CONTENTS
- STARTUP INDIA SEED FUND SCHEME
- KHAJURAHO TEMPLE
STARTUP INDIA SEED FUND SCHEME
Focus: GS III- Growth and Development
Why in news?
Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS).
About Seed Fund Scheme:
- The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.
- 945 Crore corpus will be divided over the next 4 years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.
- The scheme is expected to support about 3600 startups.
- It will Secure seed funding, Inspire innovation, Support transformative ideas, Facilitate implementation, and Start startup revolution.
- It will create a robust startup ecosystem, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns of India, which are often deprived of adequate funding.
- Objective: Fund has been set up to provide initial capital to the startups. After that start-ups will be provided with the Govt. Guarantees, to help them raise debt capital.
- Funding: The Scheme will offer startups up to Rs. 20 Lakhs as a grant for Proof of Concept. Upto Rs. 50 Lakhs can also be availed through convertible debentures or debt or debt-linked instruments for commercialization.
What is Seed Funding?
- Seed funding or seed-stage funding is a very early investment which aims at helping a business grow and generating its own capital.
- Also referred to as seed money or seed capital, investors often get an equity stake in exchange for the capital invested.
- The investors can themselves be the founders and use their savings as seed money for their new company — also known as bootstrapping.
KHAJURAHO TEMPLE
Focus: GS I- Temple Architecture
Why in news?
Ministry of Tourism organises webinar on “Khajuraho – Temples of Architectural Splendour” under Dekho Apna Desh.
About Khajuraho – Temple:
- It is a group of Hindu and Jain Temples in Madhya Pradesh build by Chandela Dynasty between 950 and 1050 AD.
- They are UNESCO World heritage Site.
- The temples are famous for their nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptures (about 10% of total sculptures).
- The temples at Khajuraho are all made of Sandstone.
- The largest temple at Khajuraho is the Kandariya Mahadeva temple which is attributed to king Ganda.
- All the towers or shikhara of temple rise high, upward in curved pyramidal fashion, emphasizing temple’s vertical thrust ending in horizontal fluted disc called Amalaka topped with Kalasha or vase.
- The erotic expression of sculptures in these temples gives equal importance in human experience as a spiritual pursuit, and it is seen as a part of the larger cosmic whole.
Dekho Apna Desh Initiative:
- It is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism launched in January 2020.
- Objective: To promote domestic tourism in India which is intended to enhance tourist footfalls in places of tourist interest so as to help develop the local economy.
- Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series: During the pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism as part of its ongoing engagement with the industry and its audiences is organising webinars on the overall theme of ‘DekhoApnaDesh’.
- Objective: To create awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India – including the lesser-known destinations and lesser-known facets of popular destinations.
