In a major initiative to encourage and enable holistic progress in the incubator ecosystem across the country, NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), has launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Startups. This is a first of its kind initiative for advancing innovation at scale in India.

AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation - organizations that can lend credible support and expertise in the entrepreneurship and innovation space. These partnerships will provide global expertise and showcase proven best practices to the AIM's incubator network.

AIM iCREST, as the name suggests, has been designed to enable the incubation ecosystem and act as a growth hack for AIM’s Atal and Established incubators across the country.

Under the initiative, the AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy, that will help them to significantly enhance their performance. This will be complemented by providing training to entrepreneurs, through technology driven processes and platforms.

The program aims at going beyond incubator capacity building. Given the current pandemic crisis, the effort will focus on supporting start-up entrepreneurs in knowledge creation and dissemination as well as in developing robust and active networks.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, sharing his views said, “We firmly believe that the Indian startup ecosystem has evolved into truly world-class movement. NITI Aayog shall play the role of a catalyst in making it happen. India has a great opportunity in its inherent innovative mindset to capture global markets while creating disruptive solutions for the challenges within the country.

In order to facilitate an AtmaNirbhar ecosystem that is capable of nurturing such disruptive startups, AIM, NITI Aayog is enabling this partnership with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation. We are positive it will propel our portfolio to become #WorldClassIncubators and reach greater heights.”

Sharing his views, Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director, AIM said, “India needs world class incubators fostering world class startups leveraging the tremendous innovation talent of our country. For the first time in the Government, the Incubator capacity development program is being extended to the entire portfolio of supported Atal incubators.

This programme is unique also in its design - it is a combination of interactive practices in the field of incubation; enabling the incubators to support sustainable and successful startups. We are pleased to announce the partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation supported by NEN.”

Anjani Bansal, Deputy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said, “We are thrilled to support this initiative of Atal Innovation Mission and NITI Aayog to nurture an ecosystem that enables development and scale up of innovations to solve problems with far reaching impact.

Such innovations in technologies and business models can contribute, both incrementally and radically, to the foundation's goals of improving maternal and child health, increasing productivity and income of small farmers, increasing access and usage of digital financial services, and improving livelihoods for women. The large network of incubators under AIM-iCREST program also enables us to deliver this program at scale which is particularly exciting.”

Ajay Kela, President, and CEO, Wadhwani Foundation, added, “The Wadhwani Foundation is honored to partner with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help accelerate and scale Startup success in India. The partnership brings decades of experience and global best practice integrated into a comprehensive platform delivered through AIM iCREST. The program will contribute to much needed economic and job growth in these challenging times”.

Dan Kranzler Senior Advisor to Wadhwani Foundation and lead trainer of iCREST program added, “Teams from AIM iCREST, Wadhwani Foundation, and the leading incubators of India are all excited to engage together to advance outcomes to create increased economic and job growth. The unique nature of the content, programs, toolkits, resources and best practices from over 200 global incubators work seamlessly in a digital model to ensure continuity of the program in the midst of the COVID restrictions”.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has come into force from 20th July, 2020. As provided in section 10 of the Act, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has been established w.e.f. 24th July, 2020.

For operationalization of the CCPA, Additional Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, Smt. Nidhi Khare has been assigned the charge of Chief Commissioner, Joint Secretary in the Department Shri Anupam Mishra as Commissioner, Director General, BIS Shri Pramod K Tiwari as Director General (Investigation) and Director General, National Test House, Shri Vineet Mathur as Additional Director General (Investigation) in the Central Consumer Protection Authority w.e.f. 29th July, 2020 to exercise the powers and discharge the functions under the Act.

Meanwhile, the CCPA will start functioning in the premises of IIPA. The support staff is being arranged from the Centre for Consumer Studies of The Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and the National Consumer Helpline, which have been financially aided by the Department since 2007.

The objective of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class. It will be empowered to conduct investigations into violation of consumer rights and institute complaints / prosecution, order recall of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuation of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements.

For giving effect to the provisions of the Act, the following rules have also been notified and made effective from 20th July, 2020:

The Consumer Protection (General) Rules, 2020 The Consumer Protection (Central Consumer Protection Council) Rules, 2020. The Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020.

The Consumer Protection (Mediation) Rules, 2020. The Consumer Protection (Salary, allowances and conditions of service of President and Members of the State Commission and District Commission) Model Rules, 2020.

The Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of the President and members of the State Commission and District Commission) Rules, 2020. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. [effective from 23 July, 2020].

