Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)

• SFAC is an Autonomous Society promoted by Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
• It was registered under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 on 18th January, 1994.
• The Society is governed by Board of Management which is chaired, ex-officio, by Hon’ble Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare as the President.
• The Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is the ex-officio Vice-President.
• SFAC is implementing the central schemes of Government of India namely VCA, EGCGS for economic inclusion of small and marginal farmers in agribusiness activities.
• Society is pioneer in organising small and marginal farmers as Farmers Interest Groups, Farmers Producers Organisation and Farmers Producers Company for endowing them with bargaining power and economies of scale.

85% of farmers in India are small and marginal farmers.

• It provides a platform for increased accessibility and cheaper availability of agricultural inputs to small and marginal farmers and in establishing forward and backward linkages in supply chain management.
• This initiative has triggered mobilization of farmers for aggregation across the country with ultimate aim of sustainable business model and augmented incomes.

Khayal

• It is the most dominant North Indian classical vocal music offers the performer more freedom and a greater scope for improvisation than the older vocal genre ‘Dhrupad’.
• Origin – Khyal emerged during the Mughal period, when Persian music influences blended with local Indian traditions.
• It came into being after the temple traditions of dhrupad & prabandh gayaki were fused with qalbana, the Sufi music (later called qawwali), by the 14th century Sufi saint & musician Amir Khusrau.

EmpowHER Biz (Sapno Ki Udaan)

• Launched by – Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog in partnership with New Shop (India’s largest 24/7 convenience retail chain) under its Award to Reward (ATR) program. (Statement 1 is incorrect)
•  Aim – To empower women entrepreneurs by equipping them with the skills and resources needed to succeed in the organized retail sector.

To know more about it click here

Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) Project

• The SAFE Project aims to understand the ecological consequences of forest fragmentation.
• This study collated data from 82 datasets, collected across various forest plots over five years, using advanced sampling techniques.
• It was launched in 2011 that encompasses an extensive gradient of land use intensity, representing a progressive increase in the degree of forest modification.
• Between the logged forest and agriculture land uses, SAFE will experimentally fragment a landscape of logged forest that is being converted to oil palm plantation.