Daily Current Capsules
04 and 05 July 2023
SWAMIH Fund

- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated new homeowners in Bengaluru’s first project under SWAMIH Fund which has helped more than 3000 families in owning their dream homes.
SWAMIH Fund
- The Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I is a social impact fund specifically formed for completing stressed and stalled residential projects.
- It is a government-backed fund, set up as a Category-II AIF (Alternate Investment Fund) debt fund registered with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
- Launched in November 2019, it has raised Rs 15,530 crore so far with an aim to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stressed, brownfield and RERA-registered residential projects that fall in the affordable, mid-income housing category.
- The Fund is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and is managed by SBICAP Ventures Ltd., a State Bank Group company.
- It is considered as the lender of last resort for distressed projects
- The Fund considers first-time developers, established developers with troubled projects, developers with a poor track record of stalled projects, customer complaints and NPA accounts, and even projects where there are litigation issues
Alternative Investment Fund
- It is a type of investment vehicle that pools money from a variety of investors to invest in assets beyond traditional stocks, bonds, and cash.
- These assets may include private equity, hedge funds, real estate, commodities, or other non-traditional investments.
- AIFs are typically marketed to high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors who have the knowledge and resources to invest in more complex and less liquid assets.
- In India, Regulation 2(1)(b) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Regulations (AIFs), 2012 lays down the definition of AIFs.
- AIF does not include funds covered under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, SEBI (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 1999 or any other regulations of the Board to regulate fund management activities.
Alluri Sitarama Raju

- The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu graced and addressed the closing ceremony of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Alluri Sitarama Raju at Hyderabad
Know! about Alluri Sitarama Raju
- Born on 04 July 1897, in a village called Mogallu near Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh, Alluri Sitarama Raju was a sanyasi and a strong believer in justice who raised his voice and waged many battle against unlawful British Policies
- He became a sanyasi at the age of 18, and gained a mystical aura among the hill and tribal peoples with his austerity, knowledge of astrology and medicine, and his ability to tame wild animals.:
- At a very young age, Raju channelled the discontent of the hill people in Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari into a highly effective guerrilla resistance against the British.
- Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility, to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military.
- Colonial rule threatened the tribals’ traditional podu (shifting) cultivation, as the government sought to secure forest lands.
- He became involved in anti-British activities in response to the 1882 Madras Forest Act, which effectively restricted the free movement of Adivasis (tribal communities) in their forest habitats and prevented them from practicing a traditional form of agriculture known as podu (shifting cultivation).
- Rising discontent towards the British led to the Rampa Rebellion/Manyam Rebellion of 1922, in which he played a major part as a leader.
- The Rampa Rebellion coincided with Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement. He persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
- But at the same time, he asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence.
- He was nicknamed “Manyam Veerudu” (Hero of the Jungle) by local villagers for his heroic exploits.
- In 1924, Raju was taken into police custody, tied to a tree, and shot by a public execution, effectively ending the armed rebellion.
23rd SCO Summit

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting of the council of heads of the member states was held virtually on July 4, 2023, with India hosting the summit for the first time.
- The theme of the summit this year is “Secure” which stands for ‘Security, Economy and Trade, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity, and Environment’.
Summit Highlights
- All the leaders welcomed the completion of the procedure for Iran to join as the organization’s (SCO) full Member State.
- Iran is the newest member of the SCO since India and Pakistan were made members back in 2017.
- The leaders also welcomed the decision on signing the Memorandum of Obligation of Belarus to join the organization as a Member State, the process will be completed by the 2024 SCO Summit
India has established five new pillars of cooperation within the SCO:
- Startups and Innovation
- Traditional Medicine
- Youth Empowerment
- Digital Inclusion, and
- Shared Buddhist Heritage.
These initiatives aim to strengthen collaboration and engagement among member states.
New Delhi Declaration
- One of the major outcomes of the SCO summit was the New Delhi Declaration.
- The name of the Declaration was coined by the Indian government and was proposed at the summit to fight against terrorism.
- The declaration also proposed four other joint statements on de-radicalization, sustainable lifestyle to tackle climate change, production of millets, and digital transformation.
How will Iran’s membership in SCO help India?
- Iran has officially become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during the summit held under the presidency of New Delhi on July 4.
- Iran has been a significant neighbouring country of India.
- This inclusion would help in enhancing connectivity initiatives, particularly through projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Chabahar Port.
Bhashini

