The growing population is indeed a significant challenge in addressing climate change. To ensure better climate action, governments can consider the following strategies:

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Align national development plans with the United Nations’ SDGs, which prioritize sustainable development, climate action, and environmental protection.
2. Green Economy: Encourage the transition to a green economy by promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure development.
3. Carbon Pricing: Implement carbon pricing mechanisms, such as carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems, to provide a financial incentive for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Sustainable Agriculture: Promote sustainable agriculture practices, such as organic farming, agroforestry, and permaculture, to reduce deforestation, soil degradation, and water pollution.
5. Urban Planning: Develop sustainable urban planning strategies that prioritize public transportation, green spaces, and mixed-use development to reduce urban sprawl and promote walkability.
6. Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Invest in climate-resilient infrastructure, such as sea walls, levees, and flood-control measures, to protect communities from the impacts of climate change.
7. Education and Awareness: Educate citizens about climate change causes, impacts, and solutions through public awareness campaigns and school programs.
8. International Cooperation: Collaborate with other countries to share knowledge, technologies, and best practices in addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development.
9. Research and Development: Invest in research and development of new climate-resilient technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, advanced renewable energy systems, and climate-smart agriculture.
10. Climate Justice: Ensure that climate policies prioritize the most vulnerable populations, such as low-income communities, indigenous peoples, and small-island developing states.
11. Paris Agreement Compliance: Implement the Paris Agreement’s goals to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
12. Climate Change Adaptation: Develop national adaptation plans that prioritize climate-resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, and climate-smart agriculture practices.
13. Ecosystem Conservation: Protect and restore natural ecosystems like forests, wetlands, and oceans that absorb carbon dioxide and support biodiversity.
14. Circular Economy: Encourage a circular economy by promoting recycling, upcycling, and waste reduction to minimize waste management challenges.
15. Community Engagement: Engage with local communities in the decision-making process to ensure that their concerns and needs are addressed in climate policies and initiatives.

The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) was launched in 2014-15 with the objective of increasing the reach of farm mechanization to marginal and small farmers and also to areas with low power availability.
It involves creating hubs for hi-tech and high value farm equipment, creating awareness among stakeholder through demonstration and capacity building and ensuring performance testing and certification of agricultural machines at designated testing centres all over the country.
The performance of SMAM scheme so far

• During 2014-15 to 2020-21, a sum of more that Rs. 4500 crores of funds have been released under the scheme to the States and other implementing institutions.
• More than 13 lakh agricultural machines have been distributed and more than 27 thousand custom hiring institutions have been established
• There has been progressive increase in the availability of farm power per unit area (from 2.02 kw/ha in 2016-17 to 2.49 kw/ha in 2018-19).
• Financial assistance is being provided to the agricultural institutes as well as Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) to promote the use of drones.
• There has been a significant increase in adoption of agriculture machines resulting in expansion of cropped area, cropping intensity and the country’s agricultural production.

Challenges in its implementation:

• Shortage of skilled workers: Village craftsmen are the main source of supply, repair and maintenance of machinery.
• Selection of wrong machinery: There is a lack of adequate information and awareness amongst farmers about the technology and the management of machinery.
• Inadequate R&D: There is also lack of versatile equipment that can be used in multiple crops suited to Indian conditions.
• High capital cost: Farm machinery is expensive and inadequate agricultural credit facilities at low interest rates make it difficult to uptake mechanisation.
• Inadequate farm power: It hampers timely farm operations resulting in decreased production and productivity.
• Marginalisation of land: Increasing fragmentation makes it difficult to undertake mechanisation as it is best utilised at a certain scale.

Measures to overcome the challenges:

• Setting up of Agriculture Machine Banks at district level to house cost intensive machines like combine harvesters etc. as well as high level maintenance and repair facilities to allow small and marginal farmers access to powered machines, without the need to own the asset themselves.
• Establish indigenous R&D to roll out farmer friendly, location specific and easy to manage agricultural machinery. Further, highly energy efficient equipment needs to be developed.
• Training young farmers on how to select, operate and service farm machinery through Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Industrial Training institutes etc.
• Front-line demonstration of farm machinery should be strengthened to encourage the extension and adoption of farm power.

