Economy

03.02.18 Meghalaya(MeghalayaPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

  • Arunachali yak the first to be registered as new breed

 

  • Yaks, found in the mountainous regions of Arunachal Pradesh, have been registered by the Karnal-based National Bureau of Animal Genetics Resources (NBAGR) as a distinct breed known as Arunachali yak, this being the first instance of such a registration in the country. Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh will formally award the recognition in New Delhi on Wednesday to the representatives of National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) based at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh.

 

  • The study found that Arunachali yaks are characterized by their predominantly black body colour and the high fat content in their milk which sometimes goes up to 7.45%. A lactating Arunachali yak produces, on an average, 1.3 kg milk per day. Though the milk is comparatively of poor quantity, it is compensated by the high fat content which makes it useful to produce different milk products.

 

  • However, scientific interventions, especially in the areas of breeding and rearing, have been able to slow down the decline of population as Arunachali yaks still remain the main source of livelihood for many Brokpas (yak rearers). West Kameng and Tawang are mainly dominated by the Monpa community, which treats the yaks as an asset for the rural economy, and rears these animals in organized farms or semi-migratory systems.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

  • Inland Waterways Authority of India signs agreement with World Bank

 

  • Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) signed a project agreement with the World Bank, even as the latter entered into a US $ 375 million loan agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP).

 

  • The signing of the Agreement follows the approval of  the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, for the implementation of the US $ 800 million JMVP for capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1(River Ganga) from Varanasi to Haldia.

 

  • Out of the remaining amount, US $ 380 million is to be sourced through the Government of India counterpart funds from budgetary allocation and proceeds from the bond issue.

 

  • Another US $ 45 million will come from private sector participation under the PPP mode.

 

  • The JMVP, which is expected to be completed by March, 2023, is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank.

 

  • The project will enable commercial navigation of vessels with the capacity of 1500-2,000 tons on NW-I.

 

 

·        UAE Launches World’s Longest Zip Line

 

  • The United Arab Emiratesmade a record by opening the world’s longest zip line, measuring 83 kmin length.
  • Guinness World Records officials certified the zip line in Ras al-Khaimah.
  • The Jebel Jais Flight takes thrill-seekers atop the country’s largest mountain peak, from a launch pad 1,680 meters (5,512 feet) above sea level.

 

NATIONAL

 

  • Two athletes to represent India at the Winter Olympics

 

  • Luger Shiva Keshavan and cross-country skier Jagdish Singh will represent India at the PyeongChang Winter Olympicswhich begins on February 9.

  • Thirty-six-year-old Keshavan, the country’s best known Winter Olympian, will be taking part in his sixth Games since his debut at Nagano in Japan in 1998.

  • Meanwhile, this will be Jagdish Singh’s maiden Winter Games appearance.

 

  • Textbooks in 4 states to have QR codes: Nilekani

 

  • Schools in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthanwill have QR codes in their textbooks, enabling students to view video tutorial and customized content from smartphones, informed.

 

  • As part of the initiative, textbooks will have digital links with a QR code printed at the lesson and this code will have digital material related to the particular concept, which could be a short video lecture or a tutorial or a customized content.

 

  • Sharing his experiences of working with the government, Nandan said that one of things that he learnt is that government is a big amplifier. “If intervention happens at an early stage, impact will be bigger. The government is currently spending Rs 18,000 crore on education. At the other end, philanthropic capital is also being funded in the sector.

 

  • Dust mitigation plan must for firms

 

  • The Environment Ministry has made it mandatory for companies seeking environment clearance to ensure that they put in place a dust mitigation plan.

 

  • The requirements, specified in a gazette notification on January 25, say that roads leading to or at construction sites must be paved and black-topped. There could be no soil excavation without adequate dust mitigation measures in place. No loose soil, sand, construction waste could be left uncovered. A water sprinkling system was mandatory, and the measures taken should be prominently displayed at the construction site. Moreover, the grinding and cutting of building materials in open area were prohibited and no uncovered vehicles carrying construction material and waste would be permitted.

 

  • The standards were developed by the Central Pollution Control Board as part of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), and will now empower the organisation to fine companies and agencies for not complying with norms.

 

  • Road dust contributed 56% of all PM10 pollution, while it was 38% for PM2.5.

 

  • Before PM2.5 became the focus of attention — for its role in lodging itself in the lungs and for being a key component of diesel emissions — dust was the key villain for a long time. Dust is a generic term for a vast mix of metals and non-metals — silicon, aluminium, titanium, manganese, copper, barium, antimony, selenium and zinc.

 

Gk bit  – PM (particulate matter)

 

  • PM stands for particulate matter (also called particle pollution): the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope.

 

Particle pollution includes:

 

 

  • PM10 : inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller; and

 

  • 5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.

 

 

  • The average human hair is about 70 micrometers in diameter – making it 30 times larger than the largest fine particle.

02.02.18 Meghalaya(MeghalayaPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

  • Budget brings hope to bamboo-rich northeast

 

  • Bamboo is essentially a type of grass, but its classification as a tree for 90 years prevented the northeast, which grows 67% of India’s bamboo, from exploiting it commercially unlike China, the only country with richer bamboo genetic resources.

 

  • Now Budget 2018 has ignited farm hope for this tree-turned-grass which once fuelled insurgency in the northeastern states. The allocation of ₹1,290 crore for a restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) has raised hopes for a range of bamboo-based industries – from food professing to construction.

 

  • Bamboo is a wonder, multi-utility grass that more than 300 ethnic groups in the northeast have traditionally been using in every stages of life, from birth to death, besides it being a delicacy. Bamboo’s commercial journey began when it was struck off the list of trees by amending the Indian Forest Act last year.

 

  • The Budget provision is one of the best initiatives to promote holistic development of bamboo. But the restructured NBM needs to be more focussed on value-chain management and value-addition of bamboo at community level which will bring more income to the bamboo farmers and bamboo processors.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

·        India Slips to 42nd Place On EIU Democracy Index, Norway Tops

 

  • India slipped to 42nd place on an annual Global Democracy Index according to the data compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). India has moved down from 32nd place last year.
  • The top 5 Countries in the list are

    Norway,

    Iceland,

    Sweden,

    New Zealand and

    Denmark

 

  • The index ranks 165 independent states and two territories on the basis of five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture.

