Telangana's 1st Rythu Vedika inaugurated by K Chandrashekhar Rao to address farmers' issues

• Telangana inaugurated the state's first Rythu Vedika at Kondakandla village in Jangaon district of Telangana. Rythu Vedika is Telangana government's initiative to address the issues faced by farmers by bringing them under one platform and help them to attain higher returns.
• The state has earmarked Rs 572.22 crores towards the total construction cost at Rs 22 lakh per Rythu Vedika
• Mission Bhagiratha will provide tap water to Rythu Vedikas. Each Rythu Vedika will have two rooms and two toilets with a plinth area of 2,046 sq feet.
• Notably, Telangana is the only state which is purchasing grains from the farmers directly that will also help them in the long run.
• As a part of initiative, the state government is planning to construct as many as 2,601 Rythu Vedikas in the state

Dynamatic Technologies Ltd + CSIR-CSIO> MoU for joint development of futuristic solutions

• Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies Ltd and CSIR-CSIO (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Central Scientific Instruments Organization) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for designing,
• developing and manufacturing futuristic solutions for defense and aerospace, healthcare and agriculture industries.
• The partnership with CSIO is aligned to Government of India's vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

About Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Central Scientific

• Instruments Organization (CSIR-CSIO)
• Director - Anantha Ramakrishna
• Location - Chandigarh

Public Affairs Index 2020

• The Public Affairs Index-2020 has been released recently by the Public Affairs Center.
• The states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa have emerged as the best governed states.
• The states have been ranked on governance performance on the basis of a composite index. The composite index was prepared in the context of sustainable development defined by the three pillars including the equity, growth and sustainability.

About Public Affairs Center (PAC)

• Chairman - K Kasturirangan
• Location - Bengaluru

top 3 Large states

• Kerala
• Tamil Nadu
• Andhra Pradesh

top 3 Small states

• Goa
• Meghalaya
• Himachal Pradesh

top 3 Union territory

• Chandigarh
• Puducherry
• Lakshadweep

Public Affairs Index 2020

• Equity
• In the Large States category, in terms of Equity, Bihar followed by West Bengal, Odisha are the top performers, while Kerala, Punjab and
• Maharashtra feature at the bottom.
• In the Small states, Mizoram is the top performer, Goa is placed at the Bottom.
• Growth
• Among large states Bihar, Assam and Odisha showed the highest improvement, while Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu feature at the bottom.
• Among small states, Mizoram, Meghalaya have the highest growth with Manipur at the bottom. Himachal ranks 2nd, but has least improvement in Delta value.
• Sustainability
• In terms of Sustainability, Odisha and Haryana show the highest improvement.
• Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Assam are placed at the bottom among the large states.
• Among small states, Goa is the top performer followed by Delhi and Tripura, while Meghalaya and Mizoram feature at the bottom.

UNESCO included Panna in "World network of Biosphere Reserves"

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently included the Panna National Park of Madhya Pradesh under its "World Network of Biosphere reserves".
• Apart from the Panna National Park, Fuvahmulahand Addu Atoll of Maldives has also been included under the list this year.
• Panna National Park was included under the list as a biosphere reserve by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.
• UNESCO has also described the National Park as a critical tiger habitat and has explained that the park is home to the World Heritage site of Khajuraho temples.
• Panna National Park - The national park is located in Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. The park was declared as the 22nd Tiger reserve of India and 5th in Madhya Pradesh in the year 1993. The park was declared as one of the Tiger reserves of India in 1994-95.
• There is a concerns regarding the controversial Ken-Betwa River linking project.
• The Government of India along with Government of Madhya Pradesh and Government of Uttar Pradesh have planned to link the Ken River with the Betwa River.
• This also comprises the construction of 283km long Daudhan Dam.

About UNESCO

• Director-General - Audrey Azoulay
• HQ - Paris

BRICS Business Forum held virtually

• The BRICS Business Forum was organized through video conference.
• The meeting was chaired by the head of the Russian chapter of the BRICS Business Council and the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sergey Katerin, President of the Russian Federation from Moscow.
• The sessions of the BRICS Council were organized under the understanding themes:
• "Economic Development of COVID-19 and BRICS Countries: Problems and Work" and
• "Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development: Pathways to a Green Economy."

GST collection hits 8-month high in October 2020

• The Union Ministry of Finance recently notified total amount of GST revenue collected in the month of October stands around Rs 1,05,155 crore.
• The collected revenue is an 8-month high figure.
• Out of the total collected GST revenue, CGST accounts for Rs 19,193 crore, SGST accounts for Rs 25,411 crore, and IGST accounts Rs 52,540 crore.
• This is the first time in the current financial year that the gross GST revenue collection crossed Rs 1 lakh crore.

Gol gave Rs 670 crore to RRBs to meet Regulatory Capital Requirement

• Union Govt. has provided Rs 670 crore to Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in order to raise the Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) of about one-third of the 43 RRBs who are suffering losses especially from north-eastern and eastern regions and need funds to meet regulatory capital requirement of 9%. This infusion would take care of their capital needs till March 31, 2021.
• As of end March 2020, 17 out of the 45 RRBs had CRAR of less than 9%, of which six RRBs had negative CRAR
• As per the current scheme for recapitalization of RRBS, the center, concerned state governments and the sponsor banks provides support in the ratio of 50:15:35, respectively to enable them to meet the regulatory requirement of CRAR.
• NABARD Data shows Losses by RRBS
• In accordance with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), RRBS as a group reported net loss of Rs 2,206 crore in the FY20, as against Rs 652-crore net loss in FY19.
• Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of gross loans outstanding of RRBs marginally declined to 10.4% as on March 31, 2020, from 10.8% as on March 31, 2019
• Deposits and advances of RRBs increased by 10.2% and 9.5%, respectively during FY2019-20.
• Priority sector loans (PSL) constituted 90.6% or Rs 2.70 lakh crore of the gross loans outstanding of RRBs as on March 31, 2020.
• Share of agriculture and MSME sectors in total loan outstanding stood at 70% and 12% respectively.
• Gol gave Rs 670 crore to RRBs to meet Regulatory Capital Requirement

About Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)

• Formulated under the RRB Act, 1976, these banks aim to provide credit and other facilities to small and marginal farmers, agricultural laborers, micro and small enterprises (MSMEs), artisans and weaker sections of the society in rural areas.
• They are mandated to provide 75% of their total credit under PSL.

About NABARD

• HQ - Mumbai
• Formed - 1982
• Chairman - Govinda Rajulu Chintala

World Vegan Day → Nov 1, 2020

• World Vegan Day is observed annually on November 1 all over the world to encourage people to follow a vegan lifestyle which is not only for the welfare of animals but also for an environment.
• This day also marks the founding day of the Vegan Society in the UK which was established in 1944.
• The day was mooted by Louise Wallis, the then Chair of the Vegan Society during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Society, which also marks its first observance.
• October 30 - November 1 2020 the Global Vegan Business Expo 2020 was virtually organized by Compassion India magazine on the theme "Sustaining Eco-Economic Growth". The expo marked the first anniversary of the launch of Compassion India magazine.