BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY

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Dated 10.08.2020

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UPSC-IAS|IPS|IFS (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS)

IN NEWS PM Modi launched a new Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under the Agriculture

Infrastructure Fund of Rs. 1 Lakh Crore.

EXAM POINT OF VIEW - GS II & GS III (Mains) – Government schemes and initiatives

What are the present facts?

The first sanction of over Rs. 1000 Crore was made to over 2,280 farmer societies. The scheme will support farmers, Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS), Farmer

Producer Organisation (FPOs), Agri-entrepreneurs, etc. to build community farming assets and post-harvest agriculture infrastructure.

It will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce. They will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing

and value addition.

What about Agriculture Infrastructure Fund:

The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium – long term debt financing facility.

It is a facility for investment for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee.

The duration of the scheme shall be from FY2020 to FY2029 (10 years). Under the scheme, Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans. The loans will have an interest subvention of 3% per annum and credit guarantee coverage under

the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for loans up to Rs. 2 Crore.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

Who are the beneficiaries?

Farmers, Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs), SHGs, Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public-Private Partnership Projects.

Its Aim:

To provide medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets. o The funds will be provided for setting up of cold stores and chains, warehousing, silos, assaying,

grading and packaging units, e-marketing points linked to e-trading platforms and ripening chambers, besides PPP projects for crop aggregation sponsored by central/state/local bodies.

It’s Management The fund will be managed and monitored through an online Management Information System (MIS) platform. It will enable all the qualified entities to apply for loan under the Fund. o The National, State and District level monitoring committees will be set up to ensure real-time

monitoring and effective feed-back.

Further, Let us discuss about PM-KISAN:

The scheme was launched in December 2018 to provide income support by way of a cash benefit to

all landholding farmers (subject to certain exclusion criteria). The cash incentive was aimed to enable them to fulfil their agricultural requirements and support

their families. Under the scheme, the financial benefit of Rs.6000/- per year is provided to eligible beneficiary

farmers in three equal instalments. The amount is directly transferred into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries through direct benefit

transfer (DBT) mode. As of July 2019, ₹17,000 crore released to about 8.5 crore farmers under PM-KISAN plan.

Further, Let us discuss about Atma Nirbhar Bharat

'Atmanirbhar Bharat' is the vision of the pride Prime Minister of India "Narendra Modi" of making India a self-reliant nation. The first mention of this came in the form of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharata Abhiyan' or 'Self-Reliant India Mission' during the announcement of the coronavirus (covid 19) pandemic related economic package.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

TODAY IMPORTNANT CURRENT AFFAIRS

TNPSC|SSC|RRB|BANKING

World Biofuel day is observed on 10 August. The day aims to highlight the

importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. It is

observed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas since 2015.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), India has launched National Portal on

human-elephant conflict called "Surakhsya".

Conrad Kongkal Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya informed the cabinet’s

approval for the passage of the “Policy on Reservation of seats for Women

in Village Employment Councils(VECs)”, the policy of reserving 50% seats

for women in the village level community institutions. This policy ensures

the empowerment of Women by establishing a forum for women to exercise

their leadership and freedom. Capital– Shillong.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the submarine cable connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands

(CANI) through video conferencing. The submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), which was dedicated to the

nation, will connect Andaman & Nicobar Islands to the mainland. The project was laid by the PM on 30th

December 2018 at Port Blair.

CANI will provide connectivity from Chennai to Port Blair,

Port Blair to Little Andaman and Port Blair to Swaraj Island.

It will provide better and cheap connectivity to the people of

Andaman & Nicobar Islands, which is the responsibility of

the country.

Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur has become the first municipal corporation in the country to provide forest land

rights certificates to people of an urban area. Jagdalpur is one of the few municipal corporations,

jurisdiction areas of which includes forestlands.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

TODAY’S IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS

TNPSC Group I, II, IIA, IV & VAO

MODEL QUESTION FOR TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

1. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated submarine Optical Fibre Cable on August 10, 2020. Under

the project, a 2,300 km long cable will connect which union territory with Chennai?

a)Puducherry b)Lakshadweep

c)Andaman and Nicobar Islands d)Dadra and Nagar Haveli

2. Jagdalpur has become India’s first municipal corporation to provide forestland right

certificates to people of urban area. It is located in which state?

a)Jharkhand b)Odisha c)Chhattisgarh d)Bihar