In a meeting held yesterday chaired by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of MSME, and Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister with senior management of all Banks, some of the key schemes of Ministry of MSME which generate large number of jobs with low capital investment were reviewed.

The focus of the meeting was on the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of MSME, and Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). In addition, the issue of restructuring of stressed loans to MSMEs was also discussed to find a way forward to support MSMEs.

PMEGP is a credit linked subsidy scheme which promotes self-employment through setting up of micro enterprises, where subsidy up to 35 percent is provided by the Government through Ministry of MSME for loans up to Rs. 25 lakhs in manufacturing and Rs 10 lakhs in service sector.

Both the Union Ministers commended the work done by the Banks in supporting setting up large number of enterprises under PMEGP over the past years, which has particularly seen a two-fold increase in last Financial Year when more than 73,000 micro enterprises were assisted.

With an imperative to empower the youngest minds of the country with the latest technologies, NITI Aayog, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in collaboration with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) today launched an AI based Module rolled out for students in Indian schools.

The AI-Base Module has been introduced with an objective for students to leverage the full potential of AIM’s Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) and further empowers them to innovate and create valuable solutions benefiting societies at large. The module contains activities, videos and experiments that enable students to work through and learn the various concepts of AI.

Atal Innovation Mission housed at NITI Aayog is the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the school level, AIM is establishing ATLs in all districts across India. As of today, AIM has selected a total of 14,916 schools across the country spread across 33 different states and union territories, for the establishment of ATLs

Government has adopted Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s mantra of “Make in India’, for India and the world” to build strong defence and security infrastructure in the country.

This was stated by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh after inaugurating the new Light Combat Helicopter Production Hangar at Helicopter Division in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Complex at Bengaluru, Karnataka today.

He said, in the last five years, India has made significant progress towards manufacturing military equipment indigenously under the 'Make in India' initiative.

Food processing has an important role to play in linking Indian farmers to consumers in the domestic and international markets. The Food processing industry can work as link between Farmers, Government and unemployed youth for better contribution towards economy.

The Government of India through the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is making all efforts to encourage investments in the business. It has approved proposals for joint ventures (JV), foreign collaborations, industrial licenses, and 100 per cent export oriented units.

The main objective of this Scheme is creation of processing and preservation capacities and modernisation/ expansion of existing food processing units with a view to increasing the level of processing, value addition leading to reduction of wastage. The processing activities undertaken by the individual units covers a wide range of post-harvest processes resulting in value addition and/or enhancing shelf life with specialized facilities required for preservation of perishables.

The food sector has emerged as a high-growth and high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry as it is said to have Compound Annual Growth Rate(CAGR) of approximately 8 percent over the last five years. The projects approved are running across quadrilaterals of the country covering over 100 agro-climatic zones. The Processed food market is expected to grow to $ 543 bn by 2020 from $ 322 bn in 2016, at a CAGR of 14.6%.

MoFPI is implementing PMKSY and the period of implementation is 2016-20 with a total outlay of Rs 6,000 crore. The PMKSY has seven component schemes viz; Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, and Human Resources and Institutions.

Total of 212 projects costing Rs.3512.45 crore have been implemented by the Ministry in North Eastern Region as under:

115 projects costing Rs.1928.47 crore were sanctioned. 21 projects costing Rs. 677.90 crore were started. 70 projects costing Rs.866.13 crore were completed. 06 projects costing Rs. 39.95 crore were operationalized.

Bamboo Industrial Park: In-principle approval has been accorded for First Bamboo Industrial Park to be set up in North East Region. It will be established at Manderdisa in DimaHasao District of Assamin an area of 75 hectares at a cost of Rs. 50 crores. This project is targeted to be completed by March 2021.

Process for restructuring of the two livelihood programmes implemented by the Ministry viz. NERLP and NERCORMP, has been initiated. EFC Note is under circulation and project has also been posed to World Bank through DEA for external assistance. The proposed project will cover all the NE states The target beneficiaries will be members of the SHGs, FPIs, FPOs who are targeted to be converted into self-driven entrepreneurs.

Dashboard of Ministry has been revamped to keep the citizens informed about the developmental activities being taken up in the North East region. Apart from providing upto date information on the schemes and programs of MDoNER and its organizations, it will act as a one-stop portal to showcase the areas of tourist interest and spread awareness about the distinct culture and traditions of the region.

Process for extension of schemes of MDoNER and NEC beyond March 2020 has been initiated. EFC Note is under circulation. Scheme-specific IMCs/SFC meetings have been convened for approvals to various projects received from the NE States.

Fund of Rs 1 cr to each Aspirational Districts of NER (14 Nos) have been released. During the period, NEDFi has sanctioned an amount of Rs.247.10 crore and Rs.122.31 crore was disbursed. The Corporation has conducted twelve business meets in all the eight States of North Eastern Region.