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has also notified the following Regulations effective from 24th July, 2020:

The Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020. The Consumer Protection (Administrative Control over the State Commission and the District Commission) Regulations, 2020. The Consumer Protection (Mediation) Regulations, 2020.

Sh. Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (I/C) for AYUSH chaired a Webinar of Health/AYUSH Ministers of all the States/UTs today to review the centrally sponsored scheme of National AYUSH Mission and Operationalization of AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers.

On this occasion, Shri Naik launched a dedicated Web-Portal for National AYUSH Mission to submit State Annual Action Plans, Utilization Certificates, Physical & Financial Progress report, information related to DBT etc. in online mode to the Ministry. This initiative of Ministry of AYUSH will bring transparency and ease of doing work using IT applications, as per policy of the Government. The Minister also released 4 publications including Operational Guidelines for establishment of AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers.

In the webinar, 15 Health/AYUSH Ministers shared their views on Operationalization of AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers and progress and implementation of National AYUSH Mission in their States/UTs. Health/AYUSH Ministers also ensured their full co-operation to operationalize AYUSH Health Wellness Center and to bring significant progress on approved activities under National AYUSH Mission.

Addressing the video conference Shri Shripad Naik requested the Health/AYUSH Ministers to give due focus to the early establishment and operationalization of AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers to strengthen the primary Healthcare delivery system in real-terms and to extend the AYUSH health care to the needy public. He underlined the need to speed up the pace of work sanctioned under National AYUSH Mission and AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers, so that the benefit may reach to the common people.

Health/AYUSH Ministers from the States/UTs along with Principal Secretaries/Secretaries (Health/AYUSH), Commissioners/Directors participated in the Webinar.

On this occasion, Secretary, AYUSH Vd. Rajesh Kotecha, stated that AYUSH Health & Wellness Center is an opportunity for AYUSH system to establish its effectiveness in the public health. He emphasized on timely utilization of funds released to the States/UTs. Joint Secretary, AYUSH Sh. Roshan Jaggi, briefed about the National AYUSH Mission and AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers and requested all the States/UTs to timely operationalize AYUSH Health & Wellness Centers as per the target assigned to them.

Context: Amid the tensions on the Line of Actual Control, the dominant calls were for a more decisive westward shift in India’s foreign policy.

However, last month, India decided to attend a (virtual) meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC). This meeting seemed incongruous in this setting.

What is RIC? Conceived by the then Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in 1998. The group was founded on the basis of “ending its subservient foreign policy guided by the U.S.,” and “renewing old ties with India and fostering the newly discovered friendship with China.”

Why was it formed? In the early 2000s, the three countries were positioning themselves for a transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world order.

The RIC shared some non-West (as distinct from anti-West) perspectives on the global order, such as an emphasis on sovereignty and territorial integrity, impatience with homilies on social policies and opposition to regime change from abroad.

Their support for democratisation of the global economic and financial architecture moved to the agenda of BRIC (with the addition of Brazil).

Significance and potential of the grouping: Together, the RIC countries occupy over 19 percent of the global landmass and contribute to over 33 percent of global GDP. All three are nuclear powers and two, Russia and China, are permanent members of the UN Security Council, while India aspires to be one.

The trio could also contribute to creating a new economic structure for the world. They could work together on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

Present situation: A lot has changed in recent times; India’s relations with the U.S. surged, encompassing trade and investment, a landmark civil nuclear deal and a burgeoning defence relationship that met India’s objective of diversifying military acquisitions away from a near-total dependence on Russia.

China went back on the 2005 agreement, launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, worked to undermine India’s influence in its neighbourhood and expanded its military and economic presence in the Indian Ocean. As U.S.-Russia relations imploded in 2014 (after the annexation/accession of Crimea), Russia’s pushback against the U.S. included cultivating the Taliban in Afghanistan and enlisting Pakistan’s support for it.

Importance of RIC for India: RIC still has significance. India is in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is driven by Russia and China and includes four Central Asian countries. Central Asia is strategically located, bordering our turbulent neighbourhood.

A sliver of land separates Tajikistan from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan’s membership of SCO and the potential admission of Iran and Afghanistan (as member states) heighten the significance of the SCO for India.

What needs to be done? It is important for India to shape the Russia-China dynamics in this region, to the extent possible. The Central Asian countries have signalled they would welcome such a dilution of the Russia-China duopoly.

