Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SKOCH Governance gold awards) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• Deendayan Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), a flagship mission under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has been conferred the prestigious SKOCH Governance Gold Award for its Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access (PAiSA).
  

Know! about PAiSA

• Launched in November 2018, PAiSA is a centralized IT platform which simplifies and streamlines release of interest subvention under the Mission.
• It offers end to end online solution for processing, payment, monitoring and tracking of interest subvention claims from banks on a monthly basis.
• Claims for subvention are uploaded by banks through their CBS (Core Banking Solution) in respect of the beneficiaries of the Self Employment Programme, which are verified and approved by the ULB and State concerned.
• The approved claim amount gets credited directly to the beneficiary's loan account through DBT mode.
• As of now, 28 States/UTs and 74 Banks including 21 Public Sector, 18 Private and 35 Regional Rural Banks have been on boarded on the portal. Till now approximately 1.50 lakh beneficiaries have been paid Rs. 27 Cr (approx.) as interest subvention through PAiSA.

Know! about SKOCH Awards

• Skoch Group is a think tank dealing with socio-economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997.
• The group companies include a consulting wing, a media wing and a charitable foundation. Skoch Group is able to bring an Indian felt-needs context to strategies and engages with fortune-500 companies, state owned enterprises, government to SMEs and community-based organisations with equal ease.
• The repertoire of services include field interventions, consultancy, research reports, impact assesments, policy briefs, books, journals, workshops and conferences. Skoch Group has instituted India's highest independent civilian honours in the field of governance, finance, technology, economics and social sector.
• SKOCH Award, instituted in 2003, is the highest civilian honour in the country conferred by an independent organisation. It recognises people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation.
• SKOCH Award comes with a backing of reputation of more than two decades. It is distinctive for its approach of selection of awardees, which is based on nomination, jury evaluation, presentation of shortlisted nominees, focus group discussions, interactions and peer evaluation.
• The SKOCH Award not only acknowledges exceptional achievers - organisations and individuals - but also spurs institutional guidance and best practices in the industry.

Government Schemes
PM launches the Fit India Movement
Relevance IN - Prelims (about FIT India movement) + Mains (GS II government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the Fit India Movement at a ceremony in New Delhi today on the occasion of National Sports Day. The Prime Minister urged the people of the country to make fitness their life style.

Know! more about it

• The people's movement has been launched on the birth anniversary of Major Dhyanchand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Major Dhyanchand, India's sports icon who enthralled the world with his game and techniques.
• The Prime Minister said that ‘Fit India Movement' should become a national goal and its aspiration. In an effort to inspire the nation, the Prime Minister said that Fit India Movement may have been started by the government but it is the people who have to lead it and make it a success.
• Success is related to fitness, success stories of all of our icons from any field of life have a common thread- most of them are fit, have a focus on fitness and are fond of fitness
• Technology has reduced our physical ability and has robbed us of our daily fitness routines and today we are unaware of our traditional practises and lifestyle which could keep us fit. With time, fitness has been relegated a lower priority in our society. Earlier a person used to walk or cycle for kilometers, today mobile apps have to tell us how many steps we walked.
• Today lifestyle diseases are on a rise in India affecting even the young. Cases of diabetes and hypertension is on the rise and even common among children in India. But small lifestyle changes can prevent these lifestyle diseases. ‘Fit India Movement' is an effort to bring these small lifestyle changes
• Sports has a direct relation to fitness but ‘Fit India Movement' aims to go beyond fitness. Fitness is not just a word but an essential pillar to a healthy and prosperous life. When we prepare our bodies for battle, we make the country strong as iron.
• Fitness is part of our historic legacy. Games and sports are played in every nook and corner of India. While working on the body they also train the mind, increasing focus and coordination of body parts. A healthy Individual, a healthy family and a healthy society are the essentials to make New India a Fit India.
  
  
  

National Sports Day 2019

• India celebrates the Day today, 29 August, to mark the birth anniversary of the legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand, who was born on August 29, 1905.
• The National Sports Day is also known as the Rashtriya Khel Divas. On this Day, President Ram Nath Kovind confers the National Sports Awards, National Adventure Awards, Arjuna Award, Khel Ratna, Dronacharya Award and Dhyanchand Award to recognise the exceptional achievements of Indian sportspersons.
• This year's list of National Sports Award winners includes prominent names like Ravindra Jadeja, Deepa Malik, Bajrang Punia and many others.

Know! about Dhyan Chand

• The Day remembers the national sports personality Dhyan Chand who was one of the greatest field hockey players of all time.
• Famously known as "The Wizard", he displayed superb ball control and extraordinary goal-scoring feats.
• He won three Olympic gold medals in Hockey field in the years 1928, 1932, and 1936. In his Sports career spanning over 22 years, he scored over 400 goals. He was conferred with the third-highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan in 1956. He was born in Allahabad on August 29, 1905.
• The Union Government proclaimed 29 August as the country's National Sports Day in 2012 to commemorate Major Dhyan Chand and his achievements in the field of sports.

Schemes launched by the Government to promote sports in India

• The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports plays a major role in promoting sports in India.
• The Sports Authority of India (SAI) that works under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is responsible for the promotion of Sports and Games in the country.
• The Government has launched several schemes and initiatives in the field of sports and games.

Khelo India Scheme

• The Khelo India Scheme was launched in 2016 after the merger of three schemes - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS).
• The scheme aims to boost mass participation of youth in annual sports games and competitions. Khelo India (National Programme for Development of Sports Scheme) aims to achieve the twin objectives of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports.
• The scheme strives to promote "Sports for All" as well as "Sports for Excellence".
• The scheme was revamped in the year 2017 with an aim to mainstream sports as a tool for individual and community development, economic development and national development.

Sports Talent Search Portal

• The Sports Talent Search Portal to spot the best talent among the youth of India. The portal allows young people to upload their achievements. Applicants who get shortlisted are then called for trials and the qualified candidates then get to take part in the schemes of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Target Olympic Podium Scheme

• The Sports Ministry launched the ‘Target Olympic Podium (TOP)' Scheme in May 2015 under the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) to support the potential medal prospects for Olympic Games of 2016 and 2020. The main focus is given to Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Archery, Wrestling and Shooting sports.

Empowered Steering Committee on Sports

• The Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) was constituted in January 2017 on the recommendations of the Olympic Task Force.
• The Committee is responsible for preparing a comprehensive action plan for effective participation of Indian players in the Olympic Games of 2020 (Tokyo), 2024 (Paris) and 2028 (Los Angeles).

Prelims Factoids
Rare tarantula sighted in Villupuram district

The known habitat of Peacock Parachute Spider is in degraded forests near Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh
Relevance IN - Prelims (Peacock Parachute Spider)
What's the NEWS

• In an interesting find, researchers have sighted a critically endangered species of tarantula for the first time beyond its known habitat in the Eastern Ghats.

Know! more about it

• The spider belonging to the genus Poecilotheria, commonly known as the Peacock Parachute Spider or Gooty Tarantula was spotted by a team of researchers of the Puducherry-based Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) in the Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee in Villupuram district.
• The team of wildlife researchers was involved in field work in the reserve forests recently when they sighted a Gooty Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica) resting in a cave.
• The species was later cross-matched with photographic evidence published by the Zoo Outreach Organisation and Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society.
• The species, known to be endemic to India, was found at different locations in the reserve forests. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorised it as Critically Endangered.
• The spider was sighted way back in 1899 by Reginald Innes Pocock on the basis of a single female specimen in Gooty. About 102 years later this species has been recorded at degraded forest between Nandyal and Giddalur in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh.
  
  

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