NEDFi Venture Capital Ltd. has sanctioned an amount of Rs.32.28 crore to 15 nos. of Start-ups, which has created a lot of enthusiasm among first generation entrepreneurs and Start-ups in the Region.

Background: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the government’s plan to fund five on-site museums, including the under-construction museum initiated by the Haryana government at Rakhigarhi, in her Budget speech on February 1.

Other sites mentioned in the Budget — Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, Shivsagar in Assam, Dholavira in Gujarat and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu.

What’s the issue now? Rakhigarhi’s rise as a site of ancient curiosity has disrupted the villager’s life to an extent.

The ASI has been able to get under its control just 83.5 acres of the 350-hectare site that spans 11 mounds, after first taking over the site in 1996, due to encroachments and pending court cases.

About Rakhigarhi: Rakhigarhi, in Haryana, became an archaeological hotspot when Amarendra Nath, former director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), undertook excavations at the site in 1997.

• The ASI team unearthed a fire altar, parts of a city wall, drainage structures as well as a hoard of semi-precious beads.

• Villagers subsequently began to see the significance of the terracotta shards that littered Rakhigarhi. • It is a 5,000-year-old site that showcases continuity from the Harappan age to the present times. The village also has havelis that are a couple of hundred years old.

• The site is located in the Sarasvati river plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river. • In May 2012, the Global Heritage Fund, declared Rakhigarhi one of the 10 most endangered heritage sites in Asia.

Background: More than 20 people have been killed in Delhi’s worst-ever communal violence since 1984 which resulted in clashes that began over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Sunday evening.

What’s the issue? A key question now being raised is whether or not the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi can take any action to bring law and order under control. The answer is not a straightforward one, with many factors coming into play.

What the elected legislature in Delhi cannot do? The NCT of Delhi, under Article 239 AA, has been given a special status. It gives powers of law-making and administration to an elected legislature and the council of ministers. But, puts two subjects — public order and police — directly under the Union government, however, with exceptions- Two sections of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) —129 & 130 — give the Executive Magistrate certain powers relating to “unlawful assembly”.

Under these two limited powers, the Executive Magistrate, who reports to the Chief Minister, can issue orders relating to public security.

What is CrPC 129? If a group is found in unlawful assembly under Section 129 CrPC, the Executive Magistrate can issue orders to these persons to disperse. If this fails, the magistrate can use the civil force — which is the police.

What is CrPC section 130? If efforts under CrPC section 129 fail, the Executive Magistrate, under Section 130 CrPC, can call an officer of the armed forces of the Union to disperse the assembly. This section states that it can be invoked for “public security”.

However, this Section empowers the officer to decide, on his own, the manner in which the unlawful assembly has to be dispersed by forces under his command.

How are these powers different from the powers of a full fledged state? While public order and police are under the state list, the state government may request the Union government to make available armed forces to help restore public order.

Even in circumstances where public disorder is not so serious as to fall in the category of an “internal disturbance” as defined in Article 355 of the Constitution, the Union Government may accede to the request.

But, as per CrPC 130, except for the limited purpose of dispersing an “unlawful assembly” and arresting its members, neither the state government nor any authority under it has been conferred by the Constitution any legal right to call the armed forces while dealing with a public disorder or “internal disturbance”.

Also, the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution states that use of the armed forces in the maintenance of public order is outside the purview of the states.

Surrogacy Background: The bill incorporates all recommendations made by a Rajya Sabha select committee, which studied an earlier version of the draft legislation, and is aimed at banning commercial surrogacy and allowing altruistic surrogacy.

Key features of the Bill: 1. It allows any “willing” woman to be a surrogate mother and proposes that widows and divorced women can also benefit from its provisions, besides infertile Indian couples.

2. The bill also proposes to regulate surrogacy by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level and, State Surrogacy Board and appropriate authorities in states and Union Territories respectively.

3. The proposed insurance cover for surrogate mother has now been increased to 36 months from 16 months provided in the earlier version.

4. Commercial surrogacy will be prohibited including sale and purchase of human embryo and gametes.

5. Ethical surrogacy to lndian married couples, Indian-origin married couples and Indian single woman (only widow or divorcee between the age of 35 and 45 years) will be allowed on fulfilment of certain conditions.

This move is expected to change the customer’s experience at the Public Sector Banks (PSBs).

What is it? Ease (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) 3.0 reform agenda aims at providing smart, tech-enabled public sector banking for aspiring India. New features that customers of public sector banks may experience under EASE 3.0

reforms agenda include facilities like: 1. Palm Banking for “End-to-end digital delivery of financial service”. 2. “Banking on Go” via EASE banking outlets at frequently visited spots like malls, stations, complexes, and campuses.

The idea behind EASE 3.0 agenda: The Ministry has the idea of establishing paperless and digitally-enabled banking at places where people visit the most.