 

  • The list has been divided into four broad categories- full democracy, flawed democracy, the hybrid regime and authoritarian regime.

 

  • North Korea is ranked the lowest at 167th, while Syria is a notch better at 166th place.

 

 

·        India Joins Ashgabat agreement

 

  • India joined Ashgabat Agreement on the establishment of an International Transport and Transit Corridor between the Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • The agreement was signed in 2011, which envisages facilitation of transit and transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
  • According to the External Affairs Ministry, the accession to the Agreement would diversify India’s connectivity options with Central Asia and have a positive influence on its trade and commercial ties with the region.

 

NATIONAL

 

  • Union Budget 2018: Key takeaways and sector-wise highlights

 

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley delivered the current government’s fifth and last full financial budget (Budget 2018 for the fiscal year 2018-19) amid subdued economic growth, challenging fiscal situation and farm distress.

 

Here are the key highlights from the Union Budget 2018:

Economic Health

  • Economy firmly on course to achieve high growth of 8%
  • GDP growth at 6.3% in the second quarter of 2017-18 signals turnaround of the economy
  • Growth in the second half likely to remain between 7.2% to 7.5%

Agriculture and Rural Economy

  • MSP for all unannounced Kharif crops increased to 150%
  • Institutional credit for agri-sector increased to Rs.10 lakh crore in 2017-18
  • Fisheries, aquaculture and animal husbandry corpus at Rs.10,000 crore
  • New scheme Operation Greens with an outlay of Rs 500 Crore
  • Govt to develop and upgrade existing 22,000 rural haats
  • Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund with a corpus of Rs.2000 crore
  • Allocation for Ministry of Food Processing doubled to Rs.1400 crore
  • Loans to Self Help Groups (SHG) of women to increase to Rs.75,000 crore by March 2019.
  • Increased allocation of National Rural Livelihood Mission to Rs 5750 crore
  • Under Ujjwala Scheme distribution of free LPG connections will be given to 8 crore poor women
  • Housing for All by 2022 – more than one crore houses to be built by 2019 in rural areas

Education, Health, and Social Protection

  • Estimated budgetary expenditure on health, education and social protection at Rs.1.38 lakh crore
  • Ekalavya Model Residential School to be set up for tribal children
  • Investments for research & infra in premier educational institutions at Rs.1 lakh crore in next 4 years
  • Allocation on National Social Assistance Programme at Rs. 9975 crore
  • NHPS to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries)
  • NHPS to provide coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for hospitalisation
  • Rs 1200 crore for the National Health Policy, 2017 – additional Rs.600 crore for TB patients
  • 24 new Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals

Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and Employment

  • Major thrust for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) – allocation at Rs. 3794 crore
  • Target of Rs.3 lakh crore for lending under MUDRA Yojana
  • 70 lakh formal jobs to be created this year
  • Govt to make 12% contribution of new employees in the EPF for all the sectors for 3 years
  • Outlay of Rs.7148 crore for the textile sector
  • Increase budgetary allocation on infrastructure for at Rs.5.97 lakh crore
  • To develop 10 prominent tourist sites into Iconic Tourism destinations
  • 35000 kms road construction in Phase-I at an estimated cost of Rs.5,35,000 crore

Railways

  • Railways Capital Expenditure pegged at Rs.1,48,528 crore
  • 4000 kilometers of electrified railway network slated for commissioning
  • Work on Eastern and Western, dedicated freight corridors
  • Over 3600 km of track renewal targeted in current fiscal
  • Redevelopment of 600 major railway stations
  • Mumbai’s local train network to have 90 kilometers of double line tracks at Rs.11,000 crore cost
  • 150 km of additional suburban network planned for Mumbai
  • Suburban network of 160 km at for Bengaluru metropolis

Air Transport

  • To expand airport capacity more than five times to handle a billion trips a year
  • Regional connectivity – 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads to be connected
  • To establish unified authority for regulating all financial services

Digital Economy

  • NITI Aayog to initiate a national program to direct efforts in artificial intelligence
  • Department of Science & Technology to launch Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems
  • Allocation doubled on Digital India programme to Rs 3073 crore
  • To set up 5 lakh wifi hotspots to provide net-connectivity to five crore rural citizens
  • Rs. 10000 crore for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure

Defence

  • Development of two defence industrial production corridors.
  • Allocation of Rs 2.95 lakh crore to defence sector.

Emoluments

  • To revise emoluments to Rs.5 lakh for the President
  • Rs 4 lakhs for the Vice President
  • Rs.3.5 lakh per month to Governor
  • Pay for Members of Parliament – law for automatic revision of emoluments every 5 years
  • 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi- Rs.150 crore for commemoration programme

Fiscal Management

  • Budget Revised Estimates for Expenditure at Rs.21.57 lakh crore
  • Revised Fiscal Deficit estimates at 3.5% of GDP
  • To bring down Central Government’s Debt to GDP ratio to 40%

Jaitley announces ‘world’s largest healthcare programme’

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced two new initiatives under the Ayushman Bharat Programme in the Union Budget 2018.

  • Under the programme, Mr. Jaitley announced a new flagship National Health Protection Scheme, providing a health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh a family per annum.
  • The scheme will cover 10 crore vulnerable families, with approximately 50 crore beneficiaries.
  • Mr. Jaitley also announced the creation of health and wellness centres, which will “bring healthcare closer to home”.
  • These centres, 1.5 lakh in number, will provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services. A sum of Rs. 1200 crore had been allocated for this.

·         Thirty Second Surajkund International Crafts Mela Begins

  • The 32nd Surajkund International CraftsMela begun in Faridabad, Haryana.

    The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.

    The 17-day cultural extravaganza will see a spectacular showcase of regional and international crafts, handlooms, traditions along with some mouth-watering multi-cuisine food for the visitors.

    This year Uttar Pradesh is the theme state and Kyrgyzstan is the Partner Nation.

30.01.18 Meghalaya(MeghalayaPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

  • Territorial integrity of North eastern states won’t be compromised: Rajnath

 

  • Territorial integrity of Assam and other northeastern states will not be compromised when the final Naga peace accord is inked, home minister Rajnath Singh assured Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

 

  • The insurgent group NSCN-IM’s key demand is to integrate the Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, which has been strongly opposed by the three states, currently ruled by the BJP.

