Little view on Renaissance in Italy

The word renaissance comes from the French language. It means “Rebirth”.In Italian language, it is known as the Ia Rinascimento. Renaissance comes at the end of the medieval period and elapsed till the dawn of the Modern Period. Renaissance initially started in Tuscany Region, which at present has florence as the capital.This all started with the urge to rediscovery the classical age glory. For this rediscovery, people started to flocking to libraries and universities with sense of enquiry. 

To this sense of enquiry, Movable Printing Press invented by Johannes Gutenberg added further flares. Unlike earlier, Knowledge started to flow freely without any impediments. Libraries, Universities started to flourish in different parts of Italy. People started to engage more with knowledge comes from the sense of enquiry and reason rather than depending upon the interpretation of the church.

At the end of the medieval period power started migrate to rich merchant from the church due to raising levels of the international trade and commerce in the mediterranean sea. Tuscany and adjoining areas were flourishing trade centres. Merchants of these areas had accumulated the huge wealth and prosperity and they started to patronise the art. 

In the renaissance period, Painting and sculptures started to evolve. Before the renaissance, Art mainly concentrated upon the symbolism. Due to the spread of knowledge about the human anatomy, Artists started to depict the humans with more precision and sense of reality. Life like human images are stared to evolve in this period. Most notable arts of this time are The creation of Adam by Michelangelo on Sistine chapel’s ceiling and Monalisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. Both were patronised by the rich merchants in Italy.

Spread of the knowledge and Flourishing libraries and university started the development of the science in various fields such as medicine, natural science, astronomy, mathematics and in other fields. Trade and Commerce also had grown. People started to explore new trade routes and other areas of the world after the establishment of Ottoman Empire in 1453. 

Italy as the seat of the knowledge and prosperity attracted the people from various fields and places.Students, artists, traders and other sections started visit the Italy and spreaded stories of the renaissance enthusiastically. Those stories quickly attracted the people from far place such as Germany, Britain and other regions. In this way, frequent flow of the people from various places to italy had kick started the renaissance in various places and in the Europe whole.

Renaissance period more or less dependent upon the Humanism, which advocates the ability of the man to change his circumstances, to create his own destiny and to find him-self and making-himself without depending upon the external sources such as church and god. Man of this period started to measure himself with respect to success and lack of it. In this period man started to migrate from the idea of the conformism of dark age, where people conforms with sayings of the church and existing social principles. Earlier, any migration from the conformism was treated as heresy and man was called heretic. Punishment of being heretic was hanging, mutilation and other severe punishments. but in this age, growing level of education created the sense of enlightenment in the minds of the people and started to challenge the sayings of the church(it is not complete denial of the existence of the super natural force, god).  This age heavily stressed the development of the man and his creation. earlier, there was over emphasis over accumulation of the power and wealth but in this age, there was emphasis over the all round development of the man and abilities of the man. As aforesaid,this is age lead to development of the pluralism of the moral values instead of depending upon the seven cardinal virtues and seven cardinal sins of the church.  In this way, Humanism of the renaissance paved the way for the development of the individualism and the secular concept of the state(which doesnt heed to the church)on European continent. there were number of literary works that supported the humanism. for example:- works of benvento celini, vasari’s lives of the artisits, ficini’s works and many more.

Little Information on National Green Tribunal

NGT(national green tribunal) is constituted under the National Green Tribunal Act,2010. In 1992, During the UN conference on Environment and Development, India promised the administrative and judicial remedies for the victims of the pollutants and other environmental problems. India was committed to bind on the polluter pay principle and principle of natural justice. thatswhy Govt of India constituted the NGT under the NGT act,2010. 

In the tribunal, there are not more than 10 members of judicial members and not more than 10 members of the expert members(but act also allows 20 members in each group)NGT is headed by a chairman, who is also a judicial member, shall be either retired Chief Justice of any high court or retired judge of supreme court. At present Justice swantatra kumar is heading the tribunal. Expert member shall be either serving or retired govt officials not having the lower rank than the additional secretary(in case of state govt, not lower rank than principal secretary). Expert Member shall have the minimum five years administrative experience in environmental matters or must have the doctorate in the environment related field.

Each bench hearing the environmental cases shall have atleast one expert member and atleast one judicial member. Each case shall be dealt within the period of 180 days. Appeal on the verdict of the NGT can be given to the Supreme Court within the period of 90 days after the verdict.

Acts that governing the NGT:-

1. Principle of Natural Justice
2. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
3. The Forest Act, 1927.
4. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. 
5. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. 
6. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. 
7. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (as amended in 1988) and other acts also.

