03.07.21 Daily [Assam] APSC Current Affairs

TheCentre said distribution of free foodgrains under the fourth phase of thePradhan Mantra Garib Kalyan AnnaYojana (PMGKAY) has started in seven states and about 14,700 tonnes have been given to beneficiaries so far.

About 70.6 lakh tonnes of foodgrains were distributed in the third phase of PMGKAY between May and June, it said.

On ration card portability facility, the government said the remaining four states –Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal — are expected to come on board soon.

PMGKAY was first introduced in 2020 for eight months to provide relief to 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the NationalFoodSecurity Act (NFSA) from Covid-induced economic hardships.

The scheme was reintroduced this year for third phase implementation for two months till June and later extended till November under the fourth phase.
Free grains are provided under PMGKAY over and above the quota allocated at highly subsidised rates under NFSA to these beneficiaries.

The BharatNet Project’s implementation strategy has been revised.

Highlights:

The Cabinet approved the revised BharatNet implementation strategy through Public Private PARTNERSHIP mode in 16 states across the country.

The programme will be expanded to include all inhabited villages outside of Gram Panchayats (GPs)

The revised strategy also includes the creation, upgrade, operation, maintenance, and utilisation of BharatNet by the concessionaire, who will be chosen through a competitive international bidding process.

The Cabinet has given in-principle approval to cover all inhabited villages in the remaining states/UTs of the country. The Department of Telecommunications will work out the details separately.

The first fintech cohort of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), AIM-iLEAP, has concluded.

About AIM iLEAP:

This programme under the Atal Innovation Mission gives AIM-backed start-ups access to , markets, and investors.

The fintech cohort was formed through a series of thematic virtual demo days organised by AIM in collaboration with Startup Rseau and Visa as part of the AIM-iLEAP (Innovative Leadership for entrepreneurial agility and profitability) initiative.

The AIM-iLEAP programme invites technology start-ups from a wide range of functions to present their solutions to the corporate leadership and innovation team in order to enable market access and industry partnerships.

The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme was approved by the .

About the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme:

It is a reform-based and results-oriented scheme to improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all DISCOMs/Power Departments, with the exception of Private Sector DISCOMs.

The scheme envisages providing conditional financial assistance to DISCOM to strengthen the supply Infrastructure.

Assistance will be based on meeting pre-qualification criteria and basic minimum benchmarks achieved by DISCOM. These will be evaluated according to an agreed evaluation framework related to financial improvement.

Rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach, each state would develop its own action plan for implementing the scheme.

The scheme proposes to incorporate the ongoing schemes of IPDS, DDUGJY, and PMDP-2015 for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The scheme will be available until 2025-26.

REC Limited and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) serve as nodal agencies for the scheme’s implementation.

The scheme focuses on improving farmers’ electricity supply and providing them with daytime electricity through solarization of agricultural feeders.

India has been ranked as the tenth excellent country in the world in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020, launched by ITU (International Telecommunication Union). The GCI 2020 is the 4th edition of the annual index and ranked 194 countries. The GCI measures the dedication of countries to cybersecurity at a global level. Countries have been ranked on the foundation of overall performance on five parameters, which includes: legal measures, technical measures, organisational measures, capacity development, and cooperation.

Index:
India ranked at the tenth position, with 97.5 factors to rank amongst the top ten high-quality countries in the world.
The United States has topped the GCI 2020.
The United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia is tied in the second position
Estonia was ranked third in the index.