 

  • The NSCN-IM has been engaged with peace talks with the interlocutor of the central government since 1997 when it announced a ceasefire agreement after a bloody insurgency movement which started in Nagaland soon after the country’s Independence. 

     

    INTERNATIONAL

     

    • ‘Aadhaar’ is Oxford’s first Hindi word of the year

     

    • Dictionaries at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

     

    • ‘Aadhaar’ also becomes the first Oxford Dictionaries Hindi Word of the Year.

     

    • The accompanying shortlisted words include Notebandi, Swachh, Vikaas, Yoga and Bahubali.

     

    ·        India Cheapest Country To Live In After South Africa: Survey

     

    • India is ranked second only to South Africa as the cheapest country to live or retire, according to a recent survey of 112 countries by GoBankingRates.
    • The survey ranked nations on the bases of four key affordability metrics. The metrics are Local purchasing power index, rent index, Groceries index, and Consumer price index.
    • India’s local purchasing power is 20.9% lower, rent is 95.2% cheaper, groceries are 74.4% cheaper, local goods and services are 74.9% cheaper.
    • The top three most expensive countries in the survey are Bermuda (ranked 112), Bahamas (111), and Hong Kong (110).

     

     

    NATIONAL

     

    ·        Economic Survey 2018:  Brief Summary

     

    • The Economic Survey, an annual publication of the Finance Ministry, is presented in both houses of Parliament during the Budget Session. It is a review of the developments in the country’s economy over the previous one year.
    • Sticking to the practice started last year, finance minister Arun Jaitley will present Union Budget 2018 on 1 February.
    • It presents a summary of the performance of the government’s major development programmes undertaken during that period.
    • It also details the main policy initiatives of the government.

     

    • The  Survey sees FY19 GDPgrowing 7-7.5% vs 75% in FY18.

     

    • The Due to higher expected increase in imports, net exports of goods and services are slated to decline in 2017-18.

     

    • The Exports biggest source of the boost to growth.

     

    • It points out that the GDP growth has averaged 7.3% for the period from 2014-15 to 2017-18, which is the highest among the major economies of the world.

     

    • Demonetisation helped share of financial saving to rise.

     

    • The ratio of domestic saving to GDP reached 29.2 percent in 2013 to a peak of 38.3 percent in 2007, before falling back to 29 percent in 2016.

     

    • The Sanitation coverage in rural India increased substantially from 39 percent in 2014 to 76 percent in January 2018. With the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) on October 2, 2014, the sanitation coverage in rural India increased substantially.

     

    • So far, 296 districts and 307,349 villages all over India have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).

     

    • India is gradually improving its performance in Science and Technology. In 2013, India ranked 6th in the world in scientific publications. Its ranking has been increasing consistently. The growth of annual publications between 2009 to 2014 was almost 14%. This increased India’s share in global publications from 3.1% in 2009 to 4.4% in 2014 as per the Scopus Database.

     

    • The foreign exchange reserves grew by 14.1% on a year-on-year basis from the end of Dec 2016 to end of Dec 2017.

     

    • The forex reserves as per 2016-17 were estimated at USD 370 billion. It grew to USD 409.4 billion in 2017-18.

     

     

     

    ·        VINBAX: India and Vietnam hold first military exercise in Jabalpur

     

    • The India-Vietnam Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX-2018)was conducted at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
    • It is the first military exercise between the two countries.
    • The six-day-long military exercise (from January 29 to February 3, 2018) was conducted as part of joint training undertaken with friendly foreign countries by Indian Army.
    • VINBAX-2018 was Table Top Exercise to carry out training for Peace Keeping Operations under United Nations (UN) mandate.
    • The Defence ties between India and Vietnam have been on an upswing with the primary focus being cooperation in the maritime domain.

    ·        International Bird Festival To Be Held In Dudhwa National Park

     

    • A three-day international bird festivalwill be held at the Dudhwa National Park, Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh in February 2018 with nearly 200 leading ornithologists expected to attend.
    • The purpose of the international bird festival is to promote eco-tourism in Dudhwa and to give it a distinct international identity besides highlighting its traditional Tharu arts, culture, and heritage.

     

    ·        Asias biggest auto testing track inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh

     

    • Union Minister Babul Supriyo and Madhya Pradesh Industrial minister Rajendra Shukla inaugurated Asia’s biggest auto testing track in Pithampur of Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh.
    • The country’s research and development activities in the sector of automobile engineering and technology will get a boost, due to the construction of the auto testing track in Pithampur.
    • Pithampur will emerge as a hub of the automobile industry in future.
    • Union Minister further mentioned that the state government has provided 4 thousand acre land to NATRiP and the National Auto Testing Track has been developed on 3 thousand acre land.
    • Automobile units can be established by the industrialists on the remaining one thousand acre land.

     

    ·        Sandeep Lamichhane Becomes 1st Nepal Player To Get IPL Contract

     

    • Sandeep Lamichhane became the first cricketer from Nepal to land a deal an IPL contract.
    • He was picked by Delhi Daredevils in the player’s auction.
    • The 17-year-old, the only Nepal player in the IPL auction, was sold at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
    • The leg-spinner rose to prominence with a successful outing at the 2016 U-19 World Cup where he guided Nepal to a creditable eighth place.
    • He hogged the limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps in six innings.

20.01.18 Meghalaya(MeghalayaPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

·         Nagaland stands divided on assembly election announcement

 

ð  The announcement of election dates invited a polarised response in Nagaland, with political parties welcoming the move and local organizations strongly protesting against it – with the apex tribal body of the state threatening to boycott the electoral process.

 

ð  The demand for a resolution of the Naga crisis, talks for which have been on for decades, before the assembly polls has been gaining ground in the state. The Naga peace talks have centred around the creation of Nagalim, or greater Nagaland, encompassing Naga-dominated areas of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. In 2015, the Centre signed a framework agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah). Since then, the Naga people have been hoping for a resolution and had expected it to come by the end of 2017, especially after President Ram Nath Kovind hinted at the possibility in December last year.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

·        India became 43rd Member of Australia Group

 

  • India joined the Australia Group export control regime and has become the 43rd Member of that Group.
  • It is an informal forum which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.
  • The inclusion will raise India’s stature in the field of non-proliferation and help in acquiring critical technologies.
  • India managed entry into Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 

Gk bit – Australia Group

 

  • The Australia Group (AG) is an informal forum of countries which, through the harmonisation of export controls,seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.

