Health
World Immunisation and Logistics Summit

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about World Immunisation and Logistics Summit)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare digitally participated in a panel discussion on vaccine production and distribution across Asia at the "World Immunisation and Logistics Summit"

Know! more about the Virtual Summit

• The virtual conference brought together over 1,000 attendees from around the region and the world in active discussion around tackling key issues facing global supply chains as the world faces the largest and most complex logistical operation in history in an effort to deliver life-saving vaccines worldwide.
• The HOPE Consortium's World Immunisation & Logistics Summit opened on March 30, 2021 by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with a call to enhance collaboration in the world's approach to tackle COVID-19 and ensure a healthier future for all.
• The two-day virtual Summit, hosted in by Abu Dhabi, kicked off under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, with the participation of acclaimed global healthcare and philanthropic leaders, decision-makers, experts and senior government officials, to explore a unified global approach to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Over 4,000 senior decision makers, government officials, industry stakeholders, NGOs, and leading academics registered to attend the Summit.
• It provided an open forum for global players to discuss the logistical challenges associated with vaccine transport and distribution with the aim of finding solutions to achieve mass and equitable worldwide vaccine access.
• The HOPE Consortium is a public-private partnership that has developed into a leading international effort, broadening its global transport and delivery capabilities by attracting new partners including Agility, Aramex, Bolloré Logistics, CEVA Logistics, DB Schenker, DH and FedEx Express

International
The Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference) + Mains ( GS II India and its neighbourhood policies)
What's the NEWS

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar speaks at the 9^th Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and emphasised the need for a "stable" Afghanistan for progress in the region.

9^th Ministerial Conference (highlights)

• For a durable peace in Afghanistan, what we need is a genuine ‘double peace', that is, peace within Afghanistan and peace around Afghanistan.
• India has been supportive of all the efforts being made to accelerate the dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban, including intra-Afghan negotiations.

Know! about Heart of Asia conference in Tajikistan.

• The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process is a regional initiative of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey, which was launched on 2 November 2011 in Istanbul, with the motto "Ä°STANBUL PROCESS ON REGIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION FOR A SECURE AND STABLE AFGHANISTAN".
• The process aims to promote regional security, economic and political cooperation centered on Afghanistan through dialogue and confidence building measures (CBMs).
• The conference was inaugurated by the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey with the foreign ministers of the participating countries, delegations of supporting countries and regional/international organizations in attendance.
• Since its inception in 2011 the HOA - IP has held 7 ministerial conferences hosted by different countries of the Heart of Asia region.
• India's external affairs Minister attended the meet along with foreign ministers of 15 countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Central Asian states.

Prelims Factoids
New sub-species of six-line blue butterfly discovered from south Western Ghats

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the new sub-species of six-line blue butterfly- location and specification)
What's the NEWS

• A new sub-species of the six line blue butterfly named Nacaduba sinhala ramaswamii has been discovered from the south Western Ghats and it adds to the butterfly fauna of India as well as that of the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• Four researchers from Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) described the species.
• It was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa in March, 2021.

Know! about the new butterfly species

• The new butterfly species is named after Lord Rama, signifying the connection across the sea to Sri Lanka.
• It is also a coincidence that the one of the authors whose efforts led to the discovery is named Ramasamy, an avid butterfly watcher from Tamil Nadu, whose joint efforts resulted in description of the new taxa.
• This Lycaenid butterfly belongs to Nacaduba genus and its common name is Ramaswami's Six Lineblue and Ceylon Varayanneeli in its vernacular.
• It took so long to differentiate it from other species of Nacaduba that occur here due to the complexity of this small group
• This was the first time a new species was discovered by an all-Indian research team from the Western Ghats.
• This is the first confirmed record of this taxa occurring in the Western Ghats and thus the Indian mainland
• The distribution of line blues butterflies range from India and Sri Lanka, to the whole of southeastern Asia, Australia and Samoa.
• They have hairy eyes, anastomosis of veins 11 and 12 on forewings, male wings with purple gloss on the upper side, and upper side of the both sexes with dull whitish striae.

Science and Technology
Pune's GMRT only third Indian facility to be awarded IEEE milestone

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about GMRT and about IEEE) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• The city-based Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) was bestowed with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) milestone recognition.
• GMRT users covering over 40 countries and it was designed and built entirely in India
• The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)-National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) operates the GMRT, an array of 30 antennas installed in Khodad village of Junnar taluka in Pune.

