North East Venture Fund.
The
North East Venture Fund (NEVF)is the first and the only dedicated Venture Fund
for the North Eastern Region.
About:
It
was introduced by the NDA government.
It
is gaining popularity among Start-Ups and young entrepreneurs.
The
Venture Fund Scheme launched by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern
Region (DoNER).
It
aims to promote growth of business ventures and skill development in the
region.
The
main focus of the fund is for mostly the enterprises involved in Food
Processing, Healthcare, Tourism, segregation of services, IT, etc.
The
investment size with the Venture Fund Scheme ranges between Rs.25 lakhs and Rs.
10 crores with a long-term horizon of five to ten years.
NHAI begins
planning for Bharatmala Phase-II.
National
Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified roads with a cumulative
length of 5,000 kilometres tobe built under the Bharatmala Phase-II project.
Bharatmala
Pariyojana under Ministry of Road Transport and Highways aims to construct
around 65,000 km of national highways in the country.
The
project will improve connectivity particularly on economic corridors, border
areas and far-flung areas.
India’s
‘Institutions of Eminence’ can set up campuses in foreign countries.
Indian
universities and colleges with the Institutions of Eminence (IOEs) tag, will
now be able to set up campuses in foreign countries with the University Grants
Commission (UGC) issuing fresh guidelines on the same.
The
Education Ministry had launched the IoE scheme in 2018 as per which 20
institutions were to be selected -- 10 public and 10 private ones -- that would
enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy.
The
new guidelines have been issued in line with the new National Education Policy
(NEP) as per which foreign universities will be allowed to set up campuses in
India and top Indian institutes in foreign countries.
According
to the norms, IoEs shall be permitted to start a maximum of three off-campus
centres in five years, but not more than one in an academic year.
They
will, however, require approval from as many as three ministries -- education,
home and external affairs -- before they can venture out.
The
IoEs shall be permitted to start an off-campus centre in an interim campus,
subject to the condition that the permanent campus shall be ready “within a
reasonable time period not exceeding five years”.
As Polar
Vortex Stirs, Deep Freeze Threatens U.S. and Europe.
According
to several western weather forecasts, Canada, Eurasia much of Western Europe
and the US, spine chilling cold winter with heavy snow along the US East Coast
will ensue.
The
meteorologists have predicted that the polar vortex, which is splitting into
two and swirling southward, will send the US and European countries into a
chilling deep freeze.
A
notorious swirl of ultracold winds around a low-pressure area due to the major
stratospheric temperature spike expected to sweep across these countries
causing an extreme dip in temperatures.
About:
A
polar vortex is a low -pressure area- a wide expanse of swirling cold air -that
is parked in polar regions.
The
term “vortex” refers to the counter-clockwise flow ofair that helps keep the
colder air near the Poles.
Dedicated
Freight Corridors (DFCs)
Prime
Minister has inaugurated a 351-km section between Khurja and Bhaupur in Uttar
Pradesh for commercial operations of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).
Background of DFCs:
•
The concept of Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) was mooted in 2006 to generate substantial
capacity for freight traffic by developing separate tracks on identified
routes.
What is the DFC?
•
Under the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007–12), Railways started constructing a
new DFC in two long routes, namely the Eastern and Western freight corridors.
•
The section recently launched is part of the 1,839-km Eastern DFC that starts
at Sohnewal
(Ludhiana)
in Punjab and ends at Dankuni in West Bengal.
•
The other arm is the around 1,500-km Western DFC from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to
JNPT in Mumbai, touching all major ports along the way.
•
There is also a section under construction between Dadri and Khurja to connect
the Eastern and Western arms.
Why is it Important?
•
Around 70% of the freight trains currently running on the Indian Railway
network are slated to shift to the freight corridors, leaving the paths open
for more passenger trains.
•
Tracks on DFC are designed to carry heavier loads than most of the Indian
Railways.
•
DFC will get track access charge from the parent Indian Railways, and also
generate its own Freight Business.
What Trains will use the New
Section?
•
Freight trains plying on this section from now on will help decongest the
existing Kanpur-
Delhi
main line of Indian Railways, which currently handles trains at 150% of its
line capacity.
•
The new Section means on the Indian Railway mainline, more passenger trains can
be pumped in and those trains can, in turn, achieve better punctuality.