 

  • Coordination of national export control measures assists Australia Group participants to fulfil their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to the fullest extent possible.

 

  • This is achieved by members through the harmonisation of export controls like using licensing measures.

 

  • It was established in the background of use of chemical weapons (in the form of nerve agents and sulphur mustard) by Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

 

  • It has 43Members + European Union

 

 

·        India to offer Yoga classes at World Economic Forum

 

  • India will offer Yoga training sessions at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in a move aimed at promoting Indian traditions abroad.
  • More than 70 heads of states are expected to attend the summit next week. PM Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to attend the summit in 21 years.
  • Two yoga teachers from India will hold daily classes next week at the summit, which has attracted 70 heads of state and government, including U.S. President Donald Trump as well as celebrities, chief executives and top bankers.
  • Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to attend the WEF in 21 years, since when the economy has more than doubled to $2.3 trillion and become the world’s seventh largest.

 

NATIONAL

 

  • MEITY launches Cyber Surakshit Bharat to strengthen Cybersecurity

 

  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), announced the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative in association with National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and industry partners at an inaugural event in Delhi.

  • It will include an awareness program on the importance of cybersecurity; a series of workshops on best practices.

 

  • Cyber Surakshit Bharat is the first public-private partnership of its kind and will leverage the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity.

 

  • Silvassa tops the List of Cities selected in Round 4 of Smart Cities

 

  • Shri Hardeep S. Puri , Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs has announced the Round 4 winning cities of National Smart Cities Challenge.

 

  • The Minister informed that Silvassa from Dadar & Nagar Haveli has topped the list of winning cities in this round of competition.

 

  • Other winning cities are –

Erode, Tamil Nadu

Diu, Daman & Diu

Biharsharif, Bihar

Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh and

Kavaratti, Lakshwadeep

  • Maitre-2 bus services to connect India and Bangladesh

 

  • Maitre-2, the second passenger bus to Kolkata via Dhaka is started from Agartala, Tripura, to give a boost to the trans-border relationship between India and Bangladesh.

 

  • Recently, the Maitre-2 buses were flagged off by Tripura Road Transport Corporation Chairman.

 

  • The first Maitre bus service was launched in the year 2015.

 

  • Mauritius largest source of FDI in India, says RBI

 

  • Mauritius was the largest source of foreign investment in India, followed by the US and the UK, according to a census by the Reserve Bank.

 

  • Singapore and Japan were the next two sources of foreign direct investment (FDI), said the Reserve Bank of India.

 

Migration of Meghalaya

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Migration of Meghalaya

Migration is a common phenomenon in developing country like India as well as the state of Meghalaya. North-East India has experienced two massive immigration waves in historical period of time. At the time of independence of India and formation of Bangladesh, Meghalaya also has experienced a significant proportion of immigration from Bangladesh. Meghalaya and others North-Eastern state has experienced a large scale illegal immigration from Bangladesh which effect on social harmony and social well-being.Migration of Meghalaya

Rural to urban migration

In recent time each part of our country as well as Meghalaya also has experienced high volume of rural to urban out-migration. Percentage of scheduled tribe population in India has recorded 8.02% in 2001 whereas Meghalaya has recorded 85.9%. The present study aims to analyse pattern of out-migration at district and state level.

Poverty and migration corelation in Meghalaya

Despite the wage difference between remote areas and towns, there is hardly any migration of unskilled poor workers to the towns. There may be many factors that distinguish Meghalaya from mainland India in this respect. Firstly, the character of the urban work force in the Northeast, unlike other urban centres, is not primarily in manufacturing, but in the services sector, implying existence of either government servants or a largely self-owned and self-managed business sector, with family labour and minimal hired labour. Secondly, opportunities for unskilled wage labour in the urban areas beyond construction are limited. In construction too, contractors prefer Oriya or Bihari labour, and the locals lose out in preference. And lastly, first generation migration requires some previous history of migration from the same village, and in its absence push factor does not work well.

There are additional problems of sustainability arising from rural – urban migration and the fragility of marriage, combined with men’s lack of responsibility for children. The upper sections of the villages, who are the families with larger forest holdings, are also the ones who invest in urban areas, and whose families tend to migrate to the cities. At one level this transfer of rural surpluses to urban investment since it remains within the same ethnic political unit, is not a loss to the local economy. But at another level such transfer of timber income also can mean that the families involved in such migration may not be so concerned about the longer sustainability of forest income.

 

Scheduled Tribe of Meghalaya

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Scheduled Tribe of Meghalaya

  • Based on 2011 Census total popultaion of India is 121.08 Crore out of which ST population is 10.45 Crore (8.6%) .
  • The tribal communities in India are enormously diverse and heterogeneous. There are wide ranging diversities among them in respect of languages spoken, size of population and mode of livelihood.
  • The number of communities that find their place in the list of the Schedule of the Indian constitution is reflective of this diversity. The Government of India, in its Draft National Tribal Policy, 2006 records 698 Scheduled Tribes in India.
  • As per the Census of India 2011, the number of individual groups notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705.Scheduled Tribe of Meghalaya
  • Tribes of Meghalaya represent the inhabitants of Meghalaya who reside in the foothills as well as within the mountain ranges of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia.
  • The origin of these tribes can be traced from the Tibeto-Burman race and Proto Austroloid Monkhmer race. While the Garos can be traced as the descendents of Tibeto-Burman race, the Khasis and the Jaintias are claimed to have belonged to the Proto Austroloid Monkhmer race.
  • Along with this there are a number of tribes like the Bhois, Khynriams and the Wars who reside in the northern, southern and central parts of Meghalaya.
  • Largely the tribal groups follow Christianity though the state follows all the 3 religions namely Hinduism, Buddhism as well as Christianity.
  • Tribes of Meghalaya are distinctly marked for their social structure. The traditional dress of Meghalaya is known as ‘Jymphong’ which is often worn during the festivals and ceremonies.
  • The tribal society of Meghalaya primarily depends on subsistence agriculture.

