Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)
RBI tightens norms to prevent evergreening of loans via investments in AIFs.
- AIFs means any fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from sophisticated investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing.
- 3 Categories –
- Category I: Investment in start-up, social ventures, small & medium enterprises (SME) etc. E.g. Venture capital funds, SME Funds etc.
- Category II: Investment in equity and debt securities. E.g. Real estate funds, Private equity funds etc.
- Category III: Investment aimed at short-term returns achieved by employing complex trading strategies. E.g. Hedge funds, Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) Fund etc.
Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
Recently, MPEDA organized training on value-added fish products.
- A statutory body under the MPEDA Act, 1972.
- Ministry – Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Purpose: Promotion of export of marine products.
- Functions –
- Developing and regulating off-shore and deep-sea fishing
- Registering fishing vessels
- Fixing of standards and specifications for marine products, etc.
Terms of Trade (ToT)
ToT for Indian agriculture have recorded significant improvement in the last decade and a half.
- ToT for farmers – Ratio between Indices of Prices Received (IPR) and Indices of Prices Paid (IPP).
- A ratio above one (or 100%) implies favorable pricing power, in terms of what farmers sell versus what they buy.
- A ToT ratio below one indicates unfavorable conditions of exchange.
Zero Trust Authentication
In response to rising cyber-attacks, Centre has established a secure e-mail system for 10,000 users incorporating Zero Trust Authentication (ZTA) across critical ministries and departments.
- Designed by – National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- ZTA – A cyber-security approach intended to address rapidly evolving security risks faced by IT systems.
- It uses multi-factor authentication, continuous monitoring etc.
Late Blight Disease
Potato crop in Punjab has suffered extensive damage due to late blight disease.
- A Fungal disease
- It affects leaves, stems and tubers of crop.
- Water soaked spots appear on leaves which then increase in size, change to purple brown colour & finally turns black.
- Air borne infection – caused by the sporangia.