Pib

Pib

1. Strategy for High Agricultural Growth Rate, 2017-18: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released the Advance Estimate (AEs) of GDP and GVA for the country’s economy for the year 2017-18. Further GVAs for the economy’s sectors including agriculture have been increased. The GVA of ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing’ for the year 2017-18 has been estimated at 2.1 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent in the preceding year 2016-17.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW) has had a quick deliberation on the growth rate for the Agriculture sector to strategize on ensuring that the year 2017-18 ends up with a much higher growth rate.

The components of the economic activity ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing’ and their respective approximate GVA shares are as below:

i. Crops - 60 per cent

ii. Livestock – 20 per cent

iii. Forestry & logging- 8.5 per cent

iv. Fishing and aquaculture – 5.5 per cent

In case of horticulture, similar positive trend in respect of both area coverage and production is seen as of December, 2017. The area coverage as per first advance Estimate under fruits & vegetables stands at 24.92 million ha., as against the previous year final of 24.85 million ha. Concomitantly, the horticulture output as per first advance Estimate is 305.4 million tonnes compared to 300.6 million tonnes in the previous year (2016-17).

2. Shri Ananthkumar to inaugurate 18th All India Whips’ Conference, to be held at Udaipur on 8th - 9th January, 2018

A whip is an important member of a political party’s parliamentary body, having a central role in ‘Floor Management’ in both the Houses of Parliament and is responsible for discipline within the party. Their main job is ensuring that their members in Parliament and legislature vote in line with the party’s official policy on important issues and make sure that the members turn out for important votes. Such an importance of Whips in the Parliamentary system had been acknowledged by organizing the First All India Whips Conference at Indore in 1952, in the very first year of general elections to the First Lok Sabha.

Other agenda items for deliberation during the Conference would include steps to be taken to ensure Efficient Functioning of Legislatures, while the States and Union territories will present Action-Taken Reports on recommendation of the 16th and 17th Whips’ conferences held in Goa in 2014 and Visakhapatnam in 2015, respectively.

Further, the Whips’ Conference would make other recommendations for smooth and efficient working of Parliament and the State Legislatures in the light of the experience gained by the Whips. The Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs would then forward these recommendations to the (i) the State Chief Ministers; (ii) Ministers-in-charge of Department of Parliamentary Affairs in the State Governments; and (iii) Presiding Officers of the State Legislatures and all the invitees to the conference, for information and necessary action.

3. President of India to Grace the Convocation of Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, Chitrakoot, Tomorrow

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, will visit Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh) tomorrow (January 8, 2018) to grace and address the convocation of the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University.

The President will also visit and review various projects of the Deendayal Research Institute, Chitrakoot, in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh.

4. “Literacy & education are the foundations for a strong, inclusive, gender-responsive India”: Vice President

The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu has said that Literacy and Education are the foundations for a strong, inclusive, gender-responsive India. Addressing the gathering of students and teachers during the 34th Convocation of Banasthali Vidyapith, in Tonk district of Rajasthan today, he called for holistic, life giving and character building education system.

Shri M Venkaiah Naidu lauded the Panchmukhi Shiksha model of Banasthali Vidyapith and said that the institution has adopted an innovative way to impart holistic education that enables every student to recognize her innate potential, and help in integrating the knowledge gained with its cultural and environmental context.

The Vice President said the students must understand the heritage and culture of the great Indian civilization and what it stood for. “You and I have inherited this intellectual and philosophical tradition. We must nourish the beautiful tree continuously with devotion and dedication. Diffidence and despair should be dispelled,” he said.