In this way, NGT is working in most expeditious manner. NGT is well known for its integrity, honesty, commitment to the environmental conservation.

For example, In delhi, It banned the movement of the old diesel cars and banned registration of the vehicles having more than 2000cc. the same verdict is extended to the 6 cities of the kerala such as kinnaur, khozikhode, kochi, kollam, thirsur and tiruvanantapuram. this verdict was given after keeping in mind about adverse affects of pollutants from these vehicles.

Apart from this, NGT also finned the Pt.Ravi shankar’s art of living after causing ecological damage to floodplains of Yamuna while conducting the international event. 

Story of GM Mustard in India

In the world,it is common to practice the cross fertilisation since times immemorial to produce the hybrid varieties. Due to growth in bio technology, New varieties are being produce by using the genetic engineering technology. In this way, Delhi Professor, Deepak Pental created new hybrid variety,DMH-11.

Mustard,Unlike cotton or other crops, is a self-pollinating one that means stamens and ovary lies in the same flower, which makes it difficult to cross the one mustard variety with another one to produce hybrid varieties. Thats why Deepak Pental took the BARNESE Gene from a Soil bacterium, Bacilus Amyloliqufaciens and then introduced it into the mustard variety,which is making male organs ineffective and makes it sterile.

Later, this F1 generation(first generation) plant will be crossed with the parental generation plant having the BARSTAR gene from the same soil bacterium, Bacillus Amiloliquefacien.This mustard variety when fertilised with F1 generation of barnese variety, will produce the fertile, high yielding varieties of mustard.

Positive Outcomes for India:-

1. India’s annual production of oil seeds is 7.5 million tonnes, which is much lower than the national demand. thats why 14.5 million tonnes of oil seeds worth of $10.5 billion are being imported to blend the oil with domestic produce. 
2. High yielding varieties,DMH-11, will be definitely a chance to gain the food security  of india. 
3. HYV will reduce the depletion of foreign currency.
4. It requires the less fertiliser, Chemicals and water,which will increase the profits of the farmer.
5. Increased Yield will increases growth of the oil and associate food processing industries. 

Reasons for the protests:-

1. Large Sections are protesting against the GM mustard by believing the GM Technology is unfit for human consumption.
2. Large sections of the Society are having negative opinions on consuming GM mustards due to their health concerns.
   

How to Deal with People:-

In India, GM technology is present in the form of the cotton. Many protesters are saying cotton is used mainly for the cloths and doesn’t have negative effects on the health and consumption.But in reality, Cotton seeds are used as fodder for milching animals and other animals and in oil industries too. It is indirectly coming to human food web from the milching animals and other animals,which are directly consumed by non-vegetarians. In these many years, not a single negative effect is identified on human health. How could it cause the direct effect,when it is consumed in the form of GM mustard?

What is CASPOL?

Indian Space Research Organisation at its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has developed CASPOL (Ceramic- Polymer Hybrid), a water based, ready-to-coat and easy-to-use flame proof coating having both societal and advanced end- use applications. It confers excellent flame retardant, waterproofing and thermal control properties to substrates ranging from masonry surfaces, textiles, paper, thatched leaves, wood etc to advanced materials like polyurethane and phenolic based thermal insulation foam pads.

Salient features

1. Contains no toxic materials

2. No liquid or vaporizable material (except water) 3. Human and eco-friendly

4. Brushable and sprayable

See the difference between hut having CASPOL coat and hut not having CASPOL coat

5. Low cost

Description

CASPOL is a room temperature curable, water based formulation having self-extinguishing properties, good adhesion and water repellence characteristics. It is based on ceramic composition dispersed in an aqueous polymeric emulsion containing flame retardant components. All the ingredients are dispersed in water to get a suspension of the required viscosity for application by brushing or spraying. It is having limiting oxygen index (LOI) above 40. The material coated with CASPOL will be self-extinguished within 4 seconds after removal of flame. It is also having good adhesion to the substrate surface both in dry condition and after exposing the coated foams in water shower. Foam materials can be impregnated with CASPOL by dip coating.

Applications of CASPOL

1. Launch vehicle: CASPOL is a flame proof coating, giving the required flame retardant properties to thermal protection foam pads used in Launch Vehicles.

