NATIONAL INNOVATION ON CLIMATE RESILIENT AGRICULTURE Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has informed that 7 climate resilient varieties and 650 district agricultural contingency plans have been developed under National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture. National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)

• It is a flagship network project of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
• It is a network project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched in 2011.
• It aims at strategic research on adaptation and mitigation, demonstration of technologies on farmers’ fields and creating awareness among farmers and other stakeholders to minimize the climatic change impacts on agriculture.
• In the strategic research, the main thrust areas covered are:
  • Identifying most vulnerable districts/regions;
  • Evolving crop varieties and management practices for adaptation and mitigation; and
  • Assessing climate change impacts on livestock, fisheries and poultry and identifying adaptation strategies
• The project consists of four components viz. Strategic Research, Technology Demonstration, Capacity Building and Sponsored/Competitive Grants.

• To enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture covering crops, livestock and fisheries to climatic variability and climate change through development and application of improved production and risk management technologies
• To demonstrate site specific technology packages on farmers’ fields for adapting to current climate risks
• To enhance the capacity building of scientists and other stakeholders in climate resilient agricultural research and its application

• Strengthening the existing network research on adaptation and mitigation (food crops, horticulture, livestock and fishery) with more infrastructure and capacity building;
• Setting up of high through put phenotyping platforms and temperature, CO2, ozone gradient facilities at identified locations/ institutions including North East region;
• Strengthening research on climate sensitive crops like cotton, maize, sugarcane, onion, etc. which are critical for India’s farm GDP/exports but not covered in the XI Plan;
• Projected impacts on water availability at the river basin level and participatory action research at large number of sites on evolving coping strategies through water saving technologies;
• Evolving a national level pest and disease monitoring system to assess the changing pest/disease dynamics under changed climate (both in crops and livestock);
• Strengthening crop simulation and climate scenario down-scaling modeling capabilities at major Institutes and a dedicated unit at IARI, New Delhi;
• Piloting the operationalization of the district/block level agromet advisory services through KVKs/district line departments and contingency plans during droughts and floods; and
• Expanding the technology demonstration and dissemination to 130 vulnerable districts of the country

• The G20 Digital Ministers’ Meeting was hosted by Italy.
• The Ministers agreed to work towards the enhanced cooperation on the pillars of Digital Economy and Digital Government with the adoption of declaration.
• Addressing the changing nature of skills
  • In all fields of knowledge, the new paradigms of data-intensive science and data-driven innovation continue to transform the landscape of research, technology and innovation, driving the use of digital tools.
  • It is emphasizing on the importance of promoting human-centred technological development by increasing access to research and higher education for all, strengthening digital skills, and addressing the digital divide.
  • It recognised that enhanced collaboration, cooperation and exchange of best practices at the international level and interaction with stakeholders contribute to the common goal of utilizing digitalization for sustainable, resilient and inclusive recovery.
• Ethical Principles and Values in Research and Higher Education
  • Protect human rights, human dignity, privacy and personal data throughout the life cycle of the design and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI);
  • Ensure that inclusion, fairness, equality, non-discrimination and access define all Open Research and Education initiatives;
  • Produce and share information about research and education in an open, secure and Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) way;
  • Recognize the contributions of all partners in the research process while encouraging worldwide collaboration;
  • Promote the participation of women and girls in STEM studies and in other subjects linked to the design and implementation of digital initiatives;
  • Develop digital initiatives across all disciplines so as to promote equal access and participation by all communities in an inclusive and equitable manner;

• • Ensure the sustainability of the development and use of trustworthy and robust digital resources for higher education, research and innovation
• Towards a Common Understanding of Digital Spaces
  • Access to data and to other research-relevant digital objects enhances the reproducibility of scientific results, facilitates inter-disciplinary co-operation, and stimulates economic growth through better opportunities for innovation;
  • It recognizes the importance of protecting human dignity, human rights, including privacy, and personal data as well as intellectual property rights while fostering such access; and
  • The international co-operation in research is critically important for advancing science and technology and for solving societal and global challenges

• The digital platforms like Aadhaar and direct benefit transfers have not only empowered people in India but have also led to savings of over USD 24 billion in the last seven years.
• India has invited G20 countries for cooperation towards digital inclusion and social empowerment, highlighting that digital platform in India have prevented leakages in the delivery of government schemes.
• The Indian minister committed India's support towards closer partnerships at the G20 forum and invited countries for future cooperation towards digital inclusion and social empowerment.
• It suggested that G20 countries should collaborate on a free, open, transparent, safe, and trustworthy internet for all to leverage technology.
• India shared its model for the availability of robust and secured digital infrastructure, including digital platforms and connectivity under the Digital India programme. 

