The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) has launched the MSME
Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) Initiative under the “Raising and Accelerating MSME Productivity
(RAMP)” Programme.

About the RAMP Programme

• Supported by the World Bank, RAMP is a Central Sector Scheme implemented by the Ministry of MSMEs.
• Duration: 2022-23
  to 2026-27 (5 years).
• Objective: Enhance MSME access to markets, finance, and technology upgradation
  by improving the outreach of existing MSME schemes.

About the TEAM Initiative

Objective:

• Empower MSMEs by enabling access to digital commerce through ONDC.
• Enhance market reach and reduce
  the cost of doing business.
• Leverage Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) via ONDC
  to support Micro and Small
  Enterprises (MSEs).

Key Details:

• Outlay: ₹277.35 crore
• Duration: FY
  2024-25 to FY 2026-27
• Target Beneficiaries: 5
  lakh MSEs, with 50%
  being women-owned enterprises.
• Implementing Agency: National
  Small Industries Corporation (NSIC).
• Eligibility:
  
  • MSEs with valid Udyam Registration in the manufacturing or service sectors.
  • Medium enterprises are not eligible for most benefits.

What is Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)?

·
Initiative
by: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce.

• Objective: Democratize
  digital commerce by providing open and fair access to
  businesses.
• Key Feature: Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms, ONDC enables interoperability across buyer and seller applications,
  fostering fair competition and
  wider market access.

Conclusion

The TEAM Initiative is a significant step under the RAMP Programme to accelerate digital adoption among MSMEs,
ensuring enhanced market
opportunities, cost reduction, and business expansion through ONDC.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
introduced several measures to manage
liquidity conditions in the banking system. These include:

• ₹60,000
  crore Open Market Operations (OMOs) purchase auction of Government
  Securities.
• ₹50,000
  crore 56-day Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auction.
• $5-billion USD/Rupee buy/sell swap auction for a six-month tenure.

Understanding Key Liquidity Management Tools

1. Open Market Operations (OMOs)

• OMOs refer to the purchase and sale of government securities
  in the open market
  by the central bank.
• Through OMOs, the RBI injects or absorbs liquidity in the banking
  system as per economic conditions.

2. Variable Rate Repo (VRR)

• VRR is a short-term liquidity adjustment tool used by
  the RBI to supply funds to banks.
• Under this mechanism, banks borrow funds at an interest rate
  determined through an auction
  process.
• The auction amount is decided by the RBI based on
  liquidity needs.
• VRR operates under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF),
  where the RBI can conduct repo
  auctions (overnight or longer-term) at fixed or variable rates.

Reasons for Liquidity Issues in Indian Banks

1. Lag Effect – Liquidity inflows from the government into the market
   occur with a delay,
   leading to fluctuations.
2. Inflation Control Measures – The RBI sometimes restricts liquidity by keeping higher interest rates
   to control inflation.
3. Festival Demand & Slow Deposit Growth –
   
   • Higher cash withdrawals due to festival demand.
   • Deposits growing slower than advances over the past year, causing liquidity
     stress.

Conclusion

The RBI’s latest liquidity measures
aim to stabilize liquidity
fluctuations in the banking sector while ensuring sufficient credit availability.
By using OMOs, VRR auctions, and
USD/Rupee swap auctions, the central bank seeks to balance inflation control and economic growth.

Released
by: Pratham Foundation
(NGO)

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024
is a nationwide rural
household-based survey that assesses children’s schooling and learning status. It
evaluates:

• Schooling status for children aged 3 to 16 years.
• Reading ability (simple text) and basic arithmetic skills for
  children aged 5 to 16 years.

The ASER survey
was conducted annually from 2005 to
2014. Since then, it has followed an alternate-year cycle.

Key Findings from ASER 2024

1. Reversing the Learning Gap

• Improvement in basic reading and arithmetic
  skills among students
  in Classes 3 and 5
  in rural areas, showing recovery
  from post-pandemic learning losses.
• Better learning outcomes across all
  elementary grades (Std I-VIII) since 2022, with arithmetic
  levels reaching the highest in a decade.

2. Digital Literacy (Introduced for the First Time in ASER
2024)

• Access to smartphones is nearly universal – Almost
  90% of both boys and girls report having a smartphone at home.
• Gender Gap in Smartphone Ownership – 36.2%
  of boys own a smartphone, compared to 26.9% of girls.
• Smartphone Usage Trends –
  
  • Only 57%
    of teenagers use smart devices for educational purposes.
  • 76% of teenagers use smartphones primarily for social media.

