1) 2nd Agri UDAAN Program Launched in New Delhi
•In an attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, Government launched the 2nd AGRI-UDAAN program in New Delhi. It will mentor start-ups and help them connect with potential investors. The program focuses on catalyzing scale-up stage food and agribusiness start-ups through rigorous mentoring, industry networking and investor pitching.
•This 6-month program is a unique platform for scale up stage innovators, entrepreneurs and startups in the Food and Agribusiness sectors. Top 40 startups will be shortlisted and allowed to pitch in front of the panel of evaluators during cohort finalization program.
2) Lok Sabha Passes Bill to Raise NABARD’s Capital to Rs30,000 crore
•A bill to enable exit of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from Nabard and increase authorized capital of the development institution six times to Rs 30,000 crore was passed by the Lok Sabha.
Important Points About the Bill-
1.Increase in capital of NABARD: At present the authorized capital of Nabard is Rs 5,000 crore and there is a proposal to increase it to Rs 30,000 crore.
2.Transfer of the RBI’s share to the Union Government: At present in Nabard, the Centre has a share of 99.6% and the RBI has the remaining share.
3.The Bill substitutes references to provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 under the NABARD Act, 1981, with references to the Companies Act, 2013.
4.The Bill replaces the terms ‘small-scale industry’ and ‘industry in the tiny and decentralized sector’ with the terms ‘micro enterprise’, ‘small enterprise’ and ‘medium enterprise’ as defined in the MSME Development Act, 2006.
3) Aadi Perukku Festival Celebrated in Tamilnadu
•Aadi Perukku is celebrated for the birth of the Tamil month of Aadi. This is the beginning of all the festivals during the festival seasons. The Aadiperukku festival was celebrated with religious fervour in the towns of Mettur, Poolampatti etc situated on the banks of River Cauvery.
•During the month of Thai and Aadi the sun changes directions so it is celebrated Aadi Perukku festival celebrated in Tamilnadu in that way. The 18th day of Aadi is observed as ‘Aadiperukku’, a day of offerings and prayers to the water bodies like rivers and lakes.
4) First Meeting of Japan-India Coordination Forum held in New Delhi
•The first meeting of the Japan-India Coordination Forum (JICF) for Development of North-Eastern Region was held in New Delhi.
•Secretary, Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Shri Naveen Verma led the Indian side while the Japanese delegation was led by the Japanese Ambassador to India, Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu.
•Priority areas of cooperation identified by Indian side including Connectivity and Road Network Development, especially inter-State roads & major district roads; Disaster Management; Food Processing; Organic Farming and Tourism were discussed in the meeting.
5) IRCTC Launches Book Now, Pay Later Scheme For Tatkal Tickets
•Customers can book their Tatkal railway ticket and choose to pay later under the new scheme announced by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC).
•Till now, this service was available only for general reservations. Now, the users can use 'pay on delivery' option to save payment time, increasing their chances of booking a confirmed ticket under the Tatkal quota.
6) Govt inks MoA to set up IRRI’s regional centre in Varanasi
•The Agriculture Ministry signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) for setting up a regional centre of the global rice research institute IRRI in Varanasi to develop high- yielding rice varieties.
•The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has offices in 17 countries, is known for its work in developing rice varieties that contributed to the green revolution in 1960s. IRRI's South Asia Regional Centre will be set up at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi. The MoA was signed between Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Patnaik and IRRI Director General Matthew Morell.
