Daily Current Capsules - 01st August 2020
Government Schemes
Gramodyog Vikas Yojana

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Gramodyog Vikas Yojana) + Mains ( GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
What's the NEWS

• Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India, approved a programme for the benefit of artisans involved in manufacturing of Agarbatti and to develop village industry under ‘Gramodyog Vikas Yojana'

• As per the programme, initially four Pilot Projects will be started, including one in North Eastern part of the country.
• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), will provide training, and assist artisans working in this area, with Agarbatti manufacturing machines.
• Under this Mission, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), one of the statutory organizations, working under the M/o MSME,will provide training, and assist artisans working in this area
• The Centre earlier took two major decisions by placing the agarbatti item from "free" trade to ‘restricted' trade in the import policy and enhancing the import duty from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on 'round bamboo sticks' used for manufacturing of agarbatti for the benefit of the domestic industry.

• To continue the existing schemes of MPDA, Khadi Grant, ISEC and Village Industry Grant, all subsumed under 'Khadi and Gramodyog Vikas Yojana'

• To bring in a new component of 'Rozgar Yukt Gaon' to introduce enterprise-based operation in the Khadi sector and to create employment opportunities for thousands of new artisans

• It aims at introducing an 'Enterprise-led Business Model' in place of 'Subsidy-led model' through partnership among 3 stakeholders- KRDP-assisted Khadi Institution, Artisans and Business Partner.
• It will be rolled out in 50 Villages by providing 10,000 Charkhas, 2000 looms & 100 warping units to Khadi artisans, and would create direct employment for 250 Artisans per village.

• Khadi Vikas Yojana and Gramodyog Vikas Yojana
• Khadi Vikas Yojana [Market Promotion & Development Assistance (MPDA), Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC),.Workshed, Strengthening Weak Infra, Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, Khadi Grant
• Gramodyog Vikas Yojanaa [Village Industries Grant].

• MPDA was launched as a unified scheme by merging different schemes implemented by the Khadi sector including publicity, marketing, market promotion, and marketing development assistance.
• Grant/subsidy was also provided for construction of Khadi plazas. The overall objective of the scheme is to ensure increased earnings for artisans.

• It was launched in May 1977 to help Khadi and Poly vastra producing institutions in mobilizing the capital funds from banking institutions.
• Under the Scheme, implementing agencies can avail of bank loan as per the ISEC issued by the KVIC on payment of only 4 percent of interest and difference between the actual interest charged by the bank and 4 percent is borne by KVIC as interest subsidy.

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has received SKOCH Gold Award for its "Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes" project of Scholarship Divison of the Ministry.

• The 66thSKOCH 2020 Competition was entitled "INDIA RESPONDS TO COVID THROUGH DIGITAL GOVERNANCE" and MoTA chose to participate in DIGITAL INDIA & E-GOVERNANCE - 2020 Competition
• To assimilate with the larger vision of ‘Digital India' and to realize the cherished goal of e-governance, MoTA has integrated all 5 Scholarship Schemes with Direct Benefit Transfer Portal under the guidance of DBT Mission.

• 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 covers the best of efforts in the area of digital, financial and social inclusion.
• SKOCH Group is India's leading Think Tank, dealing with socio-economic issues, with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997.
• SKOCH Group has instituted India's highest independent civilian honours in the field of finance, technology, economics and social sector.

Prelims Factoids
Digital platforms to market residential properties launched



Relevance IN - Prelims ( about 'CREDAI Awaas App' and NAREDCO's online portal 'HousingforAll.com' ) + Mains ( GS II e-Governance, transparency and accountability
What's the NEWS

• Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep launched digital platforms of real estate bodies CREDAI and NAREDCO to market residential properties, and also released a guide book for an affordable rental housing scheme for migrants.
• Know! more about the app/portal and ARHC programme
• The minister launched 'CREDAI Awaas App' and NAREDCO's online portal 'HousingforAll.com'
• The Ministry also released the knowledge pack of the government's 'Affordable Rental Housing Complexes' (ARHCs) programme, which has been recently launched to provide rental accommodations to migrant and urban poor.

• The ARHCs scheme, which has been launched under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U) as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, will help in providing dignified and affordable living spaces for urban migrants/ poor in need
• The ARHCs scheme would also help real estate developers in retaining labour force on their sites
• The two new e-commerce platforms by CREDAI and Naredco have the potential to become Amazon of real estate.
• CREDAI Awaas App is a residential project discovery online platform through which buyers will be able to virtually explore and experience the projects from 220 cities across the country.
• The app aims to facilitate transparent home buying in India of RERA approved projects by CREDAI developers.

Know! about CREDAI

• CREDAI is a not-for-profit company registered under Section 25 of Companies Act, 1956, seeks to create a favourable policy climate to ensure housing for all.
• Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) established in 1999 is the apex body of private real estate developers
• CREDAI strives to make the Real Estate industry more organized and progressive by working closely with all stakeholders: government representatives, policy makers, investors, finance companies, consumers, and real estate professionals.
• CREDAI a recognized partner for the government and is represented on several committees working at policy formulations and various committees of the Government

Know! about NAREDCO

• National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) was established as an autonomous self-regulatory body in 1998 under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India.
• NAREDCO, is the apex national body for the real estate industry and it is visualized as a single platform where Government, industry and public would discuss various problems and opportunities face to face which would result in speedy resolution of issues.
• It was formed with the mandate to induce transparency and ethics in real estate business and transform the unorganized Indian real estate sector into a matured and globally competitive business sector.

• NAREDCO works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of real estate industry in India, partnering industry and government alike through advisory and consultative processes.

NASA launches Mars rover Perseverance
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NASA's mission on MARS and about other MARS missions + about rover Perseverance
What's the NEWS

• The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover(Perseverance) ever built blasted off for the red planet to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analysed for evidence of ancient life.

Know! more about the mission

• The plutonium-powered, six-wheeled rover will drill down and collect tiny geological specimens that will be brought home in about 2031 in a sort of interplanetary relay race involving multiple spacecraft and countries.
• In addition to addressing the life-on-Mars question, the mission will yield lessons that could pave the way for the arrival of astronauts as early as the 2030s.
• The U.S., the only country to safely put a spacecraft on Mars, is seeking its ninth successful landing on the planet, which has proved to be the Bermuda Triangle of space exploration, with more than half of the world's missions there burning up, crashing or otherwise ending in failure.
• The opportunity to fly between Earth and Mars comes around only once every 26 months when the planets are on the same side of the sun and about as close as they can get.
• If all goes well, the rover will descend to the Martian surface on February 18, 2021, in what NASA calls seven minutes of terror, in which the craft goes from 12,000 mph (19,300 kph) to a complete stop, with no human intervention whatsoever.

Know! what the rover (Perseverance) will do after landing

• Perseverance will aim for treacherous unexplored territory
• It also will release a mini helicopter that will attempt the first powered flight on another planet
• It includes equipment for extracting oxygen from Mars' thin carbon-dioxide atmosphere.

Other future space mission

• NASA and the European Space Agency are launching a dune buggy in 2026 to fetch the rock samples, along with a rocket ship that will put the specimens into orbit around Mars. Then another spacecraft will capture the orbiting samples and bring them home.
• Two other NASA landers are also operating on Mars - 2018's InSight and 2012's Curiosity rover.
• Six other spacecraft are exploring the planet from orbit: three from the U.S., two from Europe and one from India.
• China is sending both a rover an orbiter.
• The UAE, a newcomer to outer space, has an orbiter en route.

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