10 May 2021: PIB Summary & Analysis

May 10th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
2. Samudra Setu II
3. NITI Aayog Report

1. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

Context:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has provided an enhanced allocation of Rs. 2250 Crore for the year 2021-22 for ‘Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture’ (MIDH).

To know more about the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, click on the link.

2. Samudra Setu II

Context:

Indian Naval Ships Airavat, Kolkata and Trikand reach India with Liquid Medical Oxygen and Critical Medical equipment/supplies from Singapore, Kuwait and Qatar.

About Operation Samudra Setu II:

• Samudra Setu II is the COVID relief operation carried out by the Indian Navy.
• The Navy has deployed nine warships as part of the operation to supplement the oxygen requirement in the country.
• They are sailing in the Persian Gulf, in the Indian Ocean Region carrying back the most critical O₂ supplies for COVID-19 patients.
• For the shipment of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) and related medical equipment from friendly foreign countries in Persian Gulf and South East Asia, ships from all the three naval commands have been deployed.
  • The three naval commands are located in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Kochi.

3. NITI Aayog Report

Context:

NITI Aayog and Mastercard Release Report on ‘Connected Commerce: Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive Bharat’.

Details:

• The report identifies challenges in accelerating digital financial inclusion in India and provides recommendations for making digital services accessible to its 1.3 billion citizens.
• Based on five roundtable discussions held in October and November 2020, the report highlights key issues and opportunities, with inferences and recommendations on policy and capacity building across agriculture, small business (MSMEs), urban mobility and cyber security.
• Experts from the government, banking sector, the financial regulator, fintech enterprises, and various ecosystem innovators participated in the discussions led by NITI Aayog and supported by Mastercard.
• Key issues addressed in the report and previous rounds of discussions:
  • Acceleration of digital financial inclusion for underserved sections of Indian society.
  • Enabling SMEs to ‘get paid, get capital and get digital’ and access customers, and ensure their continued resilience.
  • Policy and technological interventions to foster trust and increase cyber resilience.
  • Unlocking the promise of digitization in India’s agriculture sector.
  • The essential elements of a digital roadmap to make transit accessible for all citizens.
• Key recommendations in the report include:
  • Strengthening the payment infrastructure to promote a level playing field for NBFCs and banks.
  • Digitizing registration and compliance processes and diversifying credit sources to enable growth opportunities for MSMEs.
  • Building information sharing systems, including a ‘fraud repository’, and ensuring that online digital commerce platforms carry warnings to alert consumers to the risk of frauds.
  • Enabling agricultural NBFCs to access low-cost capital and deploy a ‘phygital’ (physical + digital) model for achieving better long-term digital outcomes. Digitizing land records will also provide a major boost to the sector.
  • To make city transit seamlessly accessible to all with minimal crowding and queues, leveraging existing smartphones and contactless cards, and aim for an inclusive, interoperable, and fully open system such as that of the London ‘Tube’.

Read previous PIB here.

May 10th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here