Parliament Session(information given by Ministers)
Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission Under VCF-SC

Relevance in - Prelims ( about Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) + Mains ( GS II Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India in order to boost entrepreneurship and innovation among the SC students/SC Divyang youth has launched Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) on 30^th September 2020.
• The companies/entrepreneurs owned by Scheduled Castes enrolled /registered with Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) are eligible to get maximum capital of Rs.30 lakhs over a period of 3 years i.e. Rs.10 lakhs every year.
• Financial support of up to Rs.10 lakhs per year for a period of 3 years aggregating to Rs.30 Lakhs shall be provided to eligible applicants as equity funding.

Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM)

• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
• Ministry of Social Justice had launched the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC) in 2014-15 with a view to developing entrepreneurship amongst the SC/Divyang youth and to enable them to become 'job-givers'.
• The Objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs.

Objectives

• To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs;
• To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology;
• To support, promote, hand-hold the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support; and
• To incentivise students with innovative mind-set to take to entrepreneurship with confidence.

Benefits

• Under the "Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission (ASIIM)" initiative, 1,000 SC youth would be identified in the next 4 years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in various higher educational institutions.
• They will be funded @ Rs. 30 lakhs in 3 years as equity funding so that they can translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures.
• Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs.

Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC)

• A first of its kind Venture Capital Fund launched by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India to promote entrepreneurship in India among the Scheduled Castes by providing concessional finance to them.
• The Finance Minister in his Budget Speech for FY 2014-15, in February 2014, announced the setting up of a Venture Capital Fund under the head Social Sector Initiatives
• IFCI will set up a Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes.
• An initial capital of Rs. 200 Crore, which can be supplemented every year

Industrial Finance Corporation of India

• IFCI, previously Industrial Finance Corporation of India, is a Non-Banking Finance Company in the public sector.
• Established in 1948 as a statutory corporation, IFCI is currently a company listed on BSE and NSE. IFCI has seven subsidiaries and one associate.
• It provides financial support for the diversified growth of Industries across the spectrum.
• The Govt. of India has placed a Venture Capital Fund of Rs. 200 crore for Scheduled Castes (SC) with IFCI with an aim to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Castes (SC) and to provide concessional finance.
• IFCI has also committed a contribution of Rs.50 crore as lead investor and Sponsor of the Fund.
• IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd., a subsidiary of IFCI Ltd., is the Investment Manager of the Fund.
• The Fund was operationalized during FY 2014-15 and IVCF is continuously making efforts for meeting the stated objective of the scheme.
• Further, the Government of India designated IFCI as a nodal agency for the "Scheme of Credit Enhancement Guarantee for Scheduled Caste (SC) Entrepreneurs" in March, 2015, with the objective of encouraging entrepreneurship in the lower strata of society.
• Under the scheme, IFCI would provide guarantees to banks against loans to young and start-up entrepreneurs belonging to scheduled castes.

Defence
TROPEX 21

Relevance in - Prelims (about Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX 21)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Navy's largest war game - the biennial Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX 21) - which commenced in early January, is currently underway with participation of all operational units of Indian Navy including ships, submarines, aircraft as well as units of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.

Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX 21)

• The exercise is being conducted over a vast geographical expanse in the Indian Ocean Region including its adjunct waters and is aimed at testing combat readiness of the Navy in a complex multi-dimensional scenario set in the context of the current geo strategic environment.
• The Theatre Level exercise also aims to validate Navy's offensive-defence capabilities, safeguard national interests in the maritime domain and promote stability and peace in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Conduct of TROPEX is being overseen by Naval Headquarters with participation from all three Commands of the Indian Navy and the Tri-Services Command at Port Blair.
• TROPEX is being progressed over distinct phases that also test the Navy's transition from peacetime to hostilities.
• In the first phase, the Indian Navy had conducted coastal defence exercise ‘Sea Vigil'along the entire coastline and Island territories of India on 12-13January 2021.
• This exercise aimed to validate the coastal defence setup of the country, which was entirely revamped after the 26/11 Terror attacks at Mumbai.
• The exercise witnessed large-scale participation from Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Police of 13 coastal States and Union Territories along with other stakeholders in the maritime domain.
• Valuable lessons emerging from the exercise are being incorporated in the existing procedures to further fine-tune the coastal defence architecture of the country.
• Exercise Sea Vigil was followed by a large-scale Tri-Service joint amphibious exercise AMPHEX-21, which was conducted in the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands from 21-25 January.
• The amphibious exercise was aimed at validating India's capabilities to safeguard the territorial integrity of its Island territories and enhance operational synergy and joint warfighting capabilities amongst the three Services.

Science & Technology
40^th INCA International Congress started in Kolkata

Relevance in - Prelims (about National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO) + about INCA
What's the NEWS

• National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), under Ministry of Science & Technology, is organising 3 days 40^th INCA International Congress from 10^th February, 2021 in Kolkata.

• Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA), the only professional body of the cartographers and geo-spatial technologists, was founded on 7^th August, 1979 at Hyderabad. It has become one of the biggest organizations of its kind in the world.

• The focal theme of 40th INCA International Congress is ‘Digital Mapping Innovations in Make India Initiatives'.
• About 500 experts from all over the country as well as from abroad are participating in this Congress to deliver their research-oriented findings on the focal theme.

