INS Trikand in International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 23 (IMX/CE-23) (GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- Recently, INS Trikand participated in Sea Phase-I of the International Maritime Exercise/Cutlass Express 2023 (IMX/CE-23) held in the Gulf from 05 to 09 March 2023.
- During the period, the ship exercised with naval units of Bahrain, Japan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and USA with the common aim of enhancing maritime security, keeping shipping lanes open and ensuring safety of navigation.
About IMX/CE-23:
- IMX/CE-23 is one of the largest multinational maritime exercises in the world.
- This is Indian Navy’s maiden IMX participation.
- It is coordinated by the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
- Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) – a 34-nation naval group that seeks to promote security, stability, and prosperity.
- India became an associate member of CMF in 2022.
About INS Trikand:
- INS Trikand is part of the Indian Navy's Western Fleet and operates under the Western Naval Command headquartered at Mumbai.
- ‘INS Trikand’ is a Stealth Frigate commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2013.
- It is the last of the three “Follow On Talwar Class” frigates built in the Russian Federation.
- The other ships of the class: INS Teg and INS Tarkash.
MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme under MSME Champions Scheme launched
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises launched the MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme.
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Key Highlights:
- This Scheme is an extensive drive to create awareness amongst MSMEs about LEAN Manufacturing practices and motivate and incentivize them to attain LEAN levels while also encouraging them to become MSME Champions.
- Under the scheme, MSMEs will implement LEAN manufacturing tools like 5S, Kaizen, KANBAN, Visual workplace, Poka Yoka etc under the able guidance of trained and competent LEAN Consultants to attain LEAN levels like Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.
- Through the LEAN journey, MSMEs can reduce wastages substantially, increase productivity, improve quality, work safely, expanding their markets, and finally becoming competitive and profitable.
Implementation:
- To support MSMEs, Government will contribute 90% of implementation cost for handholding and consultancy fees. There will be an additional contribution of 5% for the MSMEs which are part of SFURTI clusters, owned by Women/SC/ST and located in NER.
- In addition to the above, there will be an additional contribution of 5% for MSMEs which are registering through Industry Associations/ Overall Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) organizations after completing all levels.
- There is a unique feature to encourage Industry Associations and OEMs for motivating their supply chain vendors to participate in this scheme.
Way Forward:
- LEAN will not only attempt to improve quality, productivity & performance, but also the capability to change the mind-sets of manufacturers and transform them into a world class manufacturers.
NITI Aayog Releases Task Force Report on Gaushalas
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, NITI Aayog released the Task Force report titled “Production and Promotion of Organic and Bio fertilisers with Special Focus on Improving Economic Viability of Gaushalas”.
- The Task Force was constituted by NITI Aayog to suggest measures to make gaushalas economically viable, address problem of stray and abandoned cattle and effective utilization of cow dung and cow urine in agriculture and energy sectors.
Details:
- Task force members and representatives of Gaushalas shared their experiences and views about the role of gaushalas in promotion of sustainable farming and waste to wealth initiative.
- The report provide factual estimates of operating costs and fixed costs and other issues in respect of gaushalas and cost and investments involved in setting up Bio-CNG plant and PROM plant in Gaushalas.
- It provides suggestions and recommendations for improving financial and economic viability of Gaushalas, channelizing potential of stray, abandoned and uneconomic cattle wealth for promoting natural and organic farming.
Role in economy:
- Cattle were an integral component of the traditional farming system in India and Gaushalas can be of great help in promoting natural farming and organic farming.
- The agri-inputs developed from cattle wastes- cow dung and cow urine can reduce or replace agro chemicals, serving as plant nutrients and plant protection, on economic, health, environmental and sustainability reasons.
- The effective utilization of the cattle waste is an ideal example of circular economy that harness waste to wealth concept.
Sustainable farming:
- The unique strength of south Asian agriculture is the integration of livestock with crops. In last 50 years, serious imbalance emerged in the use of inorganic fertilizer and livestock manure. This is adversely affecting soil health, food quality, efficiency, environment and human health.
- Recognising this, the Govt of India is promoting sustainable agriculture practices such as organic farming and natural farming.
- Gaushalas can become an integral part in scaling up natural and sustainable farming by acting as a resource centres for supply of bio and organic inputs.
Way Forward:
- The Union Budget 2023 has given special importance to natural farming and the recommendations of the taskforce report will further augment these efforts.