3. School Infrastructure Improvements

• All Right
  to Education (RTE) indicators in ASER 2024 show slight improvements,
  including:
  • Functional girls’ toilets
  • Drinking water facilities
  • Other essential infrastructure upgrades

Conclusion

The ASER 2024 report highlights significant recovery in foundational learning post-COVID,
increasing digital literacy
awareness, and gradual improvements in school infrastructure. However,
challenges remain, particularly in bridging
gender gaps in digital access and ensuring smartphones are effectively used for
education.

The Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO)
successfully launched its 100th mission from Sriharikota, placing the NVS-02 satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit using the GSLV-F15 rocket. The launch took place at the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

GSLV-F15 Launch Vehicle

• Three-Stage Configuration – GSLV-F15 is a three-stage launch vehicle
  equipped with a CUS-15
  cryogenic engine in its third stage.

NVS-02 Satellite & NavIC System

The NVS-02 is the second satellite in the NVS series, forming a crucial part of India’s Navigation
with Indian Constellation (NavIC)
system.

What is NavIC?

About NavIC

• NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) is India’s regional navigation satellite system,
  previously known as the Indian
  Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), developed
  and launched by ISRO.

NavIC Network

• NavIC operates with a constellation of seven satellites:
  
  • Three satellites placed in geostationary orbit.
  • Four satellites placed in inclined geosynchronous orbit.

NavIC Services

• Standard Positioning Service (SPS) – Available for civilian users.
• Restricted Service (RS) – Designed for strategic and defense
  applications.

Coverage Area

• Provides navigation coverage across India and up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian boundary.

Accuracy & Global Compatibility

• Accuracy – Offers a positioning accuracy of better than 20 meters
  and a timing accuracy of
  better than 40 nanoseconds.
• Interoperability – NavIC’s SPS signals are compatible with other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS),
  including:
  • GPS (USA)
  • GLONASS (Russia)
  • Galileo (European Union)
  • BeiDou (China)

This milestone
launch reinforces India’s advancements in space technology and navigation systems, strengthening its position as a key player in
global satellite navigation.

Additional Info:

About ISRO

Genesis

• The Indian
  Space Research Organization (ISRO) was established on August 15, 1969.
• Previously known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research
  (INCOSPAR), it was set up in 1962 as envisioned by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.

Headquarters

• Bengaluru, India.

Objective

• Development and application of space technology for various
  national needs.

First Launch

• The first
  experimental flight of the SLV-3 (carrying the Rohini Technology Payload)
  took place in 1979
  under the leadership of Dr.
  A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Elephant Spotted in Namdapha Tiger Reserve After Over a
Decade

About Namdapha Tiger Reserve

·
Location:

• • Easternmost tiger reserve in India.
  • Situated in Changlang District, Arunachal Pradesh.

·
River:

• • The Namdapha
    River flows through the National Park.

·
Vegetation:

• • Evergreen forests
  • Moist deciduous forests
  • Sub-tropical forests
  • Temperate forests
  • Alpine forests

·
Fauna:

• • Only reserve in India to host all four big cats:
    
    • Tiger
    • Leopard
    • Clouded leopard
    • Snow leopard

·
Flora:

• • Pinus merkusii and Abies
    delavavi (Exclusive to this region).
  • Mishimi Teeta (Coptis teeta) – A rare medicinal plant

China’s
DeepSeek AI Models Challenge Western Dominance

China’s DeepSeek AI models, named DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1, have demonstrated
performance on par with ChatGPT,
posing a challenge to Western dominance in AI.

About
DeepSeek AI Models

• Advanced open-source AI language models with superior reasoning, coding, and mathematical
  computation capabilities.
• More cost-efficient compared to competitors.
• DeepSeek-R1 is reported to be 20 to 50 times cheaper than
  Open AI’s models.
• Implication: Jevons Paradox – Technological advancements that make a
  resource cheaper or more
  efficient often lead to increased demand, rather than reduced
  consumption.

Remembered
on the Birth Anniversary of Field Marshal KM Cariapa

Key
Contributions

• Independent India’s first Commander-in-Chief
  of the Indian Army, a
  role previously reserved for the British.
• Army Day (January 15) commemorates the day he took over as Commander-in-Chief,
  replacing General Sir Francis
  Roy Bucher.

Military
Career (1919-1953)

• First Indian to command a battalion in the Indian Army.
• Served in the Middle
  East and Burma during World War II.
• Post-retirement, he served as India’s High Commissioner to Australia & New Zealand.
• Honored with the rank of Field Marshal by the Indian Government in 1986.

Core Values

• Leadership, Integrity, and Patriotism.

 Thank You