IBPS aims at setting up business process outsourcing (BPO) units in rural areas to secure balanced regional growth of the industry.
It is under the Digital India Programme to create employment opportunities and promotion of BPO operations.
The objective is to create opportunities for the youth living in these areas so that they do not need to migrate to urban clusters.
It provides capital support along with special incentives up to Rs 1 lakh in the form of viability gap funding (VGF) to companies to create BPO units.
Disbursement of financial support under the schemes is directly linked with employment generation.
It provides special incentives for employment to women and Divyang, setting up operations in towns other than capital towns, generating employment beyond target and promoting local entrepreneurship.
There are also special provisions for the Himalayan states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
Metro cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR), and Pune, along with their urban agglomeration were excluded.
SANKALP Project
Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) aimed at providing market relevant training to youths across the country.
It is a centrally sponsored scheme under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and supported by World Bank loan assistance.
It also aims to enhance institutional mechanisms for skills development and increase access to quality training by setting up a national body for vocational education - Vocational Education and Training (VET).
VET shall regulate accreditation and certification in both long and short term thereby bringing about uniformity in vocational training.
India has recently signed the loan agreement with World Bank for this project, which ends in 2023.
INS Kalvari
It is a Scorpene class submarine, named after deep sea tiger shark, inducted into Indian Navy recently.
The submarines of Scorpene class are propelled by diesel-electric engines and Torpedo is mounted as a primary weapon.
It weighs 1500 tonnes and can go up to depths of 300m.
It will have both anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.
It also features an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP) system.
Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to surface every few days to get oxygen to recharge their batteries. With AIP systems, they can stay submerged for much longer periods.
It is first of the six submarines developed by the French DCNS under Project 75.
The project was signed in 2005 for building submarines by the Mazgaon Dock Limited in Mumbai with transfer of technology from France.
INS Kalvari is followed by INS Khanderi which is currently undergoing sea trails and expected to be inducted by the end of 2020.
The Navy currently possesses 13 conventional submarines and one nuclear attack submarine INS Chakra on lease from Russia.
The Navy last inducted a conventional diesel-electric submarine, INS Sindushastra, procured from Russia in 2000.
Click here to know more about INS Chakra and Khanderi
Ban on Petcoke
The Supreme Court relaxed its ban on the use of petroleum coke and allowed cement and limestone industries to use it.
The court has earlier urged States and Union Territories to move forward towards a nationwide ban on the use of petcoke and furnace oil to power up industries in an attempt to fight pollution.
The decision to modify its earlier stand is due to government’s stand that petcoke is used as an ingredient and not as fuel in the cement industry.
The sulphur is mostly absorbed in the process of cement-making.
Click here to know more about Petcoke and Furnace oil.
New Island
The world’s newest island “Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai” was formed during a volcanic eruption in the remote Pacific three years ago.
The island rose from the seabed about 65 km northwest of the Tonga capital Nuku’alofa.
Scientists expected that the island will last anywhere from six to 30 years due to its resilience.
It is mainly because warm sea water combined with ash during the volcanic explosion to create a concrete-like substance known as “tuff” (a light porous rock).
Scientists believe that studying the life cycle of this new island will give insights in to Mars environment, since it is having many similar volcanic islands.
