Current Affairs Question - 26 May 2020

Explanation :

• The Katkari is a Scheduled Tribe mostly belonging to the state of Maharashtra, located primarily in Raigad and in parts of Palghar, Ratnagiri and Thane districts as well and in some places of Gujarat.
• They are bilingual, speaking the Katkari language, a dialect of the Marathi-Konkani language.
• The name Katkari is derived from a forest-based activity – the making and barter or sale of Katechu (kath) from the khair tree (Acacia Katechu).
• In Maharashtra, the Katkari has been designated a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), along with two other groups included in this sub-category: the Madia Gond and the Kolam.
• The British administration had classified them under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.

Explanation :

• As the labour shortage is imminent owing to exodus of migrant labourers amid the ongoing lockdown, farmers in Punjab seem all set to go for direct seeding of rice (DSR).
• DSR refers to the process of establishing a rice crop from seeds sown in the field rather than by transplanting seedlings from nursery.
• In transplanting, farmers prepare nurseries where paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants.
• These seedlings are then uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the main field with standing water.
• In DSR, as flooding of fields is not done during sowing, chemical herbicides are used to kill weeds.

Advantages

• Water savings
• Less numbers of labourers required,
• Saves labour cost and
• Reduce methane emissions

Disadvantages

• Seeds are exposed to birds, rats, and snails.
• High weeds infestation
• Non-availability of herbicides.
• High requirement of seeds when compared to transplanting.