In According to 2011 Census and Ministry of Tribal Affiars Reports the Tribal Polpulation of Meghalaya

Total Population of Meghalaya

 

 29,66,889
Total Population of ST in Meghalaya

 

 25,55,861
Percentage of ST population on Meghalaya

 

 86.1
% STs in the State to total ST population in India

 

 2.4
Sex Ratio in STs (Gender Composition of Scheduled Tribe Population) 1013
Literacy Rates of ST Population in State 74.4%

 

Total Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya that included in Constiturional List of Scheduled tribe by Government of India through President order with Name like

 

  1. Chakma
  2. Dimasa, Kachari
  3. Garo
  4. Hajong
  5. Hmar
  6. Khasi, Jaintia, Synteng, Pnar, War,
  7. Bhoi, Lyngngam
  8. Any Kuki tribes, including:-
    1. Biate, Biete
    2. Changsan
    3. Chongloi
    4. Doungel
    5. Gamalhou
    6. Gangte
    7. Guite
    8. Hanneng
    9. Haokip, Haupit
    10. Haolai
    11. Hengna
    12. Hongsungh
    13. Hrangkhwal, Rangkhol
    14. Jongbe
    15. Khawchung
    16. Khawathlang, Khothalong
    17. Khelma
    18. Kholhou
    19. Kipgen
    20. Kuki
    21. Lengthang
    22. Lhangum
    23. Lhoujem
    24. Lhouvun
    25. Lupheng
    26. Mangjel
    27. Misao
    28. Riang
    29. Sairhem
    30. Selnam
    31. Singson
    32. Sitlhou
    33. Sukte
    34. Thado
    35. Thangngeu
    36. Uibuh
    37. Vaiphei
  9. Lakher
  10. Man (Tai Speaking)
  11. Any Mizo (Lushai) tribes
  12. Mikir
  13. Any Naga tribes
  14. Pawi
  15. Synteng
  16. Boro Kacharis
  17. Koch
  18. Raba, Rava

 

State  List of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups

PVTGs, currently including 75 tribal groups, have been identified as such on the basis of the following criteria:

  1. forest-dependent livelihoods,
  2. pre-agricultural level of existence,
  3. stagnant or declining population,
  4. low literacy rates
  5. a subsistence-based economy.

As currently there is no tribal group included in this list.

Sixth Scheduled of Consstitution which govern these tribes

The original Sixth Schedule areas created in 1952 underwent a drastic reorganization in 1971; some areas were put under newly created States such as Mizoram and Meghalaya which were carved out of the erstwhile Assam State. The Sixth Schedule (Article 244 (2) and 275 (1)) provides for administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram through Autonomous District and Regional Councils endowed with legislative, judicial, and executive powers.

The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (2) provides for the creation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC) in an Autonomous District and Regional Councils for autonomous regions. These Councils have legislative powers on matters relating to:

  • allotment, occupation, or the setting apart of land, other than reserved forests, for the purpose of agricultural or grazing or for residential or other non-agricultural purposes or for any other purpose likely to promote the interests of the inhabitants of any village or town (Provided that nothing in such laws shall prevent the compulsory acquisition of any land, whether occupied or unoccupied for public purpose)
  • management of any forest not being a Reserved Forest
  • use of any canal or water course for purpose of agriculture
  • regulation of the practice of jhum or any other form of shifting cultivation
  • establishment of village or town committees or Councils and their powers
  • any other matter relating to village or town administration, including village and town police, public health and sanitation
  • appointment of succession of chiefs or headmen
  • inheritance of property
  • marriage and divorce
  • social custom
  • The entire State of Meghalaya except Shillong area is covered under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Meghalaya has three Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. These are –
  1. Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC),
  2. Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC),
  3. and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC).

 

Major Tribal Group of Meghalaya

Garo Tribe of Meghalaya:

  • The Garos are mainly distributed over the Kamrup, Goalpara and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam, Garo Hills and few in Khasi Hills in Meghalaya and Dimapur (Nagaland State), substantial numbers, about 200,000 are found in greater Mymens ingh ( Tangail, Jamalpur, Sherpore, Netrakona, Mymensingh) and capital Dhaka, Gazipur, Sirajgonj, Rangpur, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulovibazar districts of Bangladesh. It is estimated that total Garo population in India and Bangladesh together is about 1 million.
  • They originally belong to the Bodo family from the Tibetan-Burmese race; also reside in the plains of Assam and Bangladesh.
  • The Garo language belongs to the Bodo–Garo branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family.
  • The Garos are one of the few remaining matrilineal societies in the world. The individuals take their clan titles from their mothers. Traditionally, the youngest daughter (nokmechik) inherits the property from her mother. Sons leave the parents’ house at puberty, and are trained in the village bachelor dormitory (nokpante). After getting married, the man lives in his wife’s house. Garos are only a matrilinear society, but not matriarchal. While the property is owned by women, the men govern the society and domestic affairs and manage the property. This provides security to Garo women.
  • Like other tribes in Meghalaya these tribes too follow maternal lineage in case of inheritance of property and enjoy all kind of vegetarian well as non-vegetarian food in case of regional delicacies.
  • The Garos rely on nature, their profession is hunting and warrior known as They practice jhum cultivation which is the most common agricultural tradition.
  • The most popular food of the Garo tribes is rice with capsicum, onion and salt.
  • Garo literature mainly transferred from generation to generation and one place to another orally. Most of the oral tradition now become the element of Garo literature
  • Greatest among Garo festivals is the Wangala, usually celebrated in October or November, is thanksgiving after harvest in which Saljong, the god who provides mankind with Nature’s bounties and ensures their prosperity, is honor.

Khasi Tribe of Meghalaya:

  • According to the 2011 Census of India, over 1.72 million Khasi lived in Meghalaya in the districts of East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi, West Jaintia Hills and East Jaintia Hills. In Assam, their population reached 35,000.
  • They are the largest tribal group of North eastern region. Khasis are known with a number of names in different parts of Meghalaya.
  • The Khasi people of the War sub-tribe designed and built the famous living root bridgesof the Cherrapunji
  • As a religion they follow Christianity (85%), Ka Niam Khasi (10%), Hinduism (3%), and Islam (2%)
  • The Khasis are, for the most part, Their social organisation does not favour other forms of marriage; therefore, deviation from this norm is quite rare. Young men and women are permitted considerable freedom in the choice of mates. Potential marriage partners are likely to have been acquainted before betrothal.
  • The traditional political structure of the Khasi community was democratic in nature. The Khasis consisted of ‘native states’ which would congregate during dorbars or sessions and come to a decision regarding any dispute or problems that would arise in the community much like the Panchayati Raj prevalent in most Indian States

Jaintia Tribe of Meghalaya:

  • Jaintias too reside in the foot hills of Jaintia Hills from where they collect their name.
  • These are a type of Khasi tribe which further includes Bhoi in the northern Meghalaya; Khynriam in the central Meghalaya; Pnar of the Jaintia hills; War in the southern Meghalaya.
  • Achiks are another group of Garo tribes who comprise one third of Meghalaya’s tribal community.

