A total area of 42,445 hectares of tidal (khar) land has been reclaimed in the Konkan region under the Khar Land Development Schemes implemented by the water resources development, Ramnath Thakur, Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare, told the Rajya Sabha.
A total of 575 schemes were launched in the region, with 31 in Thane district, 56 in Palghar, 136 in Raigad, 93 in Ratnagiri and 108 in Sindhudurg. Of them, 424 have been completed.
Agricultural land adjoining the coast and creeks suffer from salinity due to ingress of sea water in low-lying areas. The schemes are among steps taken by the Maharashtra government to prevent such occurrences and promote agricultural use of khar land in the Konkan region.
The schemes comprise of construction of earthen bund to prevent spread of tidal water in the agricultural fields. Cross-drainage works are also constructed in the bund to provide way for floodwater towards sea.
As many as 5,407 cases of acute encephalitis syndrome have been reported in India in 2024 among childred aged 0-15 years, Prataprao Jadhav, Union minister of state for health and family welfare, told the Lok Sabha.
The minister was citing data collected through presumptive forms submitted to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
India has achieved a total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.0, according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21), Anupriya Patel, Union minister of state for health and family welfare, told the Lok Sabha.
This is aligned with the National Population Policy 2000 and the National Health Policy 2017 (TFR of 2.1), she noted.
The government focused on achieving and maintaining replacement levels of fertility across regions by raising awareness about healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies, ensuring the availability of family planning services and approving the budgets proposed by states in the Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) based on their specific needs to manage fertility, said Patel.
Rs 2,000 crore out of the Rs 10,900 crore budget a two-year period under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme has been earmarked for installation of electric vehicle (EV) public charging stations across the country, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, Union minister of state for heavy industries, told the Rajya Sabha.
The ministry had notified the scheme on September 29, 2024 to accelerate EV adoption, establish charging infrastructure and foster development of EV manufacturing ecosystem in India.
Further, the Union Ministry of Power (MoP) issued Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure-2024 on September 17, 2024, outlining standards and protocols to create connected and interoperable EV charging infrastructure network in the country.
As many as 25,202 EVPCS have been installed in the country, Varma told the Rajya Sabha, citing MoP data.
Rs 42.3 crore has been spent till date on awareness generationa nd training programmes under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), Thakur told the Rajya Sabha.
The Union Cabinet approved NMNF on November 25, 2024 as a standalone centrally sponsored scheme, with an overall outlay of Rs 2,481 crore, Thakur shared. Of this, Rs 100 crore was the revised estimate for activities such as raising awareness and conducting trainings, the minister added.
The government has approved the digital agriculture mission on September 2, 2024 with an outlay of Rs 2,817 crore, Thakur told the Rajya Sabha.
The mission seeks to enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country for driving innovative farmer-centric digital solutions and making available timely and reliable crop-related information to all the farmers in the country, the minister noted.
The programme envisaged the creation of digital public infrastructure for agriculture, such as agristack, Krishi Decision Support System, Comprehensive Soil Fertility and Profile Map and other information technology initiatives undertaken by the central / state governments, Thakur said.
Further, the department of agriculture and farmers welfare (DA&FW) is promoting the adoption of 'kisan drones' by farmers. Financial assistance under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization is provided for demonstration of kisan drones on farmers’ fields, purchase of drones by the farmers on individual ownership basis and establishment of custom hiring centres of kisan drones for providing services of drones to farmers on rental basis, the minister informed the Rajya Sabha.
DA&FW is implementing Crop Residue Management Scheme from 2018-19 to support efforts of the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi in addressing air pollution caused due to paddy stubble burning and to subsidise machinery required for management of crop residue, Thakur said in the Rajya Sabha.
Under this scheme, the funds are provided to the state governments for providing financial assistance for the purchase of crop residue management machinery, he added.