Facts in News

Indian Economy

Ubharte Sitaare Fund  

Syllabus: GS3/Indian Economy & Related Issues

• Recently, the Union finance minister launched the Ubharte Sitaare Fund (USF) for export-oriented small and mid-sized companies and startups in Lucknow. 

Background 

• The fund was announced during a Budget speech in 2020 in the backdrop of constraints faced by small and mid-sized companies in realising their export ambitions and importance for the economy.

Key Points

• The ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ has been set up by Exim Bank and SIDBI.
• Aim: The Fund aims at arranging funds for the promotion of micro, small and medium companies. 
• It has a size of Rs 250 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 250 crore. 
• The fund will invest by way of equity, and equity-like products, in export-oriented units, both in the manufacturing and services sectors.
• The fund is a mix of structured support, both financial and advisory services through investments in equity or equity-like instruments, debt (funded and non-funded) and technical assistance (advisory services, grants and soft loans) to the Indian companies.

Significance

• The fund is expected to identify Indian enterprises with potential advantages by way of technology, products or processes along with export potential, but which are currently underperforming or unable to tap their latent potential to grow.
• The State’s MSME was requested to establish an MSME chamber in every district, and hold awareness programmes about the ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund‘ so that entrepreneurs working under the One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme can know about its benefits.
  • Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of MSME and has effectively implemented the One District One Product programme, “which provides the ideal ecosystem for the success of an initiative like the Ubharte Sitaare Fund.
• Enabling MSME to expand their ventures will drive the overall economy, as they make up for about 45 per cent of the country’s total manufacturing output, 40 percent of exports, and almost 30 per cent of the national GDP.

Social Justice

Chakma & Hajong

Syllabus: GS1/Diversity of India

• Chakma organisations have slammed the proposed deportation of 60,000 people belonging to the Chakma and Hajong communities from Arunachal Pradesh.

About 

• The Chakmas and Hajongs, originally residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of former East Pakistan, had to flee when their land was submerged by the Kaptai dam project in the 1960s. 
• Buddhists by faith, the Chakmas faced religious persecution in East Pakistan along with the Hajongs, who were Hindus.
• They were settled in North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), present in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The migrants were settled with a rehabilitation plan and allotted permanent land and provided with financial assistance depending on the size of their families to help rebuild their lives. As per the 2011 census, there are 47,471 Chakmas and Hajongs in Arunachal Pradesh.

Indian Economy

India’s Largest Floating Solar PV Project

Syllabus: GS3/ Infrastructure

• National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has commissioned India’s largest 25 MW floating solar PV project at NTPC Simhadri, Andhra Pradesh.

Key Features

• It is also the first solar project to be set up under the power ministry’s 2018 ‘flexibilization scheme allowing generators to supply power from any of their sources, based on plant efficiency, to reduce discoms’ cost.
• Unique anchoring design: Anchoring is a technique used to install floating solar PV. 
  • The type of anchoring depends on several parameters like site configuration & conditions, soil composition, space available around the reservoir, wind loads, or water variations. 

Significance

• The conventional large project usually covers large landmasses (non-forest land) so floating solar power plants are useful in this.
• Floating solar reduces temperature-related losses due to the cooling effect of water they float on, reduce the evaporation rate of water bodies and have lower maintenance costs.
• It has the potential to generate electricity from more than 1 lakh solar PV modules.
• It is expected to save 1,364 million litres of water per annum.
• It will help in India’s ambition to create 450 GW (gigawatts) of renewable energy capacity.

Challenges

• A floating solar plant has moving parts that are subject to constant friction and mechanical stress.
• Safety concerns are also a major thing as more consideration must be given to cable management and insulation testing than on land, especially when cables are in contact with water.

Indian Polity

Procedure to Arrest of Union Minister in India

Syllabus: GS2/ Parliament & State Legislatures/ Conduct of Business

• Recently, Union Minister Narayan Rane, was arrested for his controversial remark against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Procedure of arresting a Union minister

• A Union minister or a Member of Parliament enjoys certain privileges but most of them are available when Parliament is in session.
• Under Section 22A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the police or a judge issuing an arrest order is required to intimate the Rajya Sabha Chairman about the reason for and place of arrest, the place of detention or imprisonment in an appropriate form.
• The Chairman is expected to inform the Council if it is sitting about the arrest. If the council is not sitting, he/she is expected to publish it in the bulletin for the information of the members.
• No legal process, civil or criminal, can be served within the precincts of the House without obtaining the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker whether the House is in session or not.
• In Civil Case: In civil cases, the members have freedom from arrest during the continuance of the House and 40 days before its commencement and 40 days after its conclusion.

The privilege of freedom from arrest does not extend to criminal offences or cases of detention under preventive detention.