Horticulture in Meghalaya

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Horticulture in Meghalaya

Meghalaya has three factors conducive for the development of horticulture – vast land suitable for horticulture development, diversity in agro-climatic factors making cultivation of an array of crops feasible and established tradition of horticulture activity making further expansion easy.

A large extent of land is available in the form of fallows, cultivable waste and miscellaneous tree crops. Most of this land is in hill slopes and is more suitable for plantation and fruit crops than traditional agricultural crops. With diversity in elevation, temperature, topography and rainfall a variety of horticultural crops can be grown.

Meghalaya has a long history of growing horticultural crops. Potato, Pineapple, orange, turmeric, ginger and areca nut are grown traditionally and besides these crops, a variety of new crops like tea, cashew and strawberry have been introduced. Most of the land used for these crops is not suitable for traditional agricultural crops like cereals, pulses, oil seeds and fibres. With the introduction of Horticulture in MeghalayaHorticulture Mission for North Eastern & Himalayan States, a lot of area expansion has taken place, but the programme has had little impact on marketing and processing. This can be taken as a potential for future development of the sector.

Strategy

  • Cluster approach to strengthen the existing concentration of crops. For each crop post harvest management and value chain management will be given emphasis so that additional income and employment will be generated in the State itself.
  • New technologies in Post-Harvest infrastructure like grading, packaging, ripening chambers will be introduced for the major crops in areas of their concentrations. As it is difficult to attract huge investment to start large scale processing units, small scale and cottage units will be encouraged and support will be provided for them.
  • Farmers associations (FPOs & FIGs, etc) will be promoted for development of horticulture as a holistic approach.
  • Convergence with other programmes will be established for optimising the resource use.
  • Demonstration of new technologies and crop management practices are being taken up with farmers and other stakeholders.

Quality planting material production

As good quality planting material is the backbone of any horticultural economy, this is one of the most important issues to be addressed, especially since there has been tremendous expansion of cultivation (under convergent schemes like the RKVY, BRGF, NREGS in addition to the normal schemes of the Department) and since around 60% of planting material is imported into the State either from nurseries in other States or from outside the country, resulting in increased production costs and draining of valuable foreign exchange. Moreover, the bulk of supply is from small, unregistered nurseries where quality is difficult to enforce.

The State will seek the involvement of the private sector through the establishment of nurseries, which could be registered and affiliated with the NHB and other recognised agencies, so that quality standards are adhered to and a system of surveillance and certification of the operating standards and planting material are put in place.

It is envisged that this will usher in income-earning opportunities for retired Departmental officers and entrepreneurial avenues for fresh unemployed graduates. The Planting Material Production Centres (PMPCs) set up with grants from the 13th Finance Commission, will produce quality planting material for new crops like strawberry, kiwi, raspberry and blackberry as well as for traditonal crops like potato, cashew, citrus (orange and sweet oranges), pineapple, spices (turmeric, ginger, black pepper) and temperate fruits. These PMPCs will be geared to cater not only to the planting material needs of their own clusters, but also to the needs of the other districts of the State as well as other States of the North East. The objective, in the long run, is to turn Meghalaya into a planting material destination for the entire North East.

 

Area expansion

Model orchards : There are a number of unique fruit crops which are indigenous to the State with tremendous commercial potential, but which have never been properly utilized due to the lack of organized cultivation. The area under many of these crops is declining and some are on the verge of extinction. Keeping in view the need to preserve the horticultural heritage of the State and to provide for the commercial cultivation and exploitation of these crops, there is an imperative need to demonstrate the economic viability of these crops through the establishment of model orchards. In order to make these model orchards successful, for emulation by the farming community, and to ensure their continuity, it is proposed that the orchards be set up within and in conjunction with the integrated farming proposed to be implemented in the micro-watersheds.

Theme villages : The remarkable success achieved in the ‘’Strawberry Village’’ of Sohliya in the Ri Bhoi district will be transferred to different crops and villages of the State. At least 1000 farmers in each such area will be motivated to take up cultivation of selected crops – Orchid Valley in Zikzak horti-hub area, Kiwi Village in the uplands in the vicinity of Shillong, Strawberry Villages in other districts, Citrus Hills in the Nokrek range, Pineapple Hills in the Chibinang area, etc.

Rejuvenation of citrus & cashew: The senile plantations of citrus and cashew will be brought under systematic and scientific rejuvenation to restore the profitability of these traditional crops for the benefit of this group of farmers, especially considering the potential for export of these crops to neighboring Bangladesh.

Post harvest management and processing

Meghalaya is predominantly a horticultural state where a wide range of fruit crops both indigenous and exotic are grown abundantly in different altitudes of the State. During the peak season of harvest the State experiences glut in the market and the farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their produces. To overcome the said problem the State had established two processing centres located in Shillong, East Khasi Hills district and Dainadubi in North Garo Hills district.

The objectives of these Centres were to demonstrate, develop value addition technology for the farmers and entrepreneurs of the State. These two Processing Centres are being upgraded and the products marketed as MEG brand. The Department had initiated programme on modernization of arecanut soakage tanks traditionally practiced by the farmers. These improved technologies have generated additional livelihood to the arecanut growers of the state. The Lakadong variety of Turmeric has high Curcumin content between 7 to 8 percent. Capitalizing on the potential of the turmeric grown in the State the Government had taken step to improve the processing technology adopted by the farmers. Effort is being made to attract private investment in the PHM sector by scaling up volume of production, especially targeting niche markets outside the country and setting up of scientific modern storage facilities across the state Traditional crops like ginger, turmeric, pineapple, citrus, potato and vegetables are the mainstay of a majority of the farmers of the State.

Marketing infrastructure

Farmers markets, implemented during the 11th Plan, will be expanded to cover more areas within the State during the 12th Plan, where farmers market will be tried on the hub and spoke model – large central markets and satellite markets in their hinterland. The effective functioning of farmers markets depends to a large extent on the flow and easy availability of market related information to enable farmers to take proper and profitable market decisions based on reliable real time data. Market information system is thus a crucial and urgent intervention that would be made in order to make Farmers Markets viable and vibrant entities leading to the evolution of a much more transparent marketing system.