2. Household: CASPOL can be applied over thatched leaves of the cottage roof to flameproof it in addition to increasing the life of such roofing of households, so that periodicity of the maintenance and replacement are significantly reduced. Application of CASPOL reduces the temperature inside the room and prevents water leakage. The low solar absorptivity (0.20%) and high emissivity make it a good temperature controller in sunny weather(by 5 to 6 °C)

3. Waterproofing/thermal control of concrete: CASPOL can be applied over the concrete surface of a building to prevent water seeping. The high emissivity keeps the building cool by at least 5 to 6 °C less temperature. After the application of CASPOL, water seepage problems will not be felt as CASPOL pots micro cracks and holes.

4. Railways and automobiles: CASPOL can be used as a flame retardant material in railways and automobiles where the seat cushions can be made flameproof using this material,without affecting the cushioning characteristics significantly (this has also been proven experimentally).

5. Foams in Public Transport : If the foam materials used in passenger seats are rendered flameproof, fire accidents can be reduced to a large extent. Since flame proofing of foam materials using CASPOL can be achieved through less expensive processes, there is considerable market potential for CASPOL in Indian foam market.

CASPOL can also be used for flame proofing foam materials used in auditoriums and cinema halls where chances of fire related accidents are high.

Canaris Einstein Ring

Q) What theory of Relativity says?

A) Albert Einstein theorized that the fabric of space-time was not rigid, but flexible, like the surface of a trampoline. A massive object, in this case a foreground galaxy, can bend space the way a bowling ball bends the fabric of the trampoline. That bend causes any light from background objects to curve around the foreground object instead of traveling in a straight line — and if the two objects are perfectly lined up, the background galaxy will appear as a circle surrounding the foreground, or lens, galaxy, in what scientists call an "Einstein ring." 

Canaris Einstein Ring:-

The images show that the Einstein Ring, now known as the "Canarias Einstein Ring," is one of the most symmetrical rings yet, meaning that the source galaxy and the lens galaxy are almost perfectly aligned. They're separated by a mere 0.2 arcseconds — a distance 150 times smaller than the apparent size of the full moon. Although their apparent distance in the sky may be small, their physical distance is vast. The two are physically separated by 4 billion light-years. 

"Studying these phenomena gives us especially relevant information about the composition of the source [background] galaxy, and also about the structure of the gravitational field and of the dark matter in the lens [foreground] galaxy,"

Little Info on Food Processing Industries in India?

Q) Why Food Processing Industry is important for India?

A) 

1. This industry involves in the processing of agricultural,horticultural and other

products,which can reduce the wastage of food substantially and increases the

food security in the country. 

2. Food processing Industry is fifth largest industry in india.It encompasses

agriculture,horticulture,plantation,animal husbandry and fisheries.

3. India is home to 60 million poor people. It requires more than 60 million tonnes

of food grains for the Public Distribution System.(Reduction in wastage increases

the food security of nation and make it hunger free).

4. One of the main criticism of the PDS is poor Quality of grains. Processing can

enhance the quality of grains(if properly stored).

5. It has the capacity to provide more than a million jobs to youth, which are

suffering with unemployment and underemployment. 

6. Rural Economy is mainly based on agriculture. Nearly half of the indian

population are still dependent upon the agriculture. Improvement of food

processing increases the Both domestic and external demand,which

automatically converts the subsistence based agricultural produce into

commercial one,which ultimately increase the GDP of the nation. 

7. Indian farmers are suffering with various calamities. their margin on produce is

very low due to involvement of number intermediaries. Improvement of food

processing industries will cut down the intermediaries and enhance the welfare of

the farmers, who are back bone of the country’ s food security.

8.   Demand in the food production will be enhanced due to the development of
this industry. Such demand will automatically increases the investment in units of
both forward and backward linkages(that means: transportation, Fertilisers,
seeds, Irrigation, Marketing, Retail, Power Distribution, e-Technology through
APMC and other sectors ).

9. Also India has significant proportion of population which is undernutrition (1/3 of population), stunted and wasted. Indian population are suffering from the deficiency of vitamin(ex:- Vitamin A). 

10. The cost of skilled manpower is relatively low as compared to other countries.Attractive fiscal incentives have been instated by central and state governments and these include capital subsidies, tax rebates, depreciation benefits, as well as reduced custom and excise duties for processed food and machinery.

11. India,at present, has Multinational mega food processing players. for

example:- Kelloggs(USA) Pepsi(USA),Yakut ( Japan),Amazon (USA),

Nestle(Switzerland).

Q. What is Scope and Significance of the Food Processing Industries?

A)Scope and Significance of the food processing industries:-

Food processing Industry is fifth largest industry in india.It encompasses

agriculture,horticulture,plantation,animal husbandry and fisheries.

Definition of Food processing industry deals with two type of industries,which are

Manufactured processes and Other value added services. 

