2ND JULY
Contents
DIGITAL INDIA INITIATIVE COMPLETED SIX YEARS
ANDHRA PRADESH CM LAUNCHED ‘YSR BIMA SCHEME’
GLOBAL START-UP ECOSYSTEM INDEX 2021
ODIA POET HONOURED WITH KUVEMPU RASHTRIYA PURASKAR
INDIA’S OLDEST RUNNING NEWSPAPER TURNS 200
INDIA’S 1ST INDIGENOUS DRONE DEFENCE DOME ‘INDRAJAAL’
J&K L-G LAUNCHED ‘HAUSLA-INSPIRING HER GROWTH’
DIGITAL INDIA INITIATIVE COMPLETED SIX YEARS
- Digital India initiative has completed its six years on 1 July 2021. Digital India is a government’s flagship scheme to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
- It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 July 2015. In the past 6 years, the government has launched many digital initiatives like Direct Benet Transfer, Common Services Centres, DigiLocker and mobile-based UMANG services.
- With the help of Aadhaar, Government has provided digital identity to 129 crore people of India.
- Jandhan bank Accounts, mobile phones, and Aadhaar (JAM) helped the government in providing benefits of the different schemes through digital platforms.
- The Digital India programme is centred on three key vision areas:
- Digital Infrastructure as a Core Utility to Every Citizen
- Governance & Services on Demand
- Digital Empowerment of Citizens
(SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS)
ANDHRA PRADESH CM LAUNCHED ‘YSR BIMA SCHEME’
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched the ‘YSR Bima’ scheme with new guidelines, where the government itself will directly pay the insurance amount to the family of the deceased to make the insurance claims easier.
- In order to support 1.32 lakh families through the YSR Bima scheme, the State government allocated Rs 750 crores for the year 2021-22.
- In the last two years, the State government had spent Rs 1307 crore for YSR Bima.
- Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
- Governor: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.
(SOURCE: ECONOMIC TIMES)
GLOBAL START-UP ECOSYSTEM INDEX 2021
- India stands at the 20th spot among the top 100 countries that have been ranked in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 by Startup Blink.
- The country was in the 17th spot in 2019, after which it slid six spots down and stood at 23 in 2020. According to the report, India needs to better its infrastructure and Internet speed in order to further strengthen its start-up ecosystem.
- Ranking of the Indian Cities: India currently has 43 of its cities listed in the top 1000, globally, with Bengaluru (10th), New Delhi (14th) and Mumbai (16th) in the top 20.
- Country-wise ranking: Like last year, the US, the UK, Israel, Canada and Germany are in the top five spots this year too and continue their lead.
- About the report: The report has a score for each location, which is calculated as the sum of three parameters: quantity, quality and business environment.
- The quantity parameter comprises elements such as number of start-ups, number of start-up related meet-ups, number of co-working spaces, number of accelerators, etc.
- The quality parameter, on the other hand, takes into consideration elements such as the number of employees per start-up, the presence of unicorns, exits and pantheon companies, global start-up events, presence of global start-up influencers, among other factors.
- The business score evaluates elements such as ease of registering companies and doing business, internet speed and freedom, level of English proficiency, research and development investment, number of patents per capita, availability of various technology services such as payment portals, ride-sharing apps, cryptocurrency, etc.
(SOURCE: BUSINESS LINE)
ODIA POET HONOURED WITH KUVEMPU RASHTRIYA PURASKAR
- The Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar, the national award instituted in memory of late poet laureate Kuvempu, has been awarded to renowned Odia poet Rajendra Kishore Panda for the year 2020.
- The prestigious award carries a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a silver medal, and a citation.
- About the Dr. Panda: Born on June 24, 1944, Panda writes in the Odia language. He has published 16 poetry collections and a novel.
- He is a major Indian poet who steered the path of modern Odia poetry to great heights. He was awarded the Gangadhar National Award in 2010, and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985. He was awarded a D.Litt by Sambalpur University.
- About the Award: Founded in 1992, Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Trust instituted this national annual literary award in 2013 in the name of Kuvempu to recognize litterateurs who had contributed in any language recognized by the Constitution of India.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
INDIA’S OLDEST RUNNING NEWSPAPER TURNS 200
- On July 1, India’s oldest running newspaper, Mumbai Samachar, will enter its 200th year.
- The Gujarati newspaper, with its office located in an iconic red building at Horniman Circle in Mumbai’s Fort area, was first published in 1822.
- It was founded by a Parsi scholar Fardoonji Murazban, who had experimented with various other publishing options before landing on this successful print run.
- Formerly called Bombay Samachar, in Gujarati, the paper has always run as Mumbai na Samachar.
- It started as a weekly edition, primarily covering the movement of goods across the sea and other business news, such as the sale of property, and passed through several hands until bankruptcy turned it over to the Cama family in 1933.
(SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES)
INDIA’S 1ST INDIGENOUS DRONE DEFENCE DOME ‘INDRAJAAL’
- India’s 1st indigenous drone defence dome ‘Indrajaal’ has been developed by Hyderabad-based Grene Robotics.
- As per the company, the drone defence dome – ‘Indrajaal’ is capable of autonomously protecting an area of 1000-2000 sq km against aerial threats.
- It protects the area by assessing and acting on aerial threats such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Low- Radar Cross Section (RCS) targets.
- The company said that cutting-edge technologies such as UAVs, Smart Swarms, etc. have been for the first time used in India to drop explosives next to the Mi-17 hangar at Jammu Air Base.
- Salient features of India’s 1st indigenous drone defence dome – ‘Indrajaal’
(SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS)
J&K L-G LAUNCHED ‘HAUSLA-INSPIRING HER GROWTH’
- Lieutenant Governor J&K, Manoj Sinha has launched the “HAUSLA- inspiring her growth”, a comprehensive programme for Catalysing Women Entrepreneurship in UT.
- The priority of the government is to reduce the gap between women and men entrepreneurs, in a systematic manner and to encourage women who are currently engaged in various professions so that they too can become a part of the ‘Hausla’ program.
- The intent of the innovative initiative is to empower Women as vital drivers of the overall development process in the UT by identifying & empowering Women Entrepreneurs as role models, providing them with markets, networks, training & continuous support and subsequently building an ecosystem to inspire other local women entrepreneurs.
(SOURCE: THE PRINT)