- India’s AI-based language platform ‘Bhashini’ is being used by the leaders at the SCO summit!
- It is a local language translation mission that aims to break the barrier between various Indian tongues by using available technology.
- This government platform aims to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available in the public domain to be used by — Indian MSMEs, startups and individual innovators.
- Bhashini aims to build a National Public Digital Platform for languages to develop services and products for citizens by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
- Bhashini shall act as an orchestrator to unify and align a large diverse network across government, industry, academia, research groups and start-ups to bring all their contributions into an open repository.
Highlights of India’s chairmanship
- Under India’s chairmanship, new initiatives have been taken to enhance contact and engagement among people.
- For the first time, the SCO Millet Food Festival, Film Festival, SCO Surajkund Craft Mela, Think Tanks Conference, and International Conference on Shared Buddhist Heritage were organized.
The first tourism and cultural capital of the SCO, the eternal city of Varanasi, became a center of attraction for various programs. - New forums such as the Young Scientists Conclave, Young Authors Conclave, Young Resident Scholar Programme, Startup Forum, and Youth Council.
Next Chairman of the SCO – Kazakhstan
Know! about Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
- SCO is a permanent international intergovernmental organization.
- SCO creation was announced in June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Uzbekistan, The Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.
- India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan – granted the full membership of the organisation in the historical meeting of the Heads of State Council of the SCO held in June 2017 in Astana,
Members countries of SCO
- China
- India
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Russia
- Pakistan
- Tajikistan
- Uzbekistan
- Iran
Iran is the new member of the SCO, which was recently added to the permanent member countries in the 2022 Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, held in Uzbekistan.
Observer States
- Afghanistan
- Belarus
- Mongolia
Dialogue Partners
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Cambodia
- Nepal
- Sri Lanka
- Turkey
SCO’s Main Goals are as follows:
- Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states;
- To promote their effective cooperation in trade, politics, research, the economy, technology, and culture.
- Education, transport, energy, environmental protection, tourism, and other areas;
- Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure security, stability, and peace in the region;
- Moving toward the establishment of a democratic, rational, and fair new international economic and political order.
- The organisation pursues its internal policy based on the principles of mutual benefit, mutual trust, mutual consultations, equality, respect for cultural diversity, and a desire for common development, while the external policy is conducted under the principles of non-targeting and non-alignment.
Structure and Working
- The supreme decision-making body in the SCO is the Heads of State Council (HSC).
- The HSC meets once a year and adopts guidelines and decisions on all important matters of the SCO.
- The SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organization’s multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas, to resolve current important economic and other cooperation issues
- The organization has two permanent bodies — First is the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent and the second is the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing.
- The Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS and SCO Secretary-General are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a term of 3years.
Swami Vivekananda