Manufactured Process:-

Any raw material from either agricultural industry or horticulture or fisheries go

through the process,which involves human energy,power,machine or money

e.t.c.,  to become the edible material or to become commercial value, such

manufactured products comes under the food processing industries.

Other Value added Process:- 

Even though a material is not undergone any manufactured process, if it is

transformed either to increase shelf life or to consumption or other purposes, then

such value added processes also comes under food processing industries.

Food processing industries encompasses following stages :-

Inputs—>Production—>procurement&storage—>Primary Processing--> Secondary Processing —> Retailing. 

Scope and Significance In terms of Agriculture:-

1. In india,nearly 270 million tonnes of food grains are produced in last fiscal year.

Out of total agricultural produce, only 2% of food is processed. 

2. With rich agriculture resource base-India was ranked No. I in the world in 2013

in terms of production of Arecanut, Bananas, Castor oil seed, Chick peas, Chillies

& Peppers dry, Ginger, Lemons & limes, Mangoes, Mangosteens, guavas, Millet,

Okra, Papayas, Pigeon peas, Meat- buffalo, Milk-whole fresh buffalo & goat,

Ghee, butter oil of cow milk, Ghee of buffalo milk, sesame seed.

3.  India ranks second in the world in the production of Anise,fennel, coriander,

beans-dry, cabbages and other brassicas, cauliflower & broccoli, Egg plants

(aubergines), Garlic,Groundnuts with shell, Lentil, Onions dry, Peas green,

Potatoes, Pumpkins, Squash and Gourds, Rice/Paddy, Safflower seed, Sugar

cane, Tea, Tomatoes, Wheat, Meat goat, Milk whole fresh cow. Further, India is at

third position in the production of Cashew nuts, with shell, Coconuts, Lettuce and

chicory, Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms, Pepper (piper spp.), Rapeseed.

4. The Country’s gross cropped area amounts to 194.39 Million Hectares, with

cropping intensity of 139%. The net irrigated area is 66.10 Million Hectare.

5. India has about 26 types of different climatic conditions,46 varieties of soils are

there in India out of total 60 types of soils worldwide. 127 ‘agro climatic zones’

have been identified in India. Also, Indian food is known worldwide for its unique

taste and aroma.

Scope and Significance in terms of Strategic Location and outreach:-

It is strategically situated in between west asia and south east asia,which are

majorly Food Importing regions of the world, with nearly 7,500 km of coastal line.

India has Extensive network of food processing training, academic and research

institutes.At present, India has 42 mega food parks are being setup with an

investment of INK 155 Billion. The parks have around 1250 developed plots with

basic enabled infrastructure that entrepreneurs can take on lease for the setting

up of food processing and ancillary units.

Q. What are important Agencies that are involved in Food Processing Industries?

A)Agencies that related to food processing industries:-

1. Ministry of Food Processing Industries

2. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

3. Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Development Authority

4. National Insitute for Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management

5. All India Food Processors Association

6. Commodity Boards under the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of

Agriculture/Ministry of Food Processing: coffee, tea, spice, meat and grapes. 

7. Indian Grape Processing Board and some other Agencies involved in the food

processing industries.

Q) Discuss some of the Govt Initiative that boosted the growth of Food

Processing Industries in India?

Government Initiatives:-

National Mission on food processing: Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) implemented a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) on 1st April 2012 for implementation through States/UTs. The NMFP visualises establishment of a National Mission as well as corresponding Missions in the State and District level. The major objectives of this schemes are as follows:

1 To augment the capacity of food processors working to upscale their operations through capital infusion, technology transfer, skill up gradation and handholding support.

2 To support established self-help groups working in food processing sector to facilitate them to achieve SME status.

3 Capacity development and skill upgradation through institutional training to ensure sustainable employment opportunities to the people and also to reduce the gap in requirement and availability of skilled manpower in food processing sector.

4 To raise the standards of food safety and hygiene to the globally accepted norms.

5 To facilitate food processing industries to adopt HACCP and ISO certification norms

6 To augment farm gate infrastructure, supply chain logistic, storage and processing capacity.

7 To provide better support system to organized food processing sector

Major Programmes / Schemes to be covered under NMFP during 2012-13 are 

Mega food parks: 

Mega Food Park Scheme is the effective program of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India. Mega Food Park Scheme suggests a demand driven/pre-marketed model with strong backward/forward linkages and sustainable supply chain. It can be said that the policy of Mega Food Park is intended to offer a mechanism to relate agricultural production to the market through bringing together farmers, processors and retailers in order to maximize value addition, reduce wastages, increasing farmers' income and creating employment opportunities particularly in rural sector. The Mega Food Park Scheme is based on Cluster approach and visualizes a well-defined agri/ horticultural-processing zone containing state-of-the art processing facilities with support infrastructure and well-established supply chain.

