August 2021

Bodoland Territorial Region Context: A tripartite agreement was struck by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Assam government, and the Bodo groups to redraw, rename, and amend the power-sharing agreement in the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) in Assam. People who have been displaced in...

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Context: The government has asked banks to expand account holders' access to micro-credit and micro-investment options, such as flexi-recurring plans, under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme. PMJDY - The National Mission for Financial Inclusion has been successfully implemented for seven...

Sugarcane: Rise in fair price Context:  The minimum price that sugar mills must pay to cane growers has been increased by $5 per quintal for the 2021-22 sugar season, bringing the fair and remunerative price (FRP) to 290 per quintal. Sugarcane: The Pricing policy The Central Government sets...

Open Network for Digital Platform Context: To "democratise e-commerce" and "offer alternatives to corporate e-commerce sites," the Union government is aiming to establish an Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).  The plan is considered as a step toward reducing the dominance of platforms like Amazon and...

Reuse of waste water at a cheaper cost The Idea: A new technology may soon improve the cost-effective and long-term reuse of waste water. As a technological solution in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, UV-Photocatalysis can treat municipal sewage and highly polluting industrial wastewater streams and improve...

Ubharte Sitaare Fund: Context: The Finance Minister has announced an Alternative Investment Fund of Rs 250 crore for export-oriented micro, small, and medium firms (MSMEs). About: Ubharte Sitaare Fund Ubharte sitaare funds, are a sort of alternative investment fund. Objectives of Fund: To identify Indian businesses that have significant competitive advantages...

National Monetization Pipeline   Context:   The National Monetization Pipeline for brownfield infrastructure assets has been launched by the Union Finance Minister. About: Asset Monetization:   Asset Monetization is the process of unlocking the value of previously under utilized or unutilized public assets in order to generate new revenue streams. Public assets...

Forum for Decarbonizing Transport Context: In India, the ITI Aayog and the World Resources Institute India have collaborated to launch the ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport.' The aim of the project: The project intends to reduce Asia's peak level of GHG emissions (in line with a well below 2-degree route),...