National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization

• It is a specialized institution of its kind in the world. This organization was assigned with responsibility in the field of thematic cartography and geographical research at national level.
• It has grown in size, activities, popularity and prestige since its inception and has established itself by making A subordinate office under Department of Science & Technology, it is the sole authority for depicting National framework data in the form of thematic maps and atlases to cater the actual picture of the development and planning initiatives of the country among the users.
• With the help of Digital mapping innovations like ‘Drone', ‘Artificial Intelligence' now large-scale maps are able to provide more accuracy (up to 10 cm) which means that two pixel in the map will represent five cm on the ground. Such maps will help the administrators and planners for ground utility projects.

INCA (Indian National Cartographers Association)

• The INCA (Indian National Cartographers Association) established in 1979 by the Department of Geography, Osmania University, and the Survey of India
• The INCA is devoted to the cause of cartography as a graphic mode of communication.
• The aim of the association is to foster cartographic research in the country, co-operate with professional organizations of cognate disciplines and to promote academic interaction within an inter-disciplinary frame, and improve the teaching of cartography at all.
• The Association publishes its in-house journal named "Indian Cartographer" which is a compilation of technical papers presented at the annual conference.
• INCA is devoted to the cause of cartography as a graphic mode of communication. It has in its fold many eminent scholars, professionals and industrialists as Honorary Fellows, Life Fellows, Life Members, Members, Associate Members and Student Members.

Cartography

• Cartography or Science of map making is as old as human civilization and it has been playing important role in the activities of mankind from the very beginning of the civilization.
• Cartography, like architecture, is the art, science and technology of map production and reproduction.
• It is one of the media of communication in the nature of graphicacy.
• It is a representation of any segment of spatial reality with a view to communicate and message most effectively.

Science & Technology
Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)


Relevance in - Prelims ( about TIFAC)
What's the NEWS

• Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organisation of Department of Science & Technology, today celebrated its 34th Foundation Day
• The theme of the Foundation day was: "Technology, Innovation and Economy for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat".
• TIFAC is an autonomous organization set up in 1988 under the Department of Science & Technology to look ahead in technologies, assess the technology trajectories, and support technology innovation by network actions in select technology areas of national importance.

Objectives:

• Undertake techno-market, technology assessment /forecasting studies in key sectors of national economy
• Technology watch on global trends and formulation of preferred options for India
• Establish a nationally accessible technology information system, and - Promotion of key technologies.

New initiatives of TIFAC
SAKSHAM (Shramik Shakti Manch)

• A dynamic job portal for mapping the skills of Shramiks vis-à-vis requirements of MSMEs to directly connect Shramiks with MSMEs and facilitate placement of 10 lakh blue-collar jobs and a Seaweed Mission for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing for value addition towards boosting national economy were launched on the occasion.
• The SAKSHAM job portal will help eliminate middlemen/ labour contractor as well as help identification of skill proficiency level and development of Skill Cards for Shramiks.
• Two reports prepared by TIFAC -- ‘Techno-economic feasibility on Indian bamboo as Wood Substitute' and ‘Opportunities for Fruit and Vegetable Processing in North Eastern region of India.

Seaweed Mission

• By an estimate, if sea weed cultivation is done in ≈10 million hectares or 5% of the EEZ area of India, it can provide employment to ~ 50 million people; set up new seaweed industry; contribute to national GDP; ocean productivity; abate algal blooms, sequester millions of tons CO₂; create a healthier ocean; produce bio-ethanol approx. 6.6 billion litres.
• TIFAC will demonstrate a model along with other inline ministries for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing for value addition towards boosting national economy.

SAKSHAM

• TIFAC has developed SAKSHAM, a dynamic job portal for mapping the skills of Shramiks vis-à-vis requirements of MSMEs across the country.
• This initiative will facilitate placement of 10 lakh blue-collar jobs (pan-India), directly connect Shramiks with MSMEs eliminating middlemen/ labour contractor, identification of skill proficiency level and development of Skill Cards for Shramiks.
• This portal will reduce the hardship of Shramiks in finding jobs in nearby MSMEs.

Social Justice
National Commission for Migrant Labour

Relevance in - Prelims (about National Action Plan for Migrant Workers) + Mains (GS II Social Justice - initiatives taken by the government)
What's the NEWS

• NITI Aayog has constituted a sub-group to prepare a National Action Plan for Migrant Workers.

National Action Plan for Migrant Workers.

• The sub-group comprises the members from various Ministries of Govt. of India, subject experts, NGOs and civil society organisations, to prepare a tangible action plan to address issues related to migrant workers.
• In order to safeguard the interest of the migrant workers, the Central Government had enacted the Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
• This Act has now been subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the Code has been notified on 29.09.2020.
• The above mentioned code, commonly known as OSH Code, provides for decent working conditions, minimum wages, grievances redressal mechanisms, protection from abuse and exploitation, enhancement of the skills and social security to all category of organised and unorganised workers including Migrant workers.
• The relevant provisions of the Code are applicable to every establishment in which 10 or more inter-state migrant workers are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding 12 months.

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