•
From East and Northeast, coal, iron ore, jute and petroleum products are
transported North and West.
RBI
Financial Stability Report.
Reserve
Bank of India releases Financial Stability Report (FSR).
According
to the report, Banks’ gross non-performing assets may rise to 13.5% by
September 2021, from 7.5% in September 2020 under the baseline scenario.
The
report said, If the macroeconomic environment worsens into a severe stress
scenario, the GNPA ratio may escalate to 14.8%.
The
stress tests indicate that the GNPA ratio of all scheduled commercial banks
(SCBs) may increase from 7.5% in September 2020 to 13.5% by September 2021
under the baseline scenario.
Among
the bank groups, public sector banks’ (PSBs) GNPA ratio of 9.7% in September
2020 may rise to 16.2% by September 2021 under the baseline scenario, it noted.
The
gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio of private sector banks (PVBs) and
foreign banks (FBs) may increase from 4.6% and 2.5% to 7.9% and 5.4%,
respectively, over the same period.
In
the severe stress scenario, the GNPA ratios of PSBs, PVBs and FBs may rise to
17.6%, 8.8% and 6.5%, respectively, by September 2021.
These
GNPA projections are indicative of the possible economic impairment latent in
banks’ portfolios, with implications for capital planning.
Parler.
Apple,
Amazon and Google have suspended the social network called Parler.
That
because, the platform has not taken enough measures to make sure that content
inciting violence remains in check.
What
is Parler?
It
is a social media platform that is considered to be an alternative to Twitter
and is popular with conservatives.
The
platform describes itself as being the world’s “premier free speech platform”.
“Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being “deplatformed”
for your views,” the website of the platform says.
TiHAN:
India’s First Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems.
•
Union Minister of Education laid the foundation stone of ‘TiHAN-IIT Hyderabad’,
India’s
first
Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems (Terrestrial and Aerial).
TiHAN:
•
TiHAN is an acronym for Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation and
Data
Acquisition Systems (UAVs, RoVs etc.).
•
It is a multi-departmental initiative, including researchers from Electrical,
Computer Science, Mechanical and Aerospace, Civil, Mathematics, and Design at
IIT Hyderabad.
•
It would focus on addressing various challenges hindering the real-time
adoption of unmanned autonomous vehicles for both terrestrial and aerial
applications.
•
One major requirement to make unmanned and connected vehicles more acceptable
to the consumer society is to demonstrate its performance in real-life
scenarios.
•
However, it may become dangerous. Especially in terms of safety, to directly
use the operational roadway facilities as experimental test tracks for unmanned
and connected vehicles.
•
In general, both UAV and UGV testing may include crashes and collisions with
obstacles, resulting in damage to costly sensors and Other Components.
•
Hence, it is important to test new technologies developed in a safe, controlled
environment before Deployment.
Kolar
Leaf-Nosed Bat.
•
Recently, the Karnataka Forest Department has getting prepared to save the
Kolar leaf-Nosed bat from extinction.
Highlights:
•Its
scientific Name is Hipposideros hypophyllus
•
It is endemic to India. It is presently known only from one cave in
Hanumanahalli village in Kolar district, Karnataka.
•
Habitat loss from land use change, hunting, and stone quarrying in the region.
•
The Kolar Leaf-Nosed Bat was found in only two caves in the village of
Hanumanahalli.
For
reasons that are still unknown, the bat became locally extinct in one of the
two caves.
•
Its Protection Status IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered; Wildlife Protection
Act, 1972:
Conservation Efforts:
•
The government had notified the 30 acres around the caves as a protected area.
•
Any development work here, including construction of new infrastructure, will
need the permission of the National Board for Wildlife.
•
The Bat Conservation Indian Trust has been awarded a grant to conduct further
research on this species of bats.
•
It is running an intensive awareness campaign in the nearby communities and
they have come to understand the threat to the species and have started
guarding this area from encroachers.
Concerns:
•
Bats are one of the least studied mammals in the country, though there are 130
species in India.
•
Bats are vital for the ecology as they are pollinators, their main diet being
nectar.
•
Bats also help in insect control and therefore, help in the protection of
crops.
•
They are very adaptable creatures and therefore can often be found near human
habitation or even in urban settlements, which makes them vulnerable.
•
They also have a bad image in the public eye, as carriers of diseases.
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