- The Prime Minister, has remembered Swami Vivekananda on his Punya Tithi

Know! about Swami Vivekananda
- Swami Vivekananda was a Hindu monk and one of the most celebrated spiritual leaders of India.
- Born Narendranath Dutta, into an affluent Bengali family in Calcutta, Vivekananda was one of the eight children of Vishwanath Dutta and Bhuvaneshwari Devi.
- He was born on January 12, 1863, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
- His birthday, January 12, is celebrated as the National Youth Day in India.
- He attended the World Parliament of Religions being held in Chicago, America in 1893 where he represent India, Hinduism and his Guru Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophies.
- He received a standing ovation from the audience for the opening phrase.
- He went on to describe the principles of Vedanta and their spiritual significance, putting Hinduism on the map of World Religions.
- He founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. H
- He founded the Ramakrishna Mission on May 1, 1897 at Belur Math near Calcutta.
- The goals of the Ramakrishna Mission were based on the ideals of Karma Yoga and its primary objective was to serve the poor and distressed population of the country.
Sai Hira Global Convention Centre
- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Sai Hira Global Convention Centre in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh
- The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust has constructed a new facility, Sai Hira Global Convention Centre, at Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi.
- Prasanthi Nilayam is the main ashram of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
- The Convention Centre donated by philanthropist Shri Ryuko Hira is a testament to the vision of promoting cultural exchange, spirituality, and global harmony.
- It provides a nurturing environment for people of diverse backgrounds to come together, connect, and explore the teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
- Its world-class amenities and infrastructure will facilitate conferences, seminars, and cultural events, fostering dialogue and understanding among individuals from all walks of life.
- The sprawling complex also features meditation halls, serene gardens and facilities for accommodation.
Social Enterprise Conclave
- Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship addressed a Social Enterprise Conclave organized by Institute of Rural Management, Anand in partnership with LIC Housing Finance Limited
- On this occasion, the Minister launched the second edition of the Social Trailblazer Program by Incubator for Social Enterprises and Entrepreneurs Development, IRMA.
- The program aims to further boost the social entrepreneurship ecosystem at the grassroots and nurture early stage entrepreneurs.
Incubator for Social Enterprises and Entrepreneurs for Development(ISEED)
- IRMA’s Incubator for Social Enterprises and Entrepreneurs for Development (ISEED) supports and nurtures early-stage rural, social and collective enterprises.
- The incubator emerged out of IRMA’s Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprises (CSEE) and was launched at IRMA on August 22, 2016
- ISEED seeks to co-create a social entrepreneurial ecosystem through its social enterprise and ecosystem partners.
- It does by providing mentoring and networking, collaborative research, entrepreneurship training and capacity building and supporting innovations.
The Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)
- Founded in 1979, IRMA is focused on creating management professionals who can bring about sustainable, ecologically-friendly and equitable growth by applying their management acumen at the grassroots level
- Dr. Verghese Kurien, known as the ‘Father of the White Revolution in India’, founded IRMA at Anand, Gujarat with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), the Government of India, Government of Gujarat, the erstwhile Indian Dairy Corporation and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
- IRMA is a premier institution of professional learning offering Management programmes with a focus on understanding real management problems and socio-economic realities of under-served communities through intensive fieldwork.
International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2023)

- The Government of India is organizing an International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2023) during 5th – 7th July 2023
- Objective – to discuss recent advances and emerging technologies in the entire green hydrogen value chain.
- The conference is being organized by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in partnership with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
National Green Hydrogen Mission

- India has set its sight on becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving Net Zero by 2070.
- To achieve this target, increasing renewable energy use across all economic spheres is central to India’s Energy Transition.
- Green Hydrogen is considered a promising alternative for enabling this transition.
- Hydrogen can be utilized for long-duration storage of renewable energy, replacement of fossil fuels in industry, clean transportation, and potentially also for decentralized power generation, aviation, and marine transport.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet on 4 January 2022, with the intended objectives of:
- Making India a leading producer and supplier of Green Hydrogen in the world
- Creation of export opportunities for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives
- Reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock
- Development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities
- Attracting investment and business opportunities for the industry
- Creating opportunities for employment and economic development
- Supporting R&D projects
Mission Outcomes
The mission outcomes projected by 2030 are:
- Development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country
- Over Rs. Eight lakh crore in total investments
- Creation of over Six lakh jobs
- Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports over Rs. One lakh crore
- Abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions
Types Of Hydrogen Based On Extraction Methods
Depending on the nature of the method of its extraction, hydrogen is categorised into three categories, namely, Grey, Blue and Green.
- Grey Hydrogen: It is produced via coal or lignite gasification (black or brown), or via a process called steam methane reformation (SMR) of natural gas or methane (grey). These tend to be mostly carbon-intensive processes.
- Blue Hydrogen: It is produced via natural gas or coal gasification combined with carbon capture storage (CCS) or carbon capture use (CCU) technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
- Green Hydrogen: It is produced using electrolysis of water with electricity generated by renewable energy. The carbon intensity ultimately depends on the carbon neutrality of the source of electricity (i.e., the more renewable energy there is in the electricity fuel mix, the “greener” the hydrogen produced).

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