What is Ghar Tak Fibre Scheme?

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated ‘Ghar Tak Fibre’ scheme in Bihar.
• The scheme aims to connect all 45,945 villages of Bihar with high-speed optical fibre internet by 31st March 2021.
• The scheme aims to provide optical fibre enabled internet connections to every home in the country, concentrating on the village and rural areas.
• During his 74th independence-day address, PM Modi had said that over 1.5 lakh village panchayats have received optical fibre connections after 2014 under the scheme.
• The CSC Wi-Fi Choupal is an initiative to provide high-speed internet connectivity to rural India. It ensures digital connectivity using Bharat Net.
• The Scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation in Himalayan Region

• CSIR- Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, makes history by introducing asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation in Indian Himalayan region.
• Asafoetida is one of the top condiments and is a high value spice crop in India.
• India imports about 1200 tonnes of raw asafoetida annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends approximately 100 million USD per year.
• In the past thirty years, this has been the first attempt for introduction of asafoetida seeds in the country.
• The cultivation has been started in Kwaring village in Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh.
• Raw asafoetida is extracted from the fleshy roots of Ferula assa-foetida as an oleo-gum resin.
• Although, there are about 130 species of Ferula found in the world, but only Ferula assa-foetidais the economically important species used for the production of asafoetida.

First-ever SCO Startup Forum

• The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be launched on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO trade ministers meeting on 28th October.
• The forum will lay the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement among the SCO Member States.
• It will help to develop their startup ecosystems collectively.
• Innovation and Startups will be the key focus area of SCO Heads of Government meeting on 30th November 2020 to be hosted by India.
• India is currently the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 35,000 startups
• Close to 25% of which are core technology startups operating in areas of AI, Robotics, Cloud Computing, IoT, Digital Health, Financial & Education Technology.
• The ‘Startup India’ has launched 10 bilateral bridges since its inception and has helped many technology-based startups to expand their businesses to global markets.

Framework for Regulatory Sandbox

• The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has introduced a framework for “Regulatory Sandbox”.
• Regulatory Sandbox is a safe harbour, where businesses can test innovative products under relaxed regulatory conditions.
• Typically, participating companies release new products in a controlled environment to a limited number of customers for a limited period of time.

• Framework released by IFSCA:
• Entities operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and financial services space shall be granted facilities to experiment with innovative FinTech solutions in a live environment with a limited set of real customers for a limited time frame.
• These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation. The Regulatory Sandbox shall operate within the IFSC located at GIFT City.

First multi-modal logistic park

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways will virtually lay the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam.
• The first-ever multi-modal logistic park will be built in Assam.
•  It will also give employment to 20 lakh people.
• The Rs 694 crore park will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people.
• It will be developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Government of India.

Current COVID19 Situation in India

QUIZ TIME

India has taken up cultivation of which spice for the first time?

1. Saffron
2. Heeng
3. Mustard Seeds
4. Cloves

Answer – B

The first Ferula Asafoetida plantation has been done in which state?

1. Kerala
2. Himanchal Pradesh
3. Assam
4. Manipur

Answer – B

First multi-modal logistic park will be build in:

1. Kerala
2. Himanchal Pradesh
3. Assam
4. Manipur

Answer – C

Question of the Day

What are the roles and functions of International Financial Services Centres Authority?

Answer in next session…