DAY 118Quick read

Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM. Mission of e-NAM is integration of APMCs across the country through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agriculture commodities, providing better price discovery through transparent auction process based on quality of produce along with timely online payment.
SFAC is an exclusive Society focused on increasing incomes of small and marginal farmers through aggregation and development of agribusiness.SFAC has pioneered the formation and growth of Farmer Producer Organizations/Farmer Producer Companies. SFAC offers Schemes like Equity Grant and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme to FPCs to improve availability of working capital and development of business activities.

MPEDA is responsible for development of the marine products industry with special reference to exports. It is headed by a Chairman and has its headquarters at Kochi. USA emerged as the largest buyer of Indian seafood in terms of dollar earnings, followed by South East Asia. MPEDA also aims at upgrading fishing harbours to international standards for sustaining / expanding our international markets and assisting the setting up of state-of-art processing facilities for Value Added Marine Products meant for export.

ECGC was established in 1957 and is wholly owned by the Government of India. It provides export factoring facility for MSME sector which is a package of financial products consisting of working capital financing, credit risk protection, maintenance of sales ledger and collection of export receivables from the buyer located in overseas country. ECGC also provides different types of credit insurance covers to banks and other financial institutions to enable them to extend credit facilities to exporters.

The Coffee Board is a statutory organization constituted under Section (4) of the Coffee Act, 1942 and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It has regional Coffee Research Stations at Chundale (Kerala), Thandigudi (Tamil Nadu), Narasipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Diphu (Assam), apart from the extension units located in coffee growing regions of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and North Eastern Region.

Near the minimum of the solar cycle, it is rare to see sunspots on the Sun, and the spots that do appear are very small and short-lived.Sunspots are regions where the solar magnetic field is very strong. In visible light, sunspots appear darker than their surroundings because they are a few thousand degrees cooler than their surroundings.

The telescope is a joint project of the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB). The fully robotic optical research telescope is designed to capture cosmic events occurring in timescales much shorter than light years – years, days and even hours.

ISRO has chalked out this programme to “Catch them young”. The schedule will include invited talks, experience sharing by the eminent scientists, facility and lab visits, exclusive sessions for discussions with experts, practical and feedback sessions. Those who have finished 8th standard and currently studying in 9th standard will be eligible for the programme. Students who are studying in India including OCI are eligible for the programme. The selection is based on the 8th Standard academic performance and extracurricular activities.

Other features of the Bill:-

• The government will maintain a register of all space objects (any object launched or intended to be launched around the earth) and develop more space activity plans for the country.
• It will provide professional and technical support for commercial space activity and regulate the procedures for conduct and operation of space activity.
• It will share details about the pricing of products created by space activity and technology with any person or any agency in a prescribed manner.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) governs Nidhi Company rules and regulations. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India directs its deposit acceptance activities and issues new amendments for a Nidhi. To start a Nidhi business, a company must have a minimum paid-up share capital of Rs 5,00,000. Other requirements for incorporation of NIDHI company: The activities of lending and borrowing of Nidhi must immerse the interest of its members only. Also, the end goal of thrift and savings should be confined to the Nidhi members and no third-party. As per Nidhi Company rules and regulations, no such company can issue preference shares before or after incorporation. Within one year of incorporation of Nidhi, the company must endure a minimum number of 200 members or shareholders.

Other conditions of FDI policy in defence sector: FDI above 49% is approved under government route wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded. Foreign investment in the sector is subject to security clearance and guidelines of the Ministry of Defence. License applications will be considered and licenses given by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, in consultation with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs.