Agriculture and Allied Sectors (Part – II)

• Promotion of horticultural crops: It is the intensification promotion of fruits, vegetables,
  flowers, spices, medicinal plants, and aromatic plants with a view to diversifying agriculture for income generation among farmers.
• Areas and Productivity Extension: It involves adopting high-yielding varieties, improved
  planting material, and modern cultivation techniques so as to expand the area under horticulture and enhance productivity.
• Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition: It supports infrastructure establishment
  like cold storage, pack houses, and processing units to minimize post-harvest losses and improve the value chain of horticultural produce.
• Capacity Building and Human Resource Development: Training and skill development
  programs include induction for farmers, entrepreneurs, and field workers to adopt best practices and modern technologies.
• Technology Promotion: It also provides the performance of micro-irrigation, protection cultivation, integrated pest management, and organic farming, which is a great contribution toward the sustainability and efficiency of the horticultural practice.
• Market Support Development: Facilities to create marketing infrastructures are given for
  wholesale markets, rural markets, and e-marketing platforms for better price realization for farmers.
• Cluster-Based Development: Under this, all programs are area-specific crops encouraging an efficient use of resources and thinking to develop a targeted approach.
• Financial Assistance: The mission will give financial assistance and subsidies to the farmers and entrepreneurs for different components of horticulture development.

The National Horticulture Mission is a central undertaking that pays a significant dollar on the comprehensive development of horticulture in India. Below are some salient features of the mission:

• Promotion of horticultural crops: It is the intensification promotion of fruits, vegetables,
  flowers, spices, medicinal plants, and aromatic plants with a view to diversifying agriculture for income generation among farmers.
• Areas and Productivity Extension: It involves adopting high-yielding varieties, improved
  planting material, and modern cultivation techniques so as to expand the area under horticulture and enhance productivity.
• Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition: It supports infrastructure establishment
  like cold storage, pack houses, and processing units to minimize post-harvest losses and improve the value chain of horticultural produce.
• Capacity Building and Human Resource Development: Training and skill development
  programs include induction for farmers, entrepreneurs, and field workers to adopt best practices and modern technologies.
• Technology Promotion: It also provides the performance of micro-irrigation, protection cultivation, integrated pest management, and organic farming, which is a great contribution toward the sustainability and efficiency of the horticultural practice.
• Market Support Development: Facilities to create marketing infrastructures are given for
  wholesale markets, rural markets, and e-marketing platforms for better price realization for farmers.
• Cluster-Based Development: Under this, all programs are area-specific crops encouraging an efficient use of resources and thinking to develop a targeted approach.
• Financial Assistance: The mission will give financial assistance and subsidies to the farmers and entrepreneurs for different components of horticulture development.

The National Horticulture Mission is a central undertaking that pays a significant dollar on the comprehensive development of horticulture in India. Below are some salient features of the mission:

• Promotion of horticultural crops: It is the intensification promotion of fruits, vegetables,
  flowers, spices, medicinal plants, and aromatic plants with a view to diversifying agriculture for income generation among farmers.
• Areas and Productivity Extension: It involves adopting high-yielding varieties, improved
  planting material, and modern cultivation techniques so as to expand the area under horticulture and enhance productivity.
• Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition: It supports infrastructure establishment
  like cold storage, pack houses, and processing units to minimize post-harvest losses and improve the value chain of horticultural produce.
• Capacity Building and Human Resource Development: Training and skill development
  programs include induction for farmers, entrepreneurs, and field workers to adopt best practices and modern technologies.
• Technology Promotion: It also provides the performance of micro-irrigation, protection cultivation, integrated pest management, and organic farming, which is a great contribution toward the sustainability and efficiency of the horticultural practice.
• Market Support Development: Facilities to create marketing infrastructures are given for
  wholesale markets, rural markets, and e-marketing platforms for better price realization for farmers.
• Cluster-Based Development: Under this, all programs are area-specific crops encouraging an efficient use of resources and thinking to develop a targeted approach.
• Financial Assistance: The mission will give financial assistance and subsidies to the farmers and entrepreneurs for different components of horticulture development.

• The Act legally entitles upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidised foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System, thus covering about two-thirds of the population.

•  The eligible households will be entitled to receive 5 kg foodgrains per person per month at Rs. 3,2,1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains, respectively.

•  The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households (i.e, poorest of the poor) will continue to receive 35 kg of foodgrains per household per month.

•  The eldest woman in the household, 18 years or above, shall be head of the household for the issuance of the ration card.

•  The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children.

(i) The Act legally entitles upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidised foodgrains under Target Public Distribution System. Beneficiaries are identified using Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) methodology, so even non-BPL will also benefit. Thus statement 1 is incorrect.

(ii) According to the Act, the eldest woman in the house-hold, 18 years or above shall be head of the household for the issuance of the ration card. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

(iii) As per the Act, pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a nutritious 'take-home ration' of 600 food calories-Kcal (not 1600 calories ) and 18-20 grams of protein per day during pregnancy and six months after the child birth. They are also entitled to maternity benefit of no less than Rs. 6000, in such instalments as may be prescribed by the Central Government. Thus, statement 3 is incorrect.