Overview of PM Modi’s 2-day visit to Karnataka

The Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi paid a 2 day visit to the state of Karnataka from January 2-3, 2019 to attend events in Tumakuru and Bengaluru cities of the state. He arrived at the yelahanka air base, Bengaluru. The visit in detail are as follows:3rd installment of Rs 2000 to 6 crore beneficiaries under PM KISAN released:
PM Shri Modi released the 3rd installment of PM Kisan scheme i.e., Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana of Rs.2000 for December 2019- March 2020 period. Through this amount disbursal, nearly 6 crore people will be benefited. The beneficiaries were also handed over certificates under the scheme from 8 states/Union Territories (UTs).

• Under the 3rd tranche of the scheme, Rs 12000 crore has been deposited.
• The money has been disbursed to the personal accounts of the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

i.TN farmers handed over with deep sea fishing vessels: During the event the prime minister also handed over keys of deep sea fishing vessels and fishing vessel transponders to select farmers of Tamil Nadu (TN).

ii.Toll free number started: The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW), Shri Narendra Singh Tomar announced the launch of toll free number ‘155261’ for the beneficiaries of PM-Kisan Yojana where the farmers can know about their payment status.

• Pmm Kisan portal facilities for farmers is also being developed for ease of use.

iii.About PM KISAN:

• Under this scheme, the Central government provides Rs 6000 annually in three equal installments of Rs.2000 every four months in a year to 14 crore farmers of India.
• The amount is directly transferred into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.
• It is given to farmers having land upto 2 hectares. As on November 30, 2019 the govt. has disbursed Rs. 36,000 crores under this scheme.

5 high-tech DRDO labs with under 35year aged scientists inaugurated:
PM Modi inaugurated 5 new scientific DRDO (Defence Research Development Organisation) laboratories in Bengaluru. In this laboratory only scientists under the age of 35 years will be deployed. These scientists will develop cutting-edge and futuristic technologies for military weaponry.

i.DRDO lab locations:The DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs) have come up in Bengaluru (Karnataka), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Kolkata (West Bengal) and Hyderabad (Telangana).

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) based developments will be carried out at Bengaluru.
• Quantum technology support will be based out of Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay (IIT-B).
• Research in cognitive technologies will be based at IIT Madras (IIT-M) in chennai, TN.
• Asymmetric technologies will be based out of campus of Jadhavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal.
• Research in smart materials and applications will be based out of IIT Hyderabad (IIT-H).

ii.Director selection: The directors of these 5 laboratories has been selected by a committee chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor(PSA) to the government, Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan.

iii.Background: Shri Modi after winning the 2014 elections proposed to establish 5 DRDO laboratories in which everyone including the director was under the age of 35 years.

5 DRDO labs:

Krishi Karman awards distributed:
PM Modi distributed Agriculture Minister’s Krishi Karman Awards for progressive farmers while commendation awards to the states were also given at a public meeting in Tumkur, Karnataka. Kisan Credit Cards(KCC) were also distributed.

Key speeches: Some of the key speeches while distributing the awards are as follows:

i.Spice production in the country has increased by more than 2.5 million tonnes. Thus the export has increased from Rs 15,000 crores to Rs.19,000 crores.

ii.The govt aims to strengthen fisheries sector through 3 levels. They are

• Encouraging fisheries in villages through financial assistance to fishermen.
• Under blue revolution scheme, fishing boats to  be modernised.
• Constructing modern infrastructure related to fish trade and business. A special fund of Rs 7.50 crores has been allocated for this purpose.

iii.Creating of new category in the Krishi Karman Award for Nutri Cereals, Horticulture and organic culture was also requested.

107th Indian science congress inaugurated in Bengaluru:
Prime Minister was inaugurating the 107th Indian Science Congress (ISC) at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bengaluru. The theme of ISC for the year 2020 was “Science and Technology: Rural Development”.

i.Events to be held: The 5 day ISC event will have 15,000 participants. For the 1st time Farmers science congress will be held. Apart from that Children’s science congress, women science congress, former vice chancellors’ science congress, science communicators Meet – 2020, mega science exhibition- pride of India- ISC Expo will also be held.

ii.Editions held in Bengaluru: This is the 3rd time Bengaluru hosts ISC after 1987 and 2002. It is also the 4th time Karnataka hosts such event after organising ISC lastly in 2016 in Mysuru.

Indian Science, Technology and Engineering Facilities Map (I-STEM) website  launched:
Prime Minister also launched the Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM) Portal during ISC. The portal is designed to be the gateway for researchers to locate specific type of facility they need for their Research and development (R&D) work in India.

PM visited Sree Siddaganga Mutt, lays foundation stone for museum of Shivakumar Swamiji:
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited the Shri Siddhaganga Mutt in Tumkuru, Karnataka and laid the foundation stone for a memorial museum of Shri Shri Shivakumar Swamiji who was an Indian supercentenarian, humanitarian, spiritual leader and educator.

About Karnataka:
Chief minister- Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa.
Governor- Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala.
State Formation- 1 November 1956.
Capital- Bengaluru (Executive Branch).
National parks(NP)- Nagarhole NP, Bandipur NP, Bannerghatta NP, Kudremukh NP