Agriculture mechanization is the future and India needs to leverage its capacity and make it sustainable and accessible to increase productivity and decrease the cost of cultivation. Moreover, going forward, farm machinery, a $100-plus billion global industry, has enormous potential to reduce import dependence and utilise Indian made machinery in agriculture.

The Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force, which was originally raised in 1835 as Chachar Levy. It is tasked with the maintenance of law and order in the North-East along with the Indian Army and also guards the Indo-Myanmar border (IMB) in the region.
Challenges faced by the Assam Rifles regarding security management in the North-East:

• Dual control: While the administrative control of the force is with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MHA wants more units to be deployed along the border, while the MoD wants more troops in the hinterland for counter-insurgency operations.
• Free Movement Regime: Movement of people of the same ethnicity on either side of the border in some states in the North-East complicates the task of maintaining a check on insurgency and smuggling.
• Refugees: Influx of refugees may cause internal security issues like clashes with native population, involvement in illegal activities, etc.
• Manpower: Out of total 46 battalions, approximately one third are deployed along the border, which roughly means that each battalion has a frontage of 100 km in a difficult terrain, which is open to infiltration by inimical elements, smugglers, illegal migrants, etc.
• Training: While training is the responsibility of the Director General Assam Rifles (DGAR), sparing of manpower for the same is under the Army. Since the units are stretched because of deployment on the ground, there is a constant tussle to find convergence.

To overcome these challenges there is requirement of reorientation of the Assam Rifles in the following manner:

• Command and control: Placing the Assam Rifles under a single Ministry will ensure that a single head exercises powers over it with greater accountability.
• Operationalisation of the Director General of the Assam Rifles (DGAR): With increasing focus on security concerns regarding China, operationalising the DGAR headquarters under the Eastern Command headquarters has become imperative.
• Additional raisings: A minimum of one IG headquarter along with approximately 15 units will bring down the frontage of each unit to a manageable level (50 kms).
• Fencing: The whole Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) must be fenced starting from areas where it is possible and slowly expanded to difficult areas.
• Revisiting the Free Movement Regime (FMR): Owing to the security concerns, the FMR needs to be revisited both in terms of distance and time period.
• Budgetary support: The budgetary increase should enable modernisation and better administration of the force. As per the MHA’s annual report, the Assam Rifles budget in 2020-21 has increased by 20 percent from 2015-16 as compared to 31 percent to 48 percent for the other CAPFs.

It is time to take cognizance of the multifarious threats existing in the North-East, recognize the capacity of the Assam Rifles and empower it fully to protect India’s borders and ensure stability in the North-East.

India, being a leading producer of a diverse array of agricultural products, presents an extremely lucrative opportunity to turn the country into a potential hub for food processing. The sector is one of the largest employment-generating industries in India and contributes 8% of the GDP of the nation. It is estimated to be worth $380 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11% to reach $540 billion by 2025. Further, in FY22 alone India exported agricultural and processed food products worth US$ 25.6 billion, and the export of processed vegetables and fruits increased by 59.1%.
Several schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry, etc. have been implemented to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the sector.
However, despite its growth, there are several challenges faced by the food processing industry, which hinder it from harnessing its untapped potential, such as:

• Lack of cutting-edge infrastructure: Many food processing businesses operate in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector, which often lacks the resources needed to upgrade their facilities and machinery to the latest technology.
• Post-harvest loss: Inefficient supply chains due to insufficient cold storage facilities and transportation networks result in significant post-harvest losses.
• Lack of access to working capital: Traditional banks and financial institutions often have stringent lending criteria, making it difficult for SMEs involved in the food processing sector to access funding. Moreover, the loan approval process can be time-consuming and cumbersome. This results in cash flow issues, which can hinder their ability to grow and invest in new technologies.
• Competition from international players: The food processing industry in India faces competition from international players, that have access to better technology, more efficient supply chains, and lower costs.
• Lack of skilled manpower: There is a shortage of skilled workers and a lack of training facilities tailored to the specific needs of the sector posing challenges in adopting advanced processing techniques, implementing food safety practices, and optimizing production processes.
• Issue in exports: Compliance with international quality standards and regulations is essential to access export markets. The presence of pesticide residues and lack of awareness on policy requirements for global markets impact food processing exports from India.

