• The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund has entered into a collaboration with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to unveil a $600 million India-Japan Fund.
• The fund will have JBIC and Government of India as anchor investors.
• It will focus on investing in environmental sustainability and low carbon emission strategies and aims to play the role of being a ‘partner of choice’ to further enhance Japanese investments into India.
• The announcement marks NIIF’s first bilateral fund, with GoI contributing 49% of the target corpus and the remaining 51% contributed by JBIC.
• The fund will be managed by NIIF Limited (NIIFL), and JBIC IG (a subsidiary of JBIC) will support NIIFL in promoting Japanese investments in India.

ABOUT NIIF

• The ₹40,000-crore NIIF was set up in December 2015 as an institution for enhancing infrastructure financing by investing in greenfield (new), brownfield (existing) and stalled projects.
• The fund was set up as Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
• NIIF manages three funds with distinct strategies – Master Fund, Fund of Funds and Strategic Opportunities Fund.

• As per the UN’s latest Trade and Development Report 2023, the world economy growth is projected to be 2.4%.
• It has been published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
• In 2023, there will be a global recession, like that in 2009. And it may continue in 2024 as well.
• UNCTAD has termed this growth as “stalled speed”.
  • A global recession is defined as when the growth rate hits 2.5 per cent and below.
  • According to the latest projection of UNCTAD, in 2024 the growth rate will have an insignificant increase to hit 2.5 per cent.
• The UNCTAD report has attributed this recession, after the contraction in pandemic years, to unprecedented growing inequalities and uneven growth among various regions.

FINDINGS ABOUT INDIA

• UNCTAD revises India’s 2023 economic growth forecast to 6.6%, up from the previous estimate of 6%.
• Predicts a slight decline in India’s growth to 6.2% for the year 2024.
• For India, the growth registered is mostly driven by government spending and supporting external trade situations.
• But its major concern is the “historic” unemployment rate of 8.5 per cent in June 2023.

ABOUT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD)

• Established– 1964
• UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body aimed to promote development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.
• HQ- Geneva, Switzerland
• Member- 195 including India
• UN General Assembly is the parent Organisation.
• Some of the other reports published by it are: World Investment Report, Information and Economy Report, Technology and Innovation Report, Commodities and Development Report.

• The 2023 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
• These nanoparticles have wide-ranging applications across fields like electronics, advanced surgery, and quantum computing.

ABOUT QUANTUM DOTS

• Quantum dots are particles that are a few nanometres wide.
• They exhibit unique optical properties due to their small physical size.
• Their structure and atomic composition are the same as bulk materials, but the properties of the latter don’t depend on their size.
• In fact ,the properties of quantum dots can be changed by changing their size.
• At the scale of nanometres, materials and particles are capable of new, size-dependent properties because quantum physical forces start to dominate.
• At the macroscopic scale, on the other hand, like in our day to day lives, gravity and the rules of classical physics dominate.

THE NOBEL-WINNING RESEARCH

• In the early 1980s, Ekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum effects in coloured glass.
• In 1983, Brus and his colleagues went a step ahead and prepared similar crystals in a liquid solution, rather than in a glass. This allowed the researchers to better manipulate and study the crystals.
• Finally, in 1993, Bawendi and his coworkers developed a technique to make the quantum dots of well-defined sizes and with high optical quality.
  • This process began by injecting some substance (of which the dot would be made) into a hot solvent and then heating the solution. Nanocrystals automatically began to take shape, and larger particles formed when the solution was heated for longer. The solvent also ensured that the crystals had a smooth outer surface.
  • This method was quite easy, which meant many scientists could use it to make quantum dots that they required and study them.

APPLICATIONS

• One of the simplest applications of quantum dots is to light computer monitors and television screens.
  • Blue LEDs behind the screen excite these dots, causing them to emit light of different colours.
• Nanoscale-sized quantum dots are also used to map biological tissues by biochemists.
• Quantum dots are also used in photovoltaic cells to improve the absorption and efficiency in converting solar light into electricity.
• Certain cancer treatments use quantum dots for targeted drug delivery and other therapeutic measures.
• Quantum dots can be used as security markers on currency and documents as an anti-counterfeit measure. Broadly, they can be used as fluorescent markers to tag and track objects.

• Recently, the Government of India has established the National Turmeric Board.
• India is presently the world’s largest producer (75% of global turmeric production), consumer, and exporter of turmeric
• Composition of the Board: A Chairperson (appointed by the Central Government) and members from the Ministry of AYUSH, Departments of Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Commerce & Industry, etc. along with rotating senior State Government representatives from three states.
• The Board is expected to help develop and grow the spice market in India, which controls over 62% share of the turmeric world trade.
• The largest producing states of Turmeric are Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

ABOUT TURMERIC CROP

• Scientific name- Curcuma longa
• It is a plant in the ginger family which is native to Southeast Asia.
• Favourable Agricultural conditions include-
  • tropical conditions,
  • 20–35 degree Celsius
  • Annual rainfall of 1500 mm or more.
  • Well-drained sandy or clay loam soils.
• Application– Turmeric is used in traditional Indian medical systems, cosmetic industries, Detoxify the liver, exhibit properties like antiviral, analgesic, antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory etc.

