Compressed Biogas Plants

• Under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme, Oil and Gas Marketing Companies (OGMCs) invited entrepreneurs to procure Compressed Bio Gas (CBG).
• Under this scheme, few of the enablers have been provided. They are,
  1. Assured price for offtake of CBG with long term agreements by OGMCs;
  2. Inclusion of bio manures produced from CBG plants as Fermented Organic Manure (FOM) under Fertilizer Control Order 1985;
  3. Inclusion of CBG projects under Priority Sector Lending by RBI.

• So far, 9 CBG plants have been commissioned and started supply of CBG in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• These plants are set up by entrepreneurs and private companies who have raised financial resources to develop these plants on the basis of LoIs issued by OGMCs.
• Technology for a plant is chosen by the entrepreneurs depending upon various factors including feedstock techno-commercial feasibility, etc.

Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) Scheme

• It was launched by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2018.
• It will promote the use of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make available CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels.
• It will be launched in association with PSU oil marketing companies, which invites potential entrepreneurs to set up CBG plants.

Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana

• PM YUVA Yojana is a centrally sponsored Scheme on entrepreneurship education and training.
• It is being implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) for 2016-17 to 2020-21 period (5 years).
• It aims at creating an enabling ecosystem through entrepreneurship education, training, advocacy and easy access to entrepreneurship support network and promoting social enterprises for inclusive growth.
• The objectives of the scheme are,
  1. Educate and equip potential and early stage entrepreneurs
  2. Connect entrepreneurs in enabling networks of peers, mentors, funds and business services
  3. Support entrepreneurs through Entrepreneurship Hubs (E - Hubs)
  4. Catalyze a culture shift to encourage entrepreneurship
• It covers 10 States and 2 Union Territories - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Delhi and Puducherry.

Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Startups by Women

• MSDE is implementing the project, ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Startups by Women’ in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Germany.
• The project’s objective is to improve the framework conditions for businesses managed by women in India.
• The project works together with local partners in the selected regions (Northeast, Rajasthan and Telangana) for the term of 2018 to 2021.
• It pilots incubation and acceleration programmes for women micro entrepreneurs to start new businesses and scale up existing enterprises in the selected regions.
• It has the target to pilot the incubation programme with 250 women and the acceleration programme with 100 women.  

Rural Self Employment Training Institutes

• Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) is a Bank led initiative of Ministry of Rural Development.
• The Objectives of RSETIs include,
  1. Rural BPL youth will be trained for self-employment.
  2. Trainees will get intensive short-term residential self-employment training programmes with free food and accommodation.
  3. The trainings offered will be demand driven.
  4. Area in which training will be provided to the trainee will be decided after assessment the candidate’s aptitude.
  5. Hand holding support will be provided for assured credit linkage with banks.
  6. Escort services will be provided for at least for 2 years to ensure sustainability of micro enterprise trainees.
• RSETIs are set up with dedicated infrastructure in each district of the country sponsored, managed and run by Banks with active co-operation from the Government of India and State Government.
• It enables a trainee to take Bank credit and start his/her own Micro-enterprise.
• It is applicable to all the categories of unemployed youth in the age group of 18-45 years, with aptitude to take up self-employment or wage employment and some basic knowledge in the related field.
• Presently, RSETIs are functional in 27 states (except Goa) and 6 UTs (except Delhi, Chandigarh and Daman & Diu).  

Umbrella Schemes of Women and Child Development Ministry

• Women and Child Development Ministry has classified all its programs under three umbrella schemes - Mission Shakti, Poshan 2.0, Vatsalya.
• Mission Shakti is a Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women). It will cover policies and schemes like,
  1. SAMBAL (One Stop Centre, Mahila Police Volunteer, Women's Helpline/Swadhar/Ujjawala/Widow Homes etc.)
  2. SAMARTHYA (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Creche, PM Matru Vandana Yojana/ Gender Budgeting/Research/ among others.)
• Mission POSHAN 2.0 will be launched by government by merging the supplementary nutrition programme and Poshan Abhiyan.
• This will look into ways to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcomes.
• The schemes include Umbrella ICDS - Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyan, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, National Creche Scheme.
• Mission VATSALYA will look into child protection services and child welfare services.

China’s Five-Year Plan

• A draft of 14^th China’s new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) has given the green light for the first dams to be built on the lower reaches of Yarlung Zangbo river (Brahmaputra’s name in Tibet), before it flows into India.
• It calls for building a hydropower base on the lower reaches of Yarlung Zangbo river and clean energy bases in the Jinsha River.
• [Jinsha River is the upper course of Yangtze river in western China.]
• Other major projects include the construction of coastal nuclear power plants and power transmission channels.
• The project is also listed along with the Sichuan-Tibet railway and the national water network.

Source: PIB, The Hindu, Economic Times