In this context, digitization of the sector has the potential in harnessing its untapped potential and resolving the challenges it faces in the following ways:

• Digitization can help streamline the supply chain and help the sector become more efficient, productive, and competitive by enabling real-time tracking of inventory and delivery, reducing wastage and ensuring timely delivery of goods. For instance,
  • Internet of things (IoT) can help connect various parts of the supply chain, enabling real- time tracking and monitoring of inventory and delivery.
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) can help optimize production processes and improve the quality of products.
  • Blockchain can help ensure transparency and traceability in the supply chain, improving the efficiencies for processors by cutting out middlemen.
• The data produced by digitization would help smaller processing units in planning capacities and procurements more efficiently.
• Digitization can enable SMEs’ to determine and analyze their creditworthiness and understand working capital solutions based on their financial history and potential.

Thus, to achieve the target of $540 billion by 2025, the Indian food processing units need to become more competitive and innovative, and digitization can play a crucial role in this.

Terrorism financing involves the solicitation, collection or provision of funds with the intention that they may be used to support terrorist acts or organizations. Funds may stem from both legal and illicit sources. The primary goal is to sustain the activities of the terrorist organizations in the longer run.
Steps taken to curb terrorist financing include:

• Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC): The UNSC requires all its member states to take a number of steps to combat terrorist financing, such as freezing the assets of terrorist organizations and individuals, and preventing terrorists from accessing the financial system through its resolution.
• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF): The FATF is an intergovernmental organization that sets international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
• The Egmont Group: The Egmont Group is an international network of financial intelligence units (FIUs) from around the world to enable sharing of information and cooperate on investigations. FIUs are responsible for collecting and analysing information about suspicious financial activities.
• The United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism: This Convention was adopted in 1999 and entered into force in 2002. It requires countries to criminalize terrorist financing and to cooperate with each other in investigating and prosecuting terrorist financing cases.

Despite these measures, terrorism continues to receive funding. Terrorism financing continues to be a major challenge due to the following reasons:

• Poor compliance: The FATF recommendations are not enforceable and rely on voluntary compliance, monitoring and implementation by countries around the world, leading to poor compliance.
• Multiplicity of sources: Terrorists and their supporters use ‘hawala’, cash and trade as options. The multiplicity of transit routes allows the path of least resistance to be exploited.
• Further, many developing countries are heavily cash-based economies with no paper trail making enforcement of any regulation around monetary flows virtually impossible.
• Quick adoption of new technology: New developments in technology and financial instruments have brought in its wake various challenges, such as multiple forms of virtual currencies, no central financial authority, anonymity, etc. For instance, it has now moved into the domain of cryptocurrency.
• Donations route: Money collection initiatives like crowdfunding through social media allow for collections, which may not necessarily come with adequate regulation and scrutiny. This can be exploited for collection of funds both from unsuspecting donors, and others who may be sympathetic to the cause of individuals, groups or ideologies associated with terrorism.
  • Also, terrorist groups employ religion as a tool for exploiting people by collecting funds in the guise of donations. For instance, groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan.
• Lone-wolf attacks: The cost of perpetrating terrorist attacks are decreasing as terrorist tactics are changing, with groups increasingly relying on self-funded individuals to carry out attacks.

Countries need to assess terrorism financing not just on a periodic basis but also to ensure that as circumstances change, their policy resources are aligned to tackle new and emerging terror financing risks. In this context, India hosted three major international meetings and conferences related to countering terrorism and terrorism finance in 2022.