 

Fishing in Meghalaya

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Fishing in Meghalaya

Meghalaya, with its vast inland fishery resources in the form of rivers, reservoirs, lakes and ponds and an average rainfall of 1200 mm, offers tremendous scope for developing the fisheries sector, but lags behind in harnessing the potential of these natural resources. The available land in most parts of Meghalaya is uneven in terrain which makes it somewhat difficult to develop fisheries on commercial lines. However, rain water can be impounded in small ponds for the production of fish and inland fisheries therefore, offering a potential that can be successfully exploited by the people of the state. Furthermore, creation of additional water area for fish culture will lead to a transformation in the rural economy and improve the livelihoods of the poor tremendously.

The Government of Meghalaya has identified fisheries as a key sector and decided to assist the people to develop fish ponds. It has launched the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM) co-terminus with the Twelfth Five Year Plan period (20 12-13 to 20 16-17).

Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM)

The Aquaculture Mission is divided into six Mini Missions for better focus and ease of implementation. Mini Mission I is related to “Area and Productivity Expansion”, which will be achieved through four sub components, viz., individual pond construction, community pond construction, development of marshy and swampy areas and bheels and reservoir fishery development. Mini Mission II is for “Critical infrastructure development”, which has five components: fish seed production, fish feed production, fish disease management, pre and post harvesting infrastructure and creation and strengthening of fishery and multi-purpose cooperatives. Fish seed production will be achieved through Government and private hatcheries and utilizing FRP technology as also inducting Israeli technology.

Establishing sanctuaries for conserving indigenous and endemic species of fish is the focus of Mini Mission III. Surveys for identifying the endangered species, orientation workshops and media campaigns will be organised under the Mission. The Mission will collaborate with the Department of Tourism for boosting the objectives and targets of the Mission related to Mahaseer and other native species conservation. Mini Mission IV is for “Capacity Building” of farmers as well as officials, programme managers, multi-service providers, co-operators, etc. Mass mobilization campaigns and skill trainings for unemployed youth will be organised under this mini mission. Mini Mission V is titled “Mass media campaigns, documentation and outreach”, which will take care of two important activities, viz., awareness building about the Mission and publicity among the public and process documentation of the implementation and preparation of success stories.

Mini Mission VI deals with “Emerging opportunities in the fisheries sector”, which is an exclusive visionary component envisaged for tapping the emerging opportunities and addressing them with scientific backstopping. Ornamental fisheries, trout farming, introduction of freshwater prawn culture and new table species of fish and aqua tourism/ aqua parks/ sport fisheries will be the components under this mini mission.

Other Initiatives

Water development

The Department of agriculture has given emphasis in utilizing micro-watershed irrigation projects towards development of fisheries to optimize production of fishes from such rain water harvesting projects. Training and demonstration has been disseminated at the fisheries training institute to villagers 12 Small Reservoirs Multipurpose Development Projects and other communities who own these watershed project for utilizing modern technologies and identification of fish species which are suitable for culturing in these small reservoir.Fishing in Meghalaya

Sustainable diversification

Fish species diversification is a common practice by the fish farmer of the state and has been carried out in an extensive way with or without any assistance from the Government. It has been noted that this has helped the farmer particularly in Ri Bhoi District and in Garo hills District having the favourable climatic condition that culture of Air breathing fishes as other minor carps like Labio Gonious, Labio Bata, Cirhinus Cirhosa and others have improved the livelihood condition of the farmer in these regions.

Seeds

Seeds are the major requirement by the fish farmer of the state. Since time immemorial the state is dependent on neighbouring state of Assam and West Bengal and this is a major drawback as the seeds supplied are not upto the desired quality. Looking into this sector with serious concern the state fisheries Department during the 12th Plan period has established 12 nos. of Circular Eco-Hatcheries and 14 nos. of FRP hatcheries to augment fish seed production and to supply good quality seeds to the fish farmers. These hatcheries have been established in the private sector with 60% subsidy to the total unit cost. Further, under the funding of RKVY and NFDB schemes the Department is able to upgrade several Departmental fish farms which will serve the purpose of producing quality seeds in the state. The problem encountered in this field is the high mortality during fry stage which ultimately leads to low production of fingerling stage.

Livestock and fishery

The state has so far developed an approximate area of about 2500 hectare to support fish culture and production form individual as well as community fishery project. An approximate 8000 MT of fishes is being locally produced and consumed. Apart from this the state also has various fishery resources in the form of rivers and lakes which offers tremendous scope for developing the fishery sector but harnessing the potential of these natural resources is a major problem. The topography of the region makes it somewhat difficult to develop fishery on a commercial line. However rain water is being impounded through development of Rain water harvesting structures and small ponds for the production of fishes in the state. There are number of bheels and wetland in the plain areas of Garo Hills that have great potentiality for increasing the fish production.

 

 

Research and Extension

The State Department has one Research and Training Institute which carries out Extension and Training to Fish farmers as well as Fishery Supervisors and Demonstrators. However, various problems arise due to the absence of advance instruments in detecting and to carry out research in fish diseases. It is suggested that the State should have mobile laboratories so that analysis of water and soil may be carried out at the village level to upgrade and to standardize fish culture for optimum growth and production. One laboratory is also required for Fish disease management and Research and Analysis Unit for identification of Fish Genetics.

 

Cropping pattern of Meghalaya

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Cropping pattern of Meghalaya

Meghalaya is predominantly an agrarian state where majority of population live in rural areas. Traditional shifting or slash-and-burn cultivation (locally known as ‘Jhum’) is a primitive method of agriculture, largely practised by the hill tribes, major residents of the Garo Hills region of Meghalaya, is not only a source of livelihood for them but is also a culture, weaning away from which is difficult, if not impossible. Since ‘Jhum’ is unsustainable it is time that there is some basic diversification in the agriculture of the state which may be in any one sector or across some of the sub-sectors of agriculture.