Total 42 Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned by the Government for setting-up in the country. This step of the Government will create huge modern infrastructure for food processing sector and provide impetus to the development 

of the area.

List of Mega Food Parks

Modernisation of abattoirs: 

According to reports, The Scheme of Modernization of Abattoirs was launched during 2008. The Scheme is employed through local bodies (Municipal Corporations and Panchayats)/Public Sector Undertakings/Cooperatives/ Boards under Government and will have the flexibility for participation of private investors on PPP basis. The scheme offers facilities for scientific and less painful slaughtering, chilling, waste treatment plant, by-product utilization, water and power with required sanitary / phyto sanitary conditions for modernization of abattoirs. Transformation of abattoirs will also enhance essential supply base of hygienic raw material to the meat processing industry, both for domestic consumption and exports, besides discouraging illegal slaughtering. Scheme of Setting up/ Modernization of Abattoirs offers for initiation of private capital, better technology, backward and forward linkages. The system also provides for execution of projects preferably under PPP mode with the involvement of local bodies and has the flexibility for involvement of private investors/exporters on a BOO/BOT/JV basis.

Cold Chain Infrastructure: 

The Government of India identifies that development of cold chain is an essential step in upgrading India's food processing industry and consequently offers many incentives for promoting growth Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure has major objective to motivate setting up of cold chain facilities to provide integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities without break from the farm gate to the customer.

Scheme of Technology Up-gradation/Establishment/ Modernization of Food Processing Industries: The Scheme is implemented to support prospective entrepreneurs to establish food processing units to decrease the wastage of agricultural and horticultural produce. 

R&D, QA, Codex and Promotion: 

Scheme for Quality Assurance, Codex, R&D and Other Promotional Activities is being executed to build infrastructure of food testing laboratories in the country to establish quality monitoring system for food processing, implement HACCP/ISO22000, ISO14000/GHP/GMP and other quality management systems and to encourage research and development for innovative products and process.

Food Testing Laboratories: The objective of the scheme is to guarantee safety and quality of food products with the analysis of the samples received from food processing industries and other stakeholders. The formation of a surveillance system to monitor the quality and composition of food and thereby ensuring compliance of international standards on food. 

Implementation of HACCP: 

The goal of the scheme is to encourage the food processing industries to adopt food safety and quality assurance mechanisms such as total quality management including ISO 14000, ISO 22000 HACCP, GMP, GHP, to prepare them to face global competition in post STO Regime, to enable faithfulness to stringent quality and hygiene standards, to improve product acceptance by foreign buyers and to keep Indian industry technologically up-to-date of international best practices.

Research & Development: Main aim of this scheme is that the end product/findings of R&D work must benefit food processing industries in terms of product and process development, improved packaging, value addition and leading to advanced products and process with profitable value.

Promotional Activities: 

In the Scheme for Promotional Activities, the Ministry offers financial support for organizing pan India level Seminars/Workshops/Fair/ Exhibitions and also partake in pan India level Fair/Exhibitions spearheaded by Apex Industry Associations and Autonomous Bodies/PSUs of Govt. of India with the objective of distribution of information regarding food processing industries.

Scheme for Human Resource Development: 

Ministry of Food Processing Industries has executed the Scheme for Human Resource Development since 9th Plan and onwards to boost the supply of trained manpower/ personnel at all levels for food processing sector such as entrepreneurs, managers, sales persons, floor workers. The ministry of food processing has taken the following initiatives for policy support for food processing Industries: 

1 Formulation of the National Food Processing Policy

2 Complete de-licensing, excluding for alcoholic beverages

3 Declared as priority sector for lending in 1999

4 100% FDI on automatic route

5 Excise duty waived on fruits and vegetables processing from 2000 - 01

6 Income tax holiday for fruits and vegetables processing from 2004 - 05

7 Customs duty reduced on freezer van from 20% to 10% from 2005 - 06

8 Implementation of Fruit Products Order

9 Implementation of Meat Food Products Order

10 Enactment of FSS Bill 2005

11 Food Safety and Standards Bill, 2005

The Centre has requested state Governments to undertake the following improvements:

1 Amendment to the APMC Act

2 Lowering of VAT rates

3 Declaring the industry as seasonal

4 Integrate the promotional structure