The ongoing India-Iran-Russia project for a sea/road/rail link from western India through Iran to Afghanistan and Central Asia, is an important initiative for achieving an effective Indian presence in Central Asia, alongside Russia and China.

The defence and energy pillars of India’s partnership with Russia remain strong. Access to Russia’s abundant natural resources can enhance our materials security — the importance of which has been highlighted by COVID-19.

With China too, we have to work bilaterally and multilaterally on a range of issues, even while firmly protecting our interests on the border, in technology and the economy.

The Indo-Pacific is a geographic space of economic and security importance, in which a cooperative order should prevent the dominance of any external power.

Conclusion: The current India-China stand-off has intensified calls for India to fast-track partnership with the U.S. This is an unexceptionable objective, but is not a silver bullet. National security cannot be fully outsourced. India’s quest for autonomy of action is based on its geographical realities, historical legacies and global ambitions — not a residual Cold War mindset.

Context: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has set up a committee to look into the possibility of including what are called “pre-packs” under the current insolvency regime to offer faster insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

So, what is a pre-pack? Also called as a pre-packaged insolvency, It is an agreement for the resolution of the debt of a distressed company.

It is done through an agreement between secured creditors and investors instead of a public bidding process. The process needs to be completed within 90 days so that all stakeholders retain faith in the system.

Benefits of a pre-pack: Faster: This process would likely be completed much faster than the traditional Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) which requires that the creditors of the distressed company allow for an open auction for qualified investors to bid for the distressed company. It would act as an important alternative resolution mechanism to the CIRP and would help lower the burden on the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

In the case of pre-packs, the incumbent management retains control of the company until a final agreement is reached. This is necessary because Transfer of control from the incumbent management to an insolvency professional as is the case in the CIRP leads to disruptions in the business and loss of some high-quality human resources and asset value.

Also, a financially distressed company can continue its operations during the period leading to a formal default, and even thereafter, without the resultant reputational risks, business disruptions, or value erosion.

What are some of the drawbacks of pre-pack? Reduced transparency compared to the CIRP as financial creditors would reach an agreement with a potential investor privately and not through an open bidding process. This could lead to stakeholders such as operational creditors raising issues of fair treatment when financial creditors reach agreements to reduce the liabilities of the distressed company.

Unlike in the case of a full-fledged CIRP which allows for price discovery, in the case of a pre-pack the NCLT would only be able to evaluate a resolution plan based on submissions by the creditors and the investor.

Do we need pre-packs? Yes. It is because slow progress in the resolution of distressed companies has been one of the key issues raised by creditors regarding the CIRP under the IBC.

738 of 2,170 ongoing insolvency resolution processes have already taken more than 270 days at the end of March. Under the IBC, stakeholders are required to complete the CIRP within 330 days of the initiation of insolvency proceedings.

Context: High levels of ammonia (3 ppm) were recently detected in the Yamuna river. Because of this, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had to reduce water production capacityby 25 per cent.

What is the acceptable limit? The acceptable maximum limit of ammonia in drinking water, as per the Bureau of Indian Standards, is 0.5 ppm.

What is ammonia and what are its effects? Ammonia is a colourless gas and is used as an industrial chemical in the production of fertilisers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and other products. It consists of hydrogen and nitrogen. In its aqueous form, it is called ammonium hydroxide.

This inorganic compound has a pungent smell. Occurrence: Ammonia occurs naturally in the environment from the breakdown of organic waste matter. It is lighter than air.

Contamination: It may find its way to ground and surface water sources through industrial effluents or through contamination by sewage.

If the concentration of ammonia in water is above 1 ppm it is toxic to fishes. In humans, long term ingestion of water having ammonia levels of 1 ppm or above may cause damage to internal organs.

How does it enter the Yamuna? The most likely source is believed to be effluents from dye units, distilleries and other factories in Panipat and Sonepat districts in Haryana, and also sewage from some unsewered colonies in this stretch of the river.

What needs to be done? Stringent implementation of guidelines against dumping harmful waste into the river.

Making sure untreated sewage does not enter the water. Maintain a sustainable minimum flow, called the ecological flow. This is the minimum amount of water that should flow throughout the river at all times to sustain underwater and estuarine ecosystems and human livelihoods, and for self regulation.

Challenges ahead: Delhi dependent on Haryana for up to 70 per cent of its water needs. Haryana, with a large number of people involved in agriculture, has water paucity issues of its own.

