Govt commits Rs. 7,385 cr under Fund of Funds for Startup India Investment

• These AIFs in turn have invested Rs. 11,206 crore in 720 startups. FFS has been playing a monumental role in mobilizing domestic capital in Indian startup ecosystem.
• FFS was announced with a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore. The corpus is to be built up over 14th and 15th Finance Commission Cycles (FY 2016-2020 and FY 2021-2025) through budgetary support by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
• Under FFS, support is extended to SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which in turn invest in startups.
• Furthermore, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) which is responsible for operationalising the Scheme has undertaken a series of reforms recently to expedite the drawdowns to enable AIFs assisted under FFS to avail accelerated drawdowns.

Foreign trade policy extended by six months amid global headwinds

• The reason behind the development is currency volatility and global uncertainty. The ministry said, the geo-political situation is not suitable for long-term foreign trade policy.
• Earlier, the government had extended the due date for the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 to September 30, 2022. Currently, fears of a recession in major economies like the US and Europe have escalated a panic among investors.
• Foreign Trade Policy provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country. It focuses to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis on improving the ease of doing business.
• Earlier this month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting that focused on export target setting, the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) (2022-27), and the strategies and measures to take forward domestic manufacturing and exports.

Indigenously-developed aviation fuel AVGAS 100 LL launched

• The launch event hosted by Indian Oil at Hindan Airforce Station witnessed participation by senior officials from Indian Airforce, senior officials from MoPNG and MoCA and officials from Flying Training Organizations (FTOs).
• At present AVGAS 100 LL is completely imported product. The domestic production of AVGAS 100 LL produced by Indian Oil at its Gujarat Refinery will make flying training more affordable in India.
• This product which fuels the aircraft operated by FTOs and Defense forces, is being imported for decades by India. Indian Oil’s R&D, Refineries and Marketing teams have achieved this feat of indigenous production and have offered price advantage to the industry.
• AV GAS 100 LL produced by IndianOil’s flagship refinery at Vadodara has been tested and certified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the statutory body of the Government of India to regulate civil aviation in India.
• It is a higher-octane Aviation fuel meeting the product specifications with superior performance quality standards, as compared to imported grades.

Ministry of Rural Development developed “JALDOOT App”

• Ministry of Rural Development has developed “JALDOOT App” that will be used across the country to capture the water level of selected wells in a village.
• The Jaldoot app will enable Gram Rojgar Sahayak (GRS) to measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon).
• In every village, adequate number of measurement locations (2-3) shall need to be selected. These will be representative of the ground water level in that village.
• The app will facilitate panchayats with robust data, which can be further used for better planning of works.
• The ground water data could be utilised as part of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and Mahatma Gandhi NREGA planning exercises. Further, the data can also be used for different kinds of research and other purposes.

Mukul Rohatgi declines Centre’s offer to be next Attorney General of India

• The Constitution of India places the post of the A-G on a special footing. The A-G is the Government of India’s first law officer, and has the right of audience in all courts of the country.
• Article 76(2) of the Constitution says “it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time be referred or assigned to him by the President”.
• The A-G is also supposed to “discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any other law for the time being in force”.
• Under Article 88, the “Attorney-General of India shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, either House, any joint sitting of the Houses, and any committee of Parliament of which he may be named a member”.
• However, he “shall not by virtue of this article be entitled to vote” in the House.
• Under Article 76(1), the A-G is appointed by the President from among persons who are “qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court”. Article 76(4) says “the Attorney-General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine.”

Surjapuri and Bajjika dialects

Surjapuri

• Surjapuri is spoken mainly in Kishanganj and other parts of Seemanchal in northeastern Bihar, including the districts of Katihar, Purnia and Araria. The dialect, a mix of Bangla, Urdu, and Hindi, is also spoken in contiguous parts of West Bengal.
• The name Surjapuri comes from Surjapur pargana, which no longer exists. But there is a toll plaza called Surjapur between Purnia and Kishanganj.

Bajjika

• Bajjika, one of five dialects spoken in Bihar, is a mix of Hindi and Maithili, and is spoken mainly in Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, and parts of Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Samastipur. Bajjika is not as well known as other dialects such as Bhojpuri and Maithili.

Cheetah mitras

• One way the government is trying to smoothen the settling in of the cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno national park is through the medium of “cheetah mitras” or ‘cheetah friends’.
• Cheetah mitras have mainly been involved by the government to familiarise the local populations with the big cats and minimise potential conflicts. As the cheetahs have been brought to Kuno, the nearby villages might be unaware of the changes that can come about with the new animal being introduced.
• To make the local population understand more about the cheetah and its characteristics, forest officials have trained around 400 cheetah mitras from 51 villages, including school teachers, village headmen and patwaris
• Along with informing the villagers, keeping the big cats safe from poachers will be an important task. Hunting was why the Asiatic cheetah went extinct in India in 1952.

India''s Push For Home-Grown Navigation System Jolts Mobile Firms

• In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive for self-reliance, India has over the years expanded the use of its regional navigation satellite system called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation).
• The Union government wants to reduce dependence on foreign systems, including the widely used U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), and says NavIC provides more accurate domestic navigation and that its use would benefit the economy.
• China, the European Union, Japan and Russia have their own global or regional navigation systems to rival GPS. Operational since 2018, NavIC’s uptake is minimal; it is mandated in public vehicle location trackers, for example.
• The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with an operational name of NavIC, is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system that provides accurate real-time positioning and timing services.
• It covers India and a region extending 1,500 km around it, with plans for further extension.