• It is a National Action Plan for the marginalized persons of SC, OBC, EBC, DNT, Safai karamcharies including waste pickers.
• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E), caters for empowerment of the socially, educationally and economically marginalized sections of the society.
• The focus of the programme would be on providing high quality skills through good quality institutions so that the training can result in finding jobs or self employment ventures.
• The programme also engages with skilling the Safai Karamcharis including Waste Pickers, and Women so that they can engage in self-employment activities.
• It would be implemented by the three Corporations:
  • National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC);
  • National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC); and
  • National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC)

• The main purpose is to increase the skill levels of the target youth by providing for long term and short term skills, followed by settlement in employment/self-employment.
• Under PM-DAKSH Yojana, the upgradation would be of the skill/process/design so that the incomes will dramatically increase within their practicing vocations.
• A multi-pronged strategy to enhance the competency level of the target groups and make them employable both in self and wage-employment for their socio-economic development of the following sections of the target group:
  • Artisans may improve their revenue generation capacities within their practicing vocations;
  • Women may enter into self-employment thereby financially empowering themselves without neglecting their domestic activities; and
  • Youth may acquire long-term training and specialization in employable vocations giving them better standing in the job market

• The DAKSH will be run through an end-to-end IT system that covers the entire ecosystem of the training programmes:
  • There will be a DAKSH portal and DAKSH App giving the areas in which training would be imparted.
  • The list of training agencies (which are already finalised by the implementing agencies) would be pre-fed into the software.
  • The eligible candidates can register for training giving their Aadhaar numbers and specify their area of interest, and select the institution where he/she would like to take the training.
• All candidates who are found suitable based on the qualifications and the aptitude test would be communicated to the Training Provider on the DAKSH portal automatically.

• It is India’s first National Heart Failure Biobank (NHFB).
• It would collect blood, biopsies, and clinical data as a guide to future therapies.
  • The biosamples include the blood, serum, tissue samples obtained during open-heart surgery and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and genomic DNA collected from heart failure patients.
• It was inaugurated at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
• The biobank activity is supervised by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) with a member from ICMR.

• It would greatly help in guiding future therapies and technologies and would benefit the heart failure patients significantly.
• It will provide insights into heart diseases and heart failure among Indian children and adults, which are very different from that seen in the West.
• It would prove very helpful in understanding molecular pathways and would improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of Heart Failure.
• It will open a new era in research in Heart Failure in India and will change the persona of diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients.
• Through the NHFB, researchers can get access to well-annotated biological specimens linked to clinical data while maintaining appropriate standards of quality and security.
• It will facilitate research both in India and abroad, helping clinicians and scientists to work together to understand and find solutions to heart failure-related morbidity and mortality.

• It is launched by the Prime Minister in 2014.
• The goal was to develop three Adarsh Grams by March 2019, of which one was to be achieved by 2016.
  • Under SAGY, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.
• It places equal stress on nurturing values of national pride, patriotism, community spirit, self-confidence and on developing infrastructure.
• It will keep the soul of rural India alive while providing its people with quality access to basic amenities and opportunities to enable them to shape their own destiny.
• Its goal is to translate the comprehensive and organic vision of Mahatma Gandhi into reality, keeping in view the present context.
• Under SAGY, each Member of Parliament adopts a Gram Panchayat and guides its holistic progress giving importance for social development at par with infrastructure.

• To trigger processes which lead to holistic development of the identified Gram Panchayats
• To substantially improve the standard of living and quality of life of all sections of the population through
  • Improved basic amenities
  • Higher productivity
  • Enhanced human development
  • Better livelihood opportunities
  • Reduced disparities
  • Access to rights and entitlements
  • Wider social mobilization
  • Enriched social capital
• To generate models of local level development and effective local government which can motivate and inspire neighboring Gram Panchayats to learn and adapt
• To nurture the identified Adarsh Grams as schools of local development to train other gram Panchayat

• A Gram Panchayat would be the basic unit. It will have a population of 3000-5000 in plain areas and 1000-3000 in the hilly, tribal and difficult area.
• The MP would be free to identify a suitable Gram Panchayat to be developed as Adarsh Gram, other than his/her own village or that of his/her spouse.
• The MP will identify one Gram Panchayat to be taken up immediately, and two other to be taken up little later.
• Lok Sabha MP has to choose a Gram Panchayat from within his/her constituency and Rajya Sabha MP a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of a district of his/her choice in the State from which he/she is elected.