GUJARAT
Gujarat’s cotton acreage may grow 10%
Gujarat’s cotton acreage is likely to increase 10% this kharif season with farmers getting high prices for the natural fibre last year. Currently, the area under cotton cultivation in the state has increased to 16.50 lakh hectares as on July 5, compared to 15.72 lakh hectares during the same period last year. This was revealed in the latest data compiled by the state agriculture department.
The area under cotton cultivation in Gujarat had declined 15% to 23 lakh hectares in 2020 from 27 lakh hectares in 2019. The average cotton acreage of the past three years is 25.53 lakh hectares.
Strong demand from domestic and international markets had pushed up cotton prices to a decadal high of Rs 52,000 per candy (one candy is equivalent to 356kg) by the end of the cotton season for 2020-21.
According to the Cotton Association of India (CAI), despite a lower acreage last year, Gujarat’s cotton output is estimated to rise to about 97 lakh bales in the 2020-21 season. One bale is equivalent to 170kg. In the previous season, the output was 95 lakh bales.
INTERNATIONAL
Unity 22 Mission – Test Flight of Spaceship
The next rocket-powered test flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip- VSS Unity will be called “Unity 22.”
About the mission:
♦ The crew will fly to the edge of space on the ‘Unity’ rocket ship developed by Virgin Galactic as part of the mission on July 11.
♦ This will be the VSS Unity’s 22nd mission.
♦ This will be the fourth crewed spaceflight for Virgin Galactic.
♦ It will also be the first to fly with a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists, including Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson, who will be testing out the private astronaut experience.
♦ The mission’s goal: Unity 22 will focus on cabin testing and customer experience.
♦ Two more test flights are still needed before Virgin Galactic can begin commercial service in 2022.
NATIONAL
India Drops in Open Defecation – Wash Report
According to a new report from the Wash Institute (a non-profit organization based in Tamil Nadu), in absolute terms, India is the cause of the biggest drop in open defecation since 2015.
Open Defecation is the practise of defecating in fields or other open spaces rather than using a toilet. It puts women at risk of physical assault and endangers children’s health (vulnerability to diseases & Infection)
Highlights:
♦ By 2016, open defecation had decreased in all Indian states, with the greatest reductions in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.
♦ Sub-Saharan Africa has made slow progress in combating open defecation.
♦ The global population with access to safely managed drinking water at home increased from 70% to 74% between 2016 and 2020.
♦ People faced difficulties in maintaining hygiene, particularly during the Covid-19.
♦ Due to a lack of water resources, three out of every ten people around the world were unable to wash their hands with soap and water at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Retail and Wholesale Trades are Now Included in the MSME category
Retail and wholesale traders have been classified as MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) by the government.
Highlights:
♦ The MSME sector includes the industrial and service sectors but not the agriculture sector.
♦ Despite the fact that the retail and wholesale trades are all part of the Services sector, they were not considered MSMEs.
♦ Because MSMEs are included in the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Guidelines, Retail and Wholesale trade will now be able to obtain loans under PSL.
♦ Priority Sector Lending is an important role assigned by the RBI to banks in which a specified portion of bank lending is directed toward a few specific sectors.
♦ In the absence of this special dispensation, these sectors of the economy with high social returns and a high need for inclusive development may not receive timely and adequate credit.
♦ Today, banks lend nearly 40 percent of their adjusted net bank credit to the priority sector.
Lady Doctors-The Untold Stories of Indias First Women – Book by Kavitha Rao
Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India’s First Women
A book named Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India’s First Women in Medicine has authored by Kavitha Rao. This book recovers the stories of India’s first women doctors, frequently not noted via history. In this excerpt from Kavitha Rao’s Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India’s First Women in Medicine, the story of Rukhmabai Raut.
Rukhmabai was an Indian doctor and feminist. She is first-rate acknowledged for being one of the first practising women medical practitioner in colonial India as nicely as being involved in a landmark legal case involving her marriage as a child bride between 1884 and 1888.
NIPUN Bharat Programme Launched by Union Minister
Union Education Minister Ramesh has launched the NIPUN Bharat programme. The NIPUN programme ambitions that every child in India receives foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) by the end of Grade three by 2026-27.
Highlights:
NIPUN stands for National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy. This Mission, which has been launched below the aegis of the centrally backed scheme of Samagra Shiksha, will centre of attention on imparting get entry to and conserving teens in foundational years of schooling; instructor potential building; improvement of excessive pleasant and different Student and Teacher Resources/Learning Materials; and tracking the progress of every toddler in achieving mastering outcomes.
Ambassador of Khadi Prakritik Paint – MSME Minister
The MSME Minister has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Khadi Prakritik Paint.
About Khadi Prakritik Paint:
♦ It is an environmentally friendly, non-toxic coating with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. The paint, which is based on cow dung as its main ingredient, is inexpensive and odourless, and it has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
♦ The paint is free of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, and cadmium.
♦ It will help local manufacturing and create long-term local jobs through technology transfer.
♦ This technology will increase the consumption of cow dung as a raw material for environmentally friendly products, and will bring additional income to farmers and gaushalas.
♦ It is estimated that this will generate an additional Rs 30,000 (approx.) per animal per year for farmers/gaushalas
♦ Using cow dung will also help to clean the environment and keep drains clear.
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