CONTENTS

1. National Gopal Ratna Award
2. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

 National Gopal Ratna Award

Context:

Recently, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) declared the winners of the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) for the year 2024.

Relevance:

GS II: Government Policies and Interventions

National Gopal Ratna Award:

• The National Gopal Ratna Award is one of the most prestigious awards in India’s livestock and dairy sector.
• These awards are presented annually during the National Milk Day celebrations.

Objectives of the Award:

• Purpose: The primary aim of the National Gopal Ratna Awards is to honor and motivate individuals and organizations involved in various aspects of animal husbandry and dairying.
• Target Recipients: The awards target a wide range of contributors in the sector, including farmers who rear indigenous animals, artificial insemination technicians, and dairy cooperatives or producer organizations.

Award Categories:

• Categories: The award is divided into three main categories:
  1. Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/Buffalo Breeds: Recognizes farmers who excel in rearing local breeds.
  2. Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT): Honors excellence in the field of artificial insemination.
  3. Best Dairy Cooperative/Milk Producer Company/Dairy Farmer Producer Organization: Awarded to the top-performing dairy cooperative or producer organization.
• Special Award for the North Eastern Region: Starting this year, a special award category has been added for each of the three main categories specifically to acknowledge and promote dairy development activities in the North Eastern Region (NER) states.

Significance for the Dairy Sector:

• Enhancement of Dairy Practices: These awards play a crucial role in enhancing dairy practices by recognizing and encouraging the adoption of best practices and innovative techniques in the sector.
• Encouragement and Recognition: By acknowledging the hard work and achievements of various stakeholders in the dairy industry, these awards foster motivation and pride among professionals and organizations, contributing to the overall growth and development of the sector.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

Context:

The Union Cabinet recently approved the continuation of its flagship Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under NITI Aayog, with an allocation of ₹2,750 crore until March 31, 2028.

Relevance:

GS II- Government policies and Interventions

About Atal Innovation Mission

• The Mission has been set up under the NITI Aayog, in accordance with the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s declaration in the 2015 Budget Speech.
• The objectives of the AIM are to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country via interventions at school, university, research institutions, MSME and industry levels.
• The AIM has focused on both infrastructure creation and institution building.
• The AIM has worked on integrating innovation ecosystem both nationally and globally

Major Initiatives:

• Atal Tinkering Labs: Creating problem solving mindset across schools in India.
• Atal Incubation Centers: Fostering world class startups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model.
• Atal New India Challenges: Fostering product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors/ministries.
• Mentor India Campaign: A national mentor network in collaboration with the public sector, corporates and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission.
• Atal Community Innovation Centre: To stimulate community centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• Atal Research and Innovation for Small Enterprises (ARISE): To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry.