PIB – 11 DECEMBER 2021

CONTENTS:

1. GLOBAL METHANE INITIATIVE (GMI)
2. ATMANIRBHAR HASTSHILPKAR SCHEME
3. WE THINK DIGITAL PROGRAMME

GLOBAL METHANE INITIATIVE (GMI)

Focus: GS Paper – 2, GS Paper – 3:Important International Institutions, Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation

Why in news?

India co-chairs Global Methane Initiative -Steering Leadership Meeting.

• This global initiative informed the participants about the work being carried out by India to mitigate the emission of methane.

Key points:

• The forum was created in 2004.
• It is a voluntary Government and an informal international partnership having members from 45 countries, including the United States and Canada. 
• The forum has been created to achieve global reduction in anthropogenic methane emission through partnership among developed and developing countries having economies in transition.
• India is one of the members since its inception
• India has taken up Vice-Chairmanship for the first time in the Steering Leadership along with the USA. The Chairperson of the Steering Leadership is from Canada.

About Methane:

• Methane (CH₄) is a hydrocarbon that is a primary component of natural gas.
• It is a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG) and its presence in the atmosphere affects the earth’s temperature and climate system.
• It is flammable, and is used as a fuel worldwide.
• Emission of methane is a big concern as it is a greenhouse gas having 25-28 times harmful effect than carbon dioxide.
• It is emitted from a variety of anthropogenic (human-influenced) and natural sources.
• It is responsible for creating ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant.

ATMANIRBHAR HASTSHILPKAR SCHEME

Focus: GS-II: Government schemes and policies

Why in news?

North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) announces New Scheme Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme for the Artisans under Ministry of Ministry of Development of North-East Region (DONER).

Key points:

• Objective: To develop the petty artisans of the North Eastern Region by providing financial assistance in the form of term loan for income generating activities, for setting up / expansion / modernization / working capital requirement and other activities related to the sector.
• The credit facility under the scheme is collateral free and carries a subsidized interest rate of 6% p.a., which is repayable in 24 months.
• For regular repayment, an incentive of 1% on the interest rate is provided, which will be refunded to the artisans on successful repayment of loans.
• The scheme comprehensively covers Individuals, Registered and Unregistered artisans.

About North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi):

• It a premier financial institution in the North-Eastern Region.
• It is a Public Limited Company registered under the Companies Act 1956 on 9th August, 1995 and was registered as an NBFC in 2002 with RBI.
• Its head office is located at Dispur, Guwahati and has branch offices all across North-Eastern Region.
• It provides financial assistance to micro, small, medium and large enterprises for setting up industrial, infrastructure and agri-allied projects in the North Eastern Region of India and also Microfinance through MFI/NGOs.
• Besides financing, the Corporation offers Consultancy & Advisory services to the state Governments, private sectors and other agencies.
• It conducts sector or state specific studies under its Techno-Economic Development Fund (TEDF).
• It is the designated nodal agency for disbursal of Govt. of India incentives to the industries in the North-East India under North–East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007 (NEIIPP 2007).
• Over the years, the Corporation has provided loans to over 7500 projects and taken up several development initiatives through its CSR activities in the eight states of North-East India. 
• Through its varied activities and active engagement with thousands of entrepreneurs in the region, NEDFi has become a household name in the region.  

WE THINK DIGITAL PROGRAMME

Focus: GS Paper – 2, GS Paper – 1 :Population and Associated Issues, GS Paper – 3 :Technology Missions, Government Policies & Interventions

Why in news?

The National Commission for Women (NCW) launches online Resource Center on Cyber Safety under ‘We Think Digital’ Programme

Key points:

• The Resource Center will be a milestone as it will help women the safe usage of technology and will also help them to be safe from online threats. 
• It will act as a source of information and support for online presence.
• The center will also help in fighting Cyber violence against women and will help prevent tech abuse against them.
• The center will provide information on cyber security in the form of posters, awareness videos, quizzes and self-learning modules which will include lessons with tips for safe usage and reporting and redressal of cybercrimes. 
• The resource center will also provide information on all the avenues of reporting in case a woman faces any cyber crime.

About We Think Digital programme:

• Facebook has launched its ‘We Think Digital’ programme in the partnership with the National Commission for Women (NCW) and Cyber Peace Foundation
• The project was launched as Digital Shakti in 2018
• It aimed to help women across the nation to raise the awareness level in the digital front and to train them to fight cyber-crime in the most effective ways.
• The project has sensitized over 1,75,000 women. The partnership between the three organizations is currently in its 3^rd phase and aims to sensitize 1.5 lakh women.

About Cyber Attack and Cyber Security:

• It is the application of technologies, processes and controls to protect systems, networks, programs, devices and data from cyber attacks.
• It aims to reduce the risk of cyber attacks and protect against the unauthorised exploitation of systems, networks and technologies.
• Cyber Attack is a malicious and deliberate attempt by an individual or organization to breach the information system of another individual or organization.

Government Initiatives:

• Information Technology Act, 2000: The act regulates the use of computers, computer systems, computer networks and also data and information in electronic format.
• National Cyber Policy, 2013: Creating mechanisms for security threats and responses to the same through national systems and processes.
• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative: It was launched in 2018 with an aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra: In 2017, this platform was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.