• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has called for the creation of “Poshan Vatikas” throughout the country in anticipation of the month-long Poshan Maah celebrations in September 2021.
• The government said that four lakh 37 thousand Anganwadi Centres have set up Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens to provide easy and affordable access to fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs.
• The Nutri-gardens have been set up under the Poshan Maah Scheme (2018) and aimed at improving nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• Under the Poshan Maah Scheme, efforts are being put into setting up Nutri gardens with backyard poultry and fishery units across the country.
• Around 1.10 lakh medicinal saplings have also been planted across some selected districts of six states. More than 75 thousand sensitization camps have been conducted to promote millets and backyard kitchen gardens. Beyond the locally available wholesome produce, these Nutri-gardens will reduce external dependency and will make communities proactive in maintaining their nutritional security.
• To replicate the idea of Nutri-gardens around new Anganwadi centres, close to 40 thousand land identification drives have been conducted. Also, more than 1.5 lakh events on these nutria-gardens have been reported so far.
• The main idea behind setting up of these gardens is to provide a fresh and regular supply of locally produced fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants to women and children straight from a Nutri-garden at or near an Anganwadi Centre. They can also play an important role in enhancing dietary diversity by providing key micronutrients through local fruits and vegetables.
• Launched in 2018, POSHAN Abhiyaan is a key component of Mission Poshan 2.0 which seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery. It also aims at promoting practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.
• In India, child malnutrition has been improving gradually. As per reports, comparing the two National Family Health Surveys conducted in the years 2016 and 2021, children who are underweight reduced by 3.7 percentage points, those who are stunted reduced by 2.9 percentage points, and those who are wasted reduced by 1.7 percentage points.

• India has exported the first consignment of plant-based meat products from Nadiad in the Kheda district of Gujarat to California in the United States.
• In a move to boost exports of unique agricultural processed food products, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Authority, APEDA, facilitated the export of the first consignment of plant-based meat products under the Vegan Food category.
• Plant-based food products have a huge export potential in the international market due to the high nutrient value of vegan food products. Due to its rich fibre and lesser cholesterol contents, vegan food products are becoming alternative food products across the globe.
• The 5,000 kg consignment consisted of mini samosas, hot and spicy strips, momos, spring rolls, nuggets, and grilled patty, among other products.
• APEDA has planned to promote a variety of vegan food products, including pancakes, snacks, and cheese to the countries of Australia, Israel, New Zealand, and others in the coming months.

About APEDA:

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December, 1985.
• Basmati Rice has been included in the Second Schedule of APEDA Act.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Indian banks may continue their fundraising spree in the next few months by issuing Basel III-compliant and infrastructure bonds as they rush to meet rising credit demand and lock in funds at cheaper rates.

Basel Norms

• Basel norms or Basel accords are the international banking regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
• The Basel norms is an effort to coordinate banking regulations across the globe, with the goal of strengthening the international banking system.
• It is the set of the agreement by the Basel committee of Banking Supervision which focuses on the risks to banks and the financial system.
• Objective: To improve the banking sector’s ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, to reduce the risk of spill over from the financial sector to the real economy, to raise capital standard and to implement strong international compensation standards aimed at ending practices that lead to excessive risk-taking.

BASEL I

• BCBS introduced the capital measurement system called Basel capital accord in 1988. It was also known as Basel 1.
• It was almost entirely concerned with credit risk.
• It established the capital and risk-weighting structure for banks.
• The required minimum capital was set at 8% of risk-weighted assets (RWA).
• RWA refers to assets with varying risk profiles. For example, an asset backed by collateral would be less risky than a personal loan with no collateral.
• Capital is divided into two categories: Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital.

BASEL II

• BCBS published Basel II guidelines in June 2004, which were considered to be refined and reformed versions of the Basel I accord.
• The guidelines were founded on three pillars, as the committee refers to them:

• Capital Adequacy Requirements: Banks should keep a minimum capital adequacy requirement of 8% of risk assets.
• Supervisory Review: According to this, banks were required to develop and implement better risk management techniques for monitoring and managing all three types of risks that a bank faces: credit, market, and operational risks.
• Market Discipline: This necessitates stricter disclosure requirements. Banks must report their CAR, risk exposure, and other information to the central bank on a regular basis.

BASEL III

• The Basel III guidelines were published in 2010.
• These guidelines were put in place in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
• There was a need to further strengthen the system because banks in developed economies were undercapitalized, over-leveraged, and relied more on short-term funding.
• Furthermore, the quantity and quality of capital required under Basel II were deemed insufficient to contain any additional risk.
• The Basel III norms aim to make most banking activities, such as trading books, more capital-intensive.
• The guidelines are intended to promote a more resilient banking system by focusing on four critical banking parameters: capital, leverage, funding, and liquidity.
• It consists of undisclosed reserves, preference shares, and subordinate debt.
• In 1999, India adopted the Basel 1 guidelines.

About Basel III compliant Bonds

• The bonds qualify as tier II capital of the bank, and has a face value of Rs 10 lakh each, bearing a coupon rate of 6.24 per cent per annum payable annually for a tenor of 10 years.
• There is a call option after 5 years and on anniversary thereafter.
• Call option means the issuer of the bonds can call back the bonds before the maturity date by paying back the principal amount to investors.

