• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has recently launched a Special Micro-Credit Facility Scheme – PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi).

About the Scheme

• It aims for providing affordable loans to street vendors.
• This scheme will go a long way in enabling them to resume work and earn livelihoods.
• Urban Local Bodies will play pivotal role in the implementation of the scheme.
• The vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year.
• On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on six monthly basis.
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.

• Ministry of Tourism has recently organized a webinar on “Haryana: Culture, Cuisine and Tourism” showcasing the rich and varied heritage of Haryana.

Highlights

• The information regarding Haryana is being divided into two parts namely, the Deswali Belt and the Bagari Belt.
• The session threw light into some lesser known information like divisions of the state into regions basis of Soil i.e. (Khadar, Nardak, Bagad, Bangar), Demographic basis i.e. (Ahirwal, Mewat, Braj) and on the basis of Eco Cultural Zones i.e. (Ahirwal, Mewat, Bagar, Nardak, Khadar).
• Haryana also is home to celebrity Sportspersons and Actors like Kapil Dev, Sushil Kumar, Mallika Sherawat, Meghana Malik, Randeep Hudda.
• This webinar session traced how the state got its name by being the land of lord Shiva, and Lord Vishnu.
• The Name of Haryana came from “Hari ka aana” from its History.
• Haryana was known by so many names due to its glorious history.
• Haryana has more than 1000 Archaeological Sites which depicts that the Culture of Haryana is.
• The three battles were fought in Panipat in 1526, 1556 and 1761.
• The Culture of Haryana is Agriculture based.
• The Folk Dances of Haryana are Ghangor, Jhoomar, chhati showcases the Culture of Haryana along with the Folk Music.
• Haryana is a land of Museums, it has more than 20 Museums.
• It can also be known as the state of Festivals. 
• The important aspect of Haryanv in socialising are Community involvement, respectful, wearing pakhdi, sitting in Choupal and enjoying Hookhas.

• Union Cabinet has recently approved the establishment of Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as Subordinate Office under Ministry of AYUSH by merging into it Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL)- the two central laboratories established at Ghaziabad since 1975.
• PLIM & HPL being the subordinate offices and PCIM&H- an autonomous organization under Ministry of AYUSH are going to be merged to establish PCIM&H, as a subordinate office of the Ministry with a common administrative control.
• The merger is aimed at optimizing the use of infrastructural facilities, technical manpower and financial resources of the three organizations for enhancing the standardization outcomes of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs towards their effective regulation and quality control.

SWADES Initiative

• The Government of India has recently launched a new initiative SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) to conduct a skill mapping exercise of the returning citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission.
• It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of External Affairs which aims to create a database of qualified citizens based on their skillsets and experience to tap into and fulfil demand of Indian and foreign companies.
• The collected information will be shared with the companies for suitable placement opportunities in the country.
• The returning citizens are required to fill up an online SWADES Skills Card.
• The card will facilitate a strategic framework to provide the returning citizens with suitable employment opportunities through discussions with key stakeholders including State Governments, Industry Associations and Employers.
• MSDE’s implementation arm National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is supporting the implementation of the project.

• The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have “severe” short and long term effects on economic growth, the World Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects (GEP) June 2020 report released recently.
• EMDEs (Emerging Market and Developing Economies) are especially vulnerable, the report says.

Global Economic Prospects

• It is a World Bank Group’s flagship report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies.
• It is issued twice a year, in January and June.

• Recently, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has suggested that the government allow use of Maize for production of ethanol in the country, a move that could help growers fetch better prices.
• In its price recommendations for Kharif 2020-21, CACP said major policy changes were required for pricing, procurement and utilisation of maize in the country.
• The main Kharif crops include paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, sugarcane, groundnut, pulses etc.
• The main Rabi crops include wheat, gram, oat, barley, potato, and seeds like mustard, linseed, sunflower, coriander, cumin, etc.

• The Union Cabinet has approved an amendment to the 65-year-old Essential Commodities Act, removing cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities.
• The Cabinet also approved ordinances to remove restrictions on farmers selling their produce outside notified market yards, as well as to facilitate contract farming and allow farmers to engage in direct marketing, according to an official statement.
• The ECA has been used by the Government to regulate the production, supply and distribution of a whole host of commodities it declares “essential” in order to make them available to consumers at fair prices.
• The list of items under the Act include drugs, fertilisers, pulses and edible oils, and petroleum and petroleum products.
• The Centre can include new commodities as and when the need arises, and take them off the list once the situation improves.
• If the Centre finds that a certain commodity is in short supply and its price is spiking, it can notify stock-holding limits on it for a specified period.
• The States act on this notification to specify limits and take steps to ensure that these are adhered to.
• A State can, however, choose not to impose any restrictions.
• But once it does, traders have to immediately sell into the market any stocks held beyond the mandated quantity. This improves supplies and brings down prices.
• Under the Act, the government can also fix the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of any packaged product that it declares an “essential commodity”.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launches its upgraded cloud-based online compliance platform.
• The food safety regulator aims to make Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS) as the one-stop point for all its regulatory and compliance engagements with Food Business Operators (FBOs).
• This  new online platform is for granting licenses and registration to food business operators (FBOs) as well as regulatory compliances.
• It will also replace the existing Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS).
• A single regulatory platform will act as pan-India integrated response system to any food fraud and ensure an advanced risk-based, data driven regulatory approach.

• Pregnant wild elephant dies in Kerala after cracker filled pineapple explodes in her mouth.
• There are three subspecies of Asian elephant, the Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan.
• In that, India is home to between 50 and 60% of all of Asia’s wild elephants and about 20% of the domesticated elephants. 
• Asian elephants, Jaguars and Great Indian bustards were among 10 new species added to the Appendix I of UN Convention on Migratory Species, 13th COP held at Gandhinagar recently.
• A migratory species may be listed in Appendix I provided that, the best scientific evidence available indicates that the species is endangered.
• Asian elephants are listed as ‘Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List. 
• The elephant has been accorded the highest possible protection under the Indian wildlife law through its listing under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• This means that hunting/trading this species can attract rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years and fine. 

• Recently, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), has proposed ending animal test, Abnormal Toxicity Test (ATT) for human vaccines. 
• IPC is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• It sets standards for all drugs that are manufactured, sold and consumed in India. 
• Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) is published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).
• The ATT was originally developed in the 1950s to detect external contaminants in vaccines and has remained the de-facto gold standard despite mounting scientific evidence against its reliability and value. 
• The European Union and United States pharmacopeia deleted the ATT on the WHO’s recommendations in November 2018.