ASSAM

Assam signs MoU with MFIs for relief to women borrowers

The Assam government signed an MoU with 37 MFIs to provide financial relief to several lakh poor women borrowers in the state to help them maintain good credit discipline in Covid times by expending over Rs 7,000 crore to the lenders.

The MoU will remain in force till March 31, 2023. In the last election, BJP’s biggest promise was to these women borrowers that after coming to power, the government will waive off their dues to the MFIs.

Till June this year, there were 14 lakh women microfinance borrowers in the state of which about 11 lakh have either made regular repayments or whose payments are overdue, but are not marked as non-performing assets (NPA). To these categories of borrowers, the government will pay a one-time incentive up to Rs 25,000 to incentivize such credit discipline.

The finance department of the Government of Assam signed an MOU with microfinance institutions for implementation of Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme (AMFIRS), 2021 to provide succour to poor women borrowers who are not able to return the loan amount of microfinance institutions.

NORTH-EASTERN STATES

Northeast is country’s new growth engine under PM Modi: Sarbananda Sonowal

Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said the northeast has emerged as the growth engine of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said Modi considers the northeast the focal point of the nation’s development and has been working tirelessly for the development of the once-neglected region since assuming charge as Prime Minister in 2014.

Attending a felicitation programme in Dibrugarh on Tuesday after the conclusion of the three-day Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Sonowal said that the Prime Minister has rediscovered the immense potential and possibilities of Assam and other northeastern states.

The induction of five ministers from the region in the Union cabinet reflects his love and commitment to the people of the northeastern states, he added.

Modiji refers to the northeastern states as ‘Ashta Lakshmi’ (eight forms of the goddess of wealth) of India. Induction of five ministers from the region in the Union cabinet is evident of the Prime Minister’s commitment and sincerity towards the region.

The Union minister added that several projects along the river Brahmaputra are in the pipeline which will be announced later. He exuded confidence that business prospects in the northeast region will improve with the development of waterways.

INTERNATIONAL

World Water Week – 23rd to 27th August

The World Water Week is regarded as an annual event organized via Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) because 1991 to tackle the international water troubles and associated concerns of global development. The World Water Week 2021 has been organised from 23-27 August, in entirely digital format. The theme: Building Resilience Faster.

NATIONAL

Launch of DISC 5.0 – Defence Ministry

Rajnath Singh (Defence Minister) launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 beneath (iDEX-DIO) – Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation initiative, on 19th August 2021, in New Delhi.

Highlights:

The Defence Ministry has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for home procurement via the iDEX initiative for the monetary year 2021-2022. The Defence Production Department, Ministry of Defence has accepted budgetary support of Rs. 498.80 crore for iDEX for the subsequent five years from 2021-22 till 2025-26.

Defence India Startup Challenge is a platform wherein the Government, Services, think tanks, industry, startups and innovators can work collectively to help the defence & aerospace sectors attain full workability with the aid of developing a strong, cutting-edge & well-equipped military and equally capable & self-reliant defence industry.

National Monetisation Pipeline by Finance Ministry

Minister for Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the asset monetisation pipeline of Central ministries and public zone entities: ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’. Asset Monetisation, potentially a constrained period license/ lease of an asset, owned by the government or public authority, to a private region entity for upfront or periodic consideration.

Highlights:

The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) lists out belongings and asset classes, under various infrastructure ministries, which will be monetised over a length of time. Which capacity belongings will be monetised.

This pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in session with infrastructure line ministries, based totally on the mandate for ‘Asset Monetisation’ underneath Union Budget 2021-22.

NMP estimates combination monetisation possible of Rs 6.0 lakh crores thru core assets of the Union Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.

Lord Shiva to the Shankaracharya Temple

As per the age-old culture related to the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, the holy mace (Chhari Mubarak) of Lord Shiva used to be introduced to the ancient Shankaracharya Temple.

Highlights:

It is additionally recognised as the Jyoteshwar temple or Pas-Pahar via Buddhists. Persians and Jews name it Bagh-i-sulaiman or the Garden of King Solomon. Persian inscriptions are also determined inside the temple.

It is on the pinnacle of the Shankaracharya Hill (also referred to as Hill of Solomon) on the Zabarwan Mountain in Srinagar, Kashmir.

The temple is regarded as the oldest temple of the valley of Kashmir.

It is dedicated to Lord Shiva The temple is at a peak of 1,000 feet above the undead and overlooks the town of Srinagar.

The temple dates to 200 BC, though the present structure probably dates to the ninth century AD.

It was once visited through Adi Shankara and has been due to the fact that it has been associated with him; this is how the temple got the title Shankaracharya.

474 elephants electrocuted in last 6 yrs: Govt

An RTI reply from the ministry of environment and forests to activist K Govindan Namboothiry stated that 474 elephants were electrocuted in the country from 2014 to 2020.

Maximum deaths were reported in 2018 at 81, while the average was 70 every year until then. As many as 65 elephants died till December 2020 -13 in Assam and 10 in West Bengal. The maximum number of deaths in these six years was reported in Assam (90), followed by Odisha (73), Tamil Nadu (68) and Karnataka (65). Kerala reported 24 elephant deaths during this period.

APSC Notes brings Prelims and Mains programs for APSC Prelims and APSC Mains Exam preparation. Various Programs initiated by APSC Notes are as follows:-

For any doubt, Just leave us a Chat or Fill us a querry