The government aims to focus on digitalization in the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) among themes that include responsible banking, PSBs as Udyami Mitra, customer responsiveness, credit take-off, and deep financial inclusions.

Background: PSB Reforms EASE Agenda is a common reform agenda for PSBs aimed at institutionalizing clean and smart banking.

It was launched in January 2018, and the subsequent edition of the program ― EASE 2.0 built on the foundation laid in EASE 1.0 and furthered the progress on reforms. In EASE 2.0, the government had proposed pushing liquidity in the public sector banks, reconstituting the management committee and possible mergers among the ideal partners in the Indian banking sector.

Aim: To position the country as a global leader in technical textiles and increase the use of technical textiles in the domestic market.

Key facts: The Mission will be implemented for four years from 2020-2021 and will have four components:

1. The first component will focus on research and development and innovation and will have an outlay of ₹1,000 crore. The research will be at both, fibre level and application-based in geo, agro, medical, sports and mobile textiles and development of bio-degradable technical textiles.

2. The second component will be for promotion and development of market for technical textiles. The Mission will aim at taking domestic market size to $40 billion to $50 billion by 2024.

3. The third component will focus on export promotion so that technical textile exports from the country reach from the ₹14,000 crore now to ₹20,000 crore by 2021-2022 and ensure 10% average growth every year till the Mission ends. 4. The last component will be on education, training and skill development.

What are technical textiles? Technical textiles are defined as textile materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic and decorative characteristics. Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles, and protective clothing.

What are the concerns being expressed? Implementation of this clause would lead to exclusion of these communities from the list of indigenous communities. More than 80% of these have been living in Assam for centuries.

Background: A 13-member panel set up to study the implementation of the Assam Accord’s Clause 6, which relates to the protection of the Assamese identity, recently submitted its report.

What is Clause 6? Clause 6 states: “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.” However, no government has passed any legislation since 1985 to provide constitutional protection to the Assamese people as envisaged under Clause 6.

Assam Accord: Signed between the Union government and leaders of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) in 1985, the Assam Accord came at the end of a six-year-long agitation demanding the expulsion of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Germany’s highest court has ruled that a 2015 law banning professional assisted suicide was unconstitutional, saying in a landmark decision that people have “the right to a self-determined death”.

Significance: The ruling is a major victory for the terminally ill patients, doctors and assisted suicide organisations who brought the case, complaining that the existing law went too far.

The court said the right to a self-determined death included “the freedom to take one’s life and seek help doing so”.

Context: The Mizoram government has sought the revision of the boundary with Assam, based on the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873 and the Inner Line of the Lushai Hills Notification of 1993.

What is BEFR? The BEFR allows Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland not to let non-resident Indians in without an inner-line permit for a temporary stay

Key facts: • Mizoram used to be the Lushai Hills district of Assam before being made a Union Territory in 1972 and a State in 1987. • Mizoram shares a 123-km border with southern Assam and has been claiming a 509-square mile stretch “occupied” by the neighbouring State.

It is an international conference on standardisation of Diagnosis and Terminologies in AYUSH held recently in Delhi.

The Conference adopted the “New Delhi Declaration on Collection and Classification of Traditional Medicine (TM) Diagnostic Data”.

• The declaration emphasised the commitment of the countries to Traditional Medicine as a significant area of health care. It further sought the opportunity for including traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha in the International Classification of Diseases of WHO, which is the standard diagnostic tool for health management across the world.

ICoSDiTAUS-2020 is the biggest ever international event dedicated to standardisation of Diagnosis and Terminologies of Traditional Medicine in terms of the broad level of participation covering virtually all the continents.

The conference succeeded in taking forward the objective of expanding the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) into the realm of traditional medicine systems at a conceptual level with all the countries endorsing.

Indradhanush is a joint military exercise between the air forces of India and the United Kingdom.

The focus of this edition of the exercise, being held in India, is ‘Base Defence and Force Protection’.

It is a maiden summit on Artificial Intelligence to spearhead social empowerment, inclusion and transformation

• The event named RAISE 2020 ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020’ will be held in April in New Delhi.

• This is India’s first Artificial Intelligence summit to be organized by the Government in partnership with the industry and the academia.

• The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and charter a course to use AI for social empowerment, inclusion and transformation in key areas like healthcare, agriculture, education and smart mobility amongst other sectors.

The MIEWS Dashboard and Portal is a ‘first-of-its-kind’ platform for ‘real time monitoring’ of the prices of tomato, onion and potato (TOP).

It also generates alerts for intervention under the terms of Operation Greens (OG) scheme.

• The portal would disseminate all relevant information related to TOP crops such as prices and arrivals, area, yield and production, imports and exports, crop calendars, crop agronomy, etc. in an easy to use visual format.

• The MIEWS system is designed to provide advisories to farmers to avoid cyclical production as well as an early warning in situations of gluts.