• PM SVANidhi scheme, achieved its target of reaching 50 lakh beneficiaries.
• So far, as many as 65.75 lakh loans exceeding Rs 8,600 crore in disbursement took place.
• Currently, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Gujarat are among the top-performing states, while Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Indore, and Mumbai are the leading cities in terms of implementation.

ABOUT PRIME MINISTER STREET VENDOR’S ATMANIRBHAR NIDHI (PM SVANIDHI) SCHEME

• Street vendors play an integral role in the urban informal economy, providing essential goods and services to urban residents.
  • The PM SVANidhi scheme has been instrumental in bringing them into the formal economic fold.
• PM SVANidhi scheme is a Central Sector Scheme under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• The scheme, launched on June 1, 2020, is a micro-credit scheme for urban street vendors that aims to provide collateral-free working capital loans up to Rs 50,000.
  • The 3^rd term loan of up to ₹50,000 is in addition to 1st & 2nd loans of ₹10,000 and ₹20,000 respectively.
• Under the scheme regular repayments are incentivized with a 7 per cent interest subsidy and digital transactions are rewarded with cashback up to Rs 1,200 per year.
• The scheme employs Aadhaar-based e-KYC, utilizes an end-to-end IT platform, and employs SMS-based notifications for application status updates.

• Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said parents of single girl child will be given an incentive of Rs 2 lakh as part of the government’s efforts to remove the evil practice of female foeticide in the state.
• Earlier an incentive of Rs 35,000 was given for to parents of single girl child, which would now be increased to Rs 2 lakh.
• Rs 2 lakh would henceforth be given to the parents who adopt family planning after birth of one girl child and Rs one lakh to those who decide not to have another child after two girls.

• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued a notification to quash a key provision of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) with respect to aircraft, aircraft engines, airframes and helicopters, which will make it easier for lessors to recover their planes in case an airline goes bankrupt.
• The notification states: “The provisions of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), would not be applicable to transactions, arrangements or agreements, under the Convention and the Protocol, relating to aircraft, aircraft engines, airframes and helicopters.”
• The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, or Cape Town Treaty, which was signed in 2001 and became effective in 2006, lessens the risks of lending for aircraft lessors and financiers, and for parties involved in aircraft purchasing and leasing.
• The Cape Town Treaty was formulated to make it easier for lessors to take back aircraft if airlines defaulted on payments.
  • It was adopted by India in 2008.

• World Animal Day is observed annually on October 4^th.
• It serves as a global commemoration focused on the promotion of animal welfare and the protection of their rights.
• The theme for World Animal Day 2023 is “Big or small, we love them all,”.

• The charming whistling village of Kongthong, located in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, has been awarded the ‘Best Tourism Village (Bronze)’ at the National Tourism Awards 2023 by the Ministry of Tourism.
• Kongthong, with a population of approximately 750 inhabitants, is a Meghalayan gem that has managed to preserve a unique tradition known as “Jingrwai Iawbei.”
• This tradition roughly translates to the “song of the first clan lady” and involves the practice of creating a unique melody for each individual in the community.
• This melody, or jingrwai lawbei, is used to call out to the person and is believed to be so distinctive that it can even be heard by the spirits of the ancestors.

• The Prime Minister paid tributes to revolutionary freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary on October 4^th.

ABOUT SHYAMJI KRISHNA VARMA

• He was born on 4th October, 1857 in Mandvi town of Kachchh district of Gujarat.
• He was an expert in Sanskrit and other languages.
• He was inspired by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Herbert Spencer.
• He founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London.
  • Indian Home Rule Society and the India House worked towards inspiring youngsters in Britain to take up revolutionary activities against their own representatives in India.
  • The monthly Indian Sociologist became an outlet for nationalist ideas and through the Indian Home Rule Society, he criticised the British rule in India.
• Varma became the first President of Bombay Arya Samaj.
• He inspired Veer Savarkar who was a member of India House in London.
• Verma also served as the Divan of a number of states in India.
• In the face of criticism by the British, Varma shifted his base from England to Paris and continued his movement.
• After the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18), however, he moved to Geneva in Switzerland and spent the rest of his life there.
  • He died on 30th March, 1930.
• A memorial called Kranti Teerth dedicated to him was inaugurated in 2010 near Mandvi, Kutch, Gujarat.