• In order to recover bad loans and reduce Non-Performing Assets (NPA), the Board of Director (BoD) of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Ltd has launched a one-time settlement policy facilitating the loan defaulters to clear their debts.
• This was stated by Rajiv Bhardwaj, Chairman of the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. (KCCBL).
• He said the BoD had issued a notification to implement this policy.
• It has its Head Office at Dharamshala.

History of KCCB:

• Came into existence on 17th March 1920.
• Indora Banking Union was merged and 2nd Branch of the Bank opened at Nurpur in Jan’1956
• Palampur Banking Union was merged and 3rd Branch of the Bank opened at Palampur in Jan’1957
• Nanaon Banking Union was merged and 4th Branch of the Bank opened at Hamirpur in Oct’1958
• The Bank entered into the deposit mobilisation scheme of Pong Dam Area aggressively and secured maximum share of Deposit Bank Deposits increased from Rs. 256 Lacs in 1971-72 to Rs. 1054 Lacs in 1973-74.

• Food and Civil Supplies Minister Rajinder Garg said Himachal had attained saturation in providing LPG connections as every household in Himachal had been provided with a gas connection.
• He said there was not a single house which did not have a LPG connection. “It is because of this that Himachal had become the first smokeless state of the country.
• Every household was provided free LPG connection under Mukhya Mantri Grahini Suvidha Yojna in 2018 and Govt. has provided over 3.40 lakh gas connection.

• India’s Radhika Batra, Zahra Joya of Afghanistan, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen have been honoured by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their extraordinary work towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The ‘Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards’ were conferred in New York’s Lincoln centre in recognition of the work done by the “four remarkable changemakers” to advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their communities and around the world.

• Two indigenously designed and built Diving Support Vessels of the Navy were launched in Visakhapatnam.
• Named ‘Nistar’ and ‘Nipun’, the ships were launched by Kala Hari Kumar, the wife of the Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, as per naval traditions
• The ships are capable of conducting search and rescue operations and carrying out helicopter operations at sea
• The vessels are first-of-its-kind ships, indigenously designed and built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd
• The two have been manufactured with over 80 per cent indigenous content.

• In a push to the Union government’s ‘Skill India’ initiative, the Electronics Sector Skill Council of India (ESSCI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ‘Samsung India’ to upskill youths and enhance their potential for employability.
• Under the programme ‘Samsung Innovation Campus’, it aims to upskill over 3,000 unemployed youths from 18-25 years of age in future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data and Coding and Programming.
• The ESSCI, which is an approved entity by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), will execute the program through its nationwide network of approved training and education partners.
• Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry is said to be in touch with several such firms in the matter.
• The skilling initiative, which is a flagship programme of the Union government, aims to empower youths with industry-relevant skills in emerging technology domains.
• India is billed as the fastest growing economy in the world and virtually has a jump over other countries with regard to its bulging youthful demography.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch has been to reap demographic dividends stemming from its burgeoning youth population.
• The Union government’s vision is to upskill the youth fast, and consequently facilitate them with a “calling card” to measure up to employment opportunities – both domestic and globally.
• Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar during the MoU ceremony said, “Skilling should not just be about equipping the youth with employable skills but act as gateways to employability and employment — as their “Passports to Prosperity”.
• The Centre’s emphasis on skilling is to harness the opportunities in an increasingly digitised world and to make India a talent pool.
• The government’s thrust is on the NSDC and the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry evolving closer partnerships between the industry and the skilling ecosystem for sustainable solutions.
• It includes harnessing universities and institutes in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the matter.

• India hosted the 10th Ministerial Commission of Foreign Ministers of the India-Brazil-South Africa Trilateral Cooperative Forum (IBSA), on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly. External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, on a 10-day official visit to the United States, met with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Franca and South African Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla.
• The trio reaffirmed the cooperation between India, Brazil and South Africa.
• “Hosted the 10th India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Commission Meeting. Reviewed the IBSA process and recognised its activities. Appreciated its promotion of South-South cooperation, including on global and multilateral issues.”
• The ministers also launched a report by 4 IBSA think tanks.
• The IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.
• The ministerial meeting would review the IBSA process and South-South cooperation.
• The idea of South-South Cooperation (SSC) is not new. Its genesis can be traced back to the decades of efforts by countries and groupings working together to ensure South-South solidarity such as the Bandung conference 1955, the Non-Aligned Movement 1961, the G77 grouping, UNCTAD, the Buenos Aires Plan of Action 1978, and the 2009 Nairobi declaration.
• India, Brazil and South Africa have reaffirmed the urgent need for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to help combat contemporary challenges to international peace and security.

• The International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL)is celebrated annually across the world on 23 September.
• The day is a unique opportunity to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and other sign language users.
• Sign language gives people, who are hard of hearing, a medium to converse.
• This day aims to spread awareness regarding the importance of sign language in the realisation of the human rights of people who are deaf.

International Day of Sign Languages: Theme

• The theme for the 2022 International Day of Sign languages is “Sign Languages Unite Us”. 
• Deaf communities, governments and civil society organisations maintain their collective efforts in fostering, promoting and recognising national sign languages as part of their countries’ vibrant and diverse linguistic landscapes.