launched in 2011
• It will provide telecom services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum.
• The Extended-C Band coverage will include Indian mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.
• Twenty minutes into the flight, it will be set in the Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at 83° inclination.
• The expected mission life of this spacecraft is supposed to be seven years or more.
• The PSLV-C50 rocket launch will be followed by the launch of the new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) carrying the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10 (GSLV) carrying the EOS-3.
• The other Indian satellites that are ready for launch are GISAT and Microsat-2A.

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