Both states have argued over maintaining 10 cumecs (cubic meter per second) flow in the Yamuna at all times. Both states have approached the courts several times over the past decade to get what they call an equitable share of water.

The lack of a minimum ecological flow also means accumulation of other pollutants. After water is extracted from the river for treatment in North East Delhi, what flows is mostly untreated sewage and refuse from homes, run off from storm water drains and effluents from unregulated industry.

These challenges need to be addressed at the earliest. Insta Facts: The river Yamuna is a major tributary of river Ganges. Originates from the Yamunotri glacier near Bandarpoonch peaks in the Mussoorie range of the lower Himalayas in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

It meets the Ganges at the Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh after flowing through Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. Tributaries: Chambal, Sindh, Betwa and Ken.

Context: The Union government on July 28, 2020, launched the Green-Ag Project in Mizoram, to reduce emissions from agriculture and ensure sustainable agricultural practices.

Mizoram is one of the five states where the project will be implemented. Other states include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand.

About the Project: The Green-Ag Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility, while the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) is the national executing agency.

Other key players involved in its implementation are Food and Agricultre Organization (FAO) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The project seeks to integrate biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management objectives and practices into Indian agriculture.

Pilot project: The pilot project is supposed to end on March 31, 2026, in all states. It aims to cover 35 villages and includes two protected areas — the Dampa Tiger Reserve and the Thorangtlang Wildlife Sanctuary.

Targets: Achieve multiple global environmental benefits in at least 1.8 million hectares (ha) of land in five landscapes, with mixed land use systems.

Bring at least 104,070 ha of farms under sustainable land and water management. Ensure 49 million Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) sequestered or reduced through sustainable land use and agricultural practices.

Observed on 29 July. It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit. On this occasion, the Union Environment Ministry has released an updated report on India’s Tiger Survey from 2018.

Highlights: Country’s tiger population: 2,967 — unchanged from the government’s estimate last year India has nearly 70% of the world’s tigers. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442).

Chhattisgarh and Mizoram saw a decline in tiger population and all other States saw a “positive” increase. While Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tigers, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu registered the “maximum improvement” since 2014.

Guinness Record: The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 recently entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.

Camera trapswere placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and surveyed an effective area of 121,337 square kilometres.

All India Tiger estimation: The All India Tiger Estimation done quadrennially is steered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority with technical backstopping from the Wildlife Institute of India and implemented by State Forest Departments and partners.

Conservation efforts- National and Global: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.

At the Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010,leaders of 13 tiger range countries resolved to do more for the tiger and embarked on efforts to double its number in the wild, with a popular slogan ‘T X 2’.

The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) programof the World Bank, using its presence and convening ability, brought global partners together to strengthen the tiger agenda.

Over the years, the initiative has institutionalised itself as a separate entity in the form of the Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC), with its two arms –the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program. The Project Tiger,launched way back in 1973, has grown to more than 50 reserves amounting to almost 2.2% of the country’s geographical area.

Insta Fact: What are the different species of tigers? There are different species of tigers – Siberian tigers, Bengal tigers, Indochinese tigers, Malayan tigers and South China.

The Bengal tiger is found primarily in India with smaller populations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. It is the most numerous of all tiger subspecies with more than 2,500 left in the wild.

It is a genealogy project for academics — who earned doctorates on astronomy-related theses or supervised research for such dissertations.

It was launched recently by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and its Historical Astronomy Division. The project allows these academics to trace their ‘ancestors’. In academic genealogy, however, a person’s ‘parent’ is their thesis advisor.

Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR): It is the largest Tiger Reserve in India.

The reserve spreads over five districts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The area consists mostly of the Nallamala Hills. The Krishna river cuts its basin almost 200 m (660 ft) deep over a distance of 130 km (81 mi) through the reserve.

Ban on Chinese Apps: Union information and technology ministryhas banned 47 new apps. The move comes nearly a month after the ban on 59 Chinese apps, taking the total number of mobile applications blocked to 106. The new apps include clones and different versions of some of the original apps.

Why the government banned these apps? These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.

Relevant provisions: For this, the Ministry has invoked its power under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

Context: Five Rafale jets arrived in India. These are part of the 36 twin-engine aircraft purchased from Dassault Rafale at approximately Rs 59,000 crore in 2016.

What is the Rafale Jet? It is a twin-engine fighter jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France.

Pampa is the third longest river in Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha.

Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is located on the banks of the river.

The river is also known as ‘Dakshina Bhageerathi’ and ‘River Baris’.