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)

• The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), one of the world's largest and low-frequency radio observatories, has been selected as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Milestone facility. The facility is only the third IEEE Milestone recognition for an Indian contribution.
• The previous two Indian contributions, recognised by the world's largest technical professional organisation recognised in 2012, are for the pioneering work done by Sir JC Bose to demonstrate the generation and reception of radio waves in 1895, and for the Nobel Prize winning discovery of the scattering of light named "Raman effect" by Sir CV Raman in 1928.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

• The IEEE is the world's largest technical body publishing research in engineering and computing in addition to awarding standards to institutions and organsiations involved in these fields.
• IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology in all areas related to electrical and electronics engineering.
• The IEEE Milestones programme honours significant technical achievements and excellence for the benefit of humanity found in unique products, services, seminal papers and patents, which have global or regional impact, in all areas associated with IEEE.

GMRT

• Operational since 2000, this indigenously built facility is used by India and scientists from over 40 countries.
• It recently underwent an upgrade and has improved in sensitivity and offers a wider frequency for carrying out celestial observations.
• GMRT marks the continuation of this magnificent practice as one of the most sensitive radio observatories in the world, which is used by astronomers all over the globe."

Economy
Govt. extends emergency credit line guarantee scheme till June
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about crore emergency credit line guarantee scheme) + Mains ( GS III Economic development + financial inclusion)
What's the NEWS

• The government extended the Rs.3-lakh-crore emergency credit line guarantee scheme by another three months till June 30 and also widened its scope to new sectors, including hospitality, travel and tourism.

Know! about ECLGS 3.0

• ECLGS 3.0 would involve extending credit of up to 40% of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions as on February 29, 2020
• The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 would be 6 years ,including a moratorium period of 2 years.
• The government has now extended the scope of ECLGS through introduction of ECLGS 3.0 to cover business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors which had, as on February 29, 2020, total credit outstanding not exceeding ₹500 crore and overdues, if any, were for 60 days or less, on that date
• The validity of ECLGS -- ECLGS 1.0, ECLGS 2.0 and ECLGS 3.0 -- have been extended up to June 30, 2021 or till guarantees for an amount of ₹3 lakh crore are issued,
• The last date for disbursement under the scheme has been extended to September 30.
• The scheme was valid till October 2020 and it was extended to November end.
• The scheme was again extended in November as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package till March 31, 2021 by including the 26 stressed sectors identified by the RBI-constituted K.V. Kamath committee.
• The modifications introduced in the scheme while providing an incentive to member lending institutions to enable availability of additional funding facility to the eligible beneficiaries will go a long way in contributing to economic revival, protecting jobs, and creating conducive environment for employment generation
• The revised operational guidelines would be issued by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC).

Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL)

• The GECL is a loan for which 100% guarantee would be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), and which will be extended in the form of additional working capital term loan facility in case of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) and Financial Institutions (FIs), and additional term loan facility in case of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), to eligible MSMEs/ Business Enterprises and interested Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) borrowers.
• Credit under GECL would be up to 20% of the borrower's total outstanding credit up to Rs. 25 crore, excluding off-balance sheet and non-fund based exposures , as on 29th February, 2020, i.e., additional credit shall be up to Rs. 5 crore.
• The Scheme is a specific response to the unprecedented situation COVID-19.
• It seeks to provide much needed relief to the MSME sector by incentivizing MLIs to provide additional credit of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore at low cost, thereby enabling MSMEs to meet their operational liabilities and restart their businesses.
• The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme provides 100% guarantee coverage by NCGTC to MLIs on GECL of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs.
• MSMEs for the purpose of this Scheme will include MSMEs/ Business Enterprises which are constituted as Proprietorships, Partnerships, Registered Companies, Trusts and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), and also interested borrowers under PMMY.
• All SCBs are eligible as MLIs. NBFCs which have been in operation for at least 2 years as on 29.2.2020, and FIs will also be eligible as MLIs under the Scheme.
• The entire funding provided under GECL shall be provided with a 100% credit guarantee coverage by NCGTC under the Scheme.

National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC)

• It is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 on March 28, 2014, established by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
• It is a wholly owned company of the Government of India to act as a common trustee company for multiple credit guarantee funds.
• It was established with a paid-up capital of Rs.10 crore, with its registered office at Mumbai.

Credit guarantee programmes

• Credit guarantee programmes are designed to share the lending risk of the lenders and in turn, facilitate access to finance for the prospective borrowers.
• The intent of NCGTC is therefore, to manage multiple guarantee schemes as part of a larger financial inclusion programme of the government covering different cross-sections and segments of the economy like students, micro entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, SMEs, skill and vocational training needs, etc.

Credit Guarantee Trusts managed by NCGTC
There are five dedicated credit guarantee Trusts under the Management of NCGTC

• Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Educational Loans (CGFEL)
• Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Skill Development (CGFSD)
• Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Factoring (CGFF)
• Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU)
• Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand Up India (CGFSI).
  
  

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