Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT)

• It is an initiative aimed at providing a Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation.
• It is a developmental effort that would benefit vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs.
• Compressed Bio-Gas production plants are set up under the initiative by inviting Expression of Interest from potential entrepreneurs.
• It has a four-pronged agenda of

1. utilising more than 62 million metric tonnes of waste generated every year in India
2. cutting down import dependence
3. supplementing job creation in the country
4.  reducing vehicular emissions and pollution from burning of agricultural / organic waste.

• Bio-gas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste / bio-masssources.
• The wastes are agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.

Tree Cover & Forest Cover

• The MoEFCC defines ‘forest cover’ in India as all lands, more than one hectare in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10%.
• The ‘tree cover’ is defined as tree patches outside recorded forest areas exclusive of forest cover and less than the minimum mappable area of one hectare.

• Classification scheme for the purpose of Forest Cover assessment is described as follows:

Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS)

• The Ministry of Human Resources Development has launched the Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS) for providing industry apprenticeship opportunities to the general graduates exiting in April 2019 through the National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS).
• SHREYAS is a programme basket comprising the initiatives of three Central Ministries, namely the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Labour& Employment viz the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), the National Career Service (NCS)and introduction of BA/BSc/BCom (Professional) courses in the higher educational institutions.
• SHREYAS is a programme conceived for students in degree courses, primarily non-technical, with a view to introduce employable skills into their learning, promote apprenticeship as integral to education and also amalgamate employment facilitating efforts of the Government into the education system so that clear pathways towards employment opportunities are available to students during and after their graduation.
• To enhance the employability of Indian youth by providing ‘on the job work exposure’ and earning of stipend.
• In all the tracks together, it is proposed to cover 50 lakh students by 2022.

Yuva Sahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme

• To cater to the needs and aspirations of the youth, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has come up with a youth-friendly this scheme for attracting them to cooperative business ventures.
• The newly launched scheme would encourage cooperatives to venture into new and innovative areas.
• The scheme will be linked to Rs 1000 crore ‘Cooperative Start-up and Innovation Fund (CSIF)’ created by the NCDC.
• The funding for the project will be up to 80% of the project cost for these special categories as against 70% for others.
• The scheme envisages 2% less than the applicable rate of interest on term loan for the project cost up to Rs 3 crore including 2 years moratorium on payment of principal.
• It would have more incentives for cooperatives of North Eastern region, Aspirational Districts and cooperatives with women or SC or ST or PwD members.
• All types of cooperatives in operation for at least one year are eligible.

Feni

• It is popular local traditional brew (liquor) distilled from the cashew fruit.
• Cashew feni was given the Geographical Indication tag as manufactured goods.
• The name feni is derived from Sanskrit word ‘phena’ meaning froth or foam.
• It is also distilled from fermented toddy from coconut palm.
• It is prepared in a typical Portuguese way that does not entail the use of electricity in the process.

Inclusive Internet Index 2019

• The Inclusive Internet Index, commissioned by Facebook and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit, seeks to measure the extent to which the Internet is not only accessible and affordable, but also relevant to all, allowing usage that enables positive social and economic outcomes at individual and group level.
• The aim of the Inclusive Internet Index is to provide researchers and policymakers with the information they need to enable the beneficial use of the Internet, irrespective of age, gender, location or background.
• The index assesses the performance of 100 countries in four categories of inclusion: Accessibility, Affordability, Relevance and Readiness. Each category incorporates key indicators of internet inclusion, including quantitative measures such as network coverage and pricing, and qualitative measures such as the presence of e-inclusion policies and the availability of local-language content.
• Sweden has topped the rankings followed by Singapore and the US.
• India has been ranked 47th.

 PRANAM Commission

• Assam has launched the PRANAM Commission, a panel set up to look after the issues concerning a Bill brought in for protection of parents of state government employees.
• The Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring (PRANAM) Bill, stated to be the first-of its-kind Bill in the country, is an effort to protect elderly parents of government employees in their times of need.
• To ensure that no state government employee ignores their elderly parents and unmarried differently-abled siblings.
• The PRANAM Bill makes it mandatory for the state government employees to look after their parents and unmarried differently-abled siblings who do not have their own sources of income.
• Under the bill’s provisions, if the PRANAM Commission gets a complaint that parents of a state government employee are being ignored, then 10 or 15 per cent of the employee’s salary will be deducted by the government and paid to the parents or differently-abled siblings.
• The employees of private companies and the central government working in the state would also be covered by the bill at a later stage.