Crop diversification provides efficient use of farm inputs and contributes to a strong rural economy. Based on several micro level studies, it is argued that diversification could be a tool to augment farm income, generate employment, alleviate poverty and ensure environmental safety.Cropping pattern of Meghalaya

Meghalaya’s cropping pattern was rice/cereal dominated, but by 2006, there had been a decline in the relative share of total paddy in the state’s gross cropped.area. Intra paddy variation tells us that both winter paddy and autumn paddy lost area to spring paddy. Though there was a declining trend in cereal (except other cereals and small millets) including paddy, area under pulses showed rising trend. Total food grains showed a declining trend. Percentage share of area of total oilseeds to its GCA remained almost constant over the period of study and relative area share of vegetables had gone up marginally over the period of study; Percentage share of area under total fibre (jute, mesta, cotton) had gone down whereas total fruits have gained area. Area under condiments and spices and field crops had increased. Though absolute area under plantation crop had increased, in terms of relative share, there had been a decline in area under plantation crop. Gross cropped area in the state has gone up by 8.85 percent over a period of three decades i.e., the reference period under study.

West Garo Hills cropping pattern is food grain dominated, though share of area under total food grain is on the decline. Area under Jhum paddy, has been declining in all the blocks of West Garo Hills due to diversification and replacement by other high value crops like arecanut, cashew nut, citrus fruits, black pepper etc. Wheat is also losing area continuously since 1977.

There is a downward movement in absolute area occupied by maize, but relative area allocation under maize shows an upward trend. Area under total pulses was almost double in 30 years and there has been a rise in area under other cereals and small millets also. Area under total oil seed is almost constant, though area under sesame and rape and mustard both had gone up since 1977.

 

Animal husbandry in Meghalaya

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Animal husbandry in Meghalaya

Livestock including Poultry is an integral part of agriculture and contributes significantly to rural economy. While agriculture contributes about 30% of the total output of GDP, livestock including poultry constitutes about 25% of the total agricultural output. Rearing of livestock and poultry is an age old practice in the country with no exception to the State of Meghalaya. Livestock production has a much larger contribution to manpower employment than agriculture, while eggs, milk and meat production help in stepping up crop production through the availability of cash to the livestock farmer which is utilised for purchase of seed, manure and fertilizers for agricultural operation. Establishment of dairy, poultry, goat, pig farms help solve unemployment problems and provide valuable protein, vitamin and mineral rich materials like eggs, milk and meat. Organic manure from livestock and poultry enrich the soil for higher production of crop, vegetable and flower as well as horticultural produce.

In the State of Meghalaya, due to peculiar topography, varying climatic situation and socio-economic condition, the agriculture operation constitute to only about 10% of the total land under cultivation, thereby livestock and poultry provide the alternative avocation to the farmers for a subsidiary living.

Though the present output of livestock production in the State has been increasing at higher proportion to the growth of human population, the overall availability situation is not encouraging to the extent that as against the requirement of 220 gm of milk per person per day, only 75 gm is now available in the State. Similarly, availability of eggs per person per year is only 35 as against the requirement of 150. Therefore greater efforts are necessary to close the gap between demand and supply.Animal husbandry in Meghalaya

The department of Animal husbandry & Veterinary has taken up various measures to bring about a noticeable improvement in production, processing and marketing of livestock and livestock products. One such measure is to establish more farms with quality germplasm for making availability to farmers.

 

The activities of the Department were mainly centred round the broad objectives of :

  • Providing Health coverage to the Livestock and poultry population from the ravages of diseases through treatment and preventive vaccination.
  • Introducing improved breeding techniques for upgrading the Local Stock.
  • Ensuring better Animal Husbandry practices through scientific adoption and approach of Extension and Research.
  • Building up of adequate technical and professional man-power through Education and Training.
  • Encouraging setting up of livestock and poultry industries.

Infrastructure of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department

Veterinary Hospital – 4

Veterinary Dispensaries – 113

Veterinary Aid Centres – 50

Mobile Veterinary Dispensaries – 15

Vigilance Unit – 7

Stockman Centres – 34

Key Village Centres – 15

Check Posts – 4

Disease Diagnostic Laboratories – 8

Cattle farm – 4

Buffalo Farm – 1

Poultry farm – 13

Pig farm – 13

During the last 40 years, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary has initiated various developmental programmes on different aspects of Livestock and Poultry sector for the interest of the State in general and the farmers in particular are as follows:

  • Cattle & Buffalo Development
  • Fodder Development
  • Poultry Development
  • Piggery Development
  • Sheep, Goat & Rabbit Development
  • Animal Health & Veterinary Services
  • Veterinary Research
  • Education and Training
  • Dairy Development
  • Subsidy Schemes
  • CSS Schemes

Cattle and buffalo development

This is an integrated programme of cattle & buffalo development which includes breeding, feeding and management practices to boost up milk production as well as to develop a suitable marketing network for milk and other milk products. There are four Cattle Farm and one Buffalo Farm in the state of Meghalaya. The department is also having 2 Intensive Cattle Development Project (ICDP) Centre for production of quality semen by establishing Liquid Nitrogen Plant. One at Upper Shillong and one at Tura. Artificial Insemination programmes in cattle are carried out in the field through 40 Stockman Centres and Key Village Centres spread throughout the State. The Objective is to upgrade the local cows and to augment milk production in the State.

Piggery development

Since the demand of pork in the State of Meghalaya is very high, the Government have established 13 Pig Farms in the State with the ultimate aim to augment production of pork. Pigs from these farm are being distribute to the farmers for further multiplication and up gradation of local stock The Pig farms are (i)Regional Pig Breeding Farm, Kyrdemkulai, (ii) Pig Farm, Mawryngkneng (iii) Pig Farm, Pynursla, (iv) Pig Farm, Thadlaskein (v) Pig Farm, Mairang (vi) Pig Farm, Nongstoin (vii) Pig Farm, Gindo(Waram Songma) (viii) Pig Farm, Dalu (ix) Pig Farm, Rongjeng (x) Pig Farm, Baghmara (xi) Pig Farm Laitryngew (xii) Pig Farm Nongkasen and ((xiii) Pig Farm Nongpiur.

Dairy development

The objective of the scheme is to supply wholesome milk to the consumers whereby milk is being procured from producers and distributed to the public after pastuerisation. The procurement and distribution has been given to their respective Agency/Society. The Department has got 3 Dairy Plants at Shillong, Jowai and Tura, and 2 Milk Chilling Plants, one each at Nongstoin and Resubelpara.

 

 

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