Women Entrepreneurship Programme Swavalambini

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India in collaboration with NITI Aayog launched Swavalambini – a Women Entrepreneurship Programme in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

The initiative aims to empower female students of selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Northeast India by providing them an entrepreneurial mindset, resources and guidance to enable them to become successful entrepreneurs.

For the first time, MSDE in collaboration with NITI Aayog has launched a structured step-wise entrepreneurship process through the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE).

o Awareness, development, mentoring and funding support will be provided.

 The initiative will lay down a clear roadmap on how to promote and scale women-led enterprises in India.

 Participants who successfully set up their enterprises will be provided recognition and rewards.

 This program is being implemented in many higher educational institutions

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Fort William renamed Vijay Durg

Fort William, the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, has been renamed Vijay Durg and one of its gates, St. George Gate, has been renamed Shivaji Gate.

 Defence officials said the decision to change the name was taken in December 2024.

 The British built the historic Fort William located in Kolkata and named it after King William III.

 The fort has been renamed Vijay Durg on the basis of the oldest fort on the Sindhudurg coast in Maharashtra, which served as a naval base during the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

 The renaming of the fort and its gates symbolizes India's recognition of its military heritage.

 After independence, the control of the fort passed into the hands of the Indian Army, which expanded and renovated it substantially.

Fort William:-

 Fort William was built in 1773 by the British and was named after King William III of England.

 Location:- On the eastern bank of the Hooghly River in Kolkata, West Bengal

 Currently Fort William is the property of the Indian Army. It also serves as the headquarters of the Eastern Command.

History of Fort William:-

 The original fort was built in 1696 by the English East India Company.

 Initially it had wings and an inner bastion where prisoners were taken, which is why it was called the 'Black Hole of Calcutta'.

 In 1756 Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, attacked the fort and captured Calcutta.

 After the fall of Siraj-ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey, the fort was demolished, after which Robert Clive started building a new fort.

 This fort was completed in 1773 and is currently known as Fort William.

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PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana

In the Union Budget 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the 'PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana' to boost the agriculture sector. Under this, agricultural districts will be developed.

PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana - Development Program of Agricultural Districts:

 Targeted Districts: This scheme specifically targets 100 districts with low productivity, low sowing of crops and below average credit availability.

o This program will be implemented through convergence of existing schemes and specific measures. 

 Beneficiaries: About 1.7 crore small and marginal farmers will benefit from this program.

 Other key points: This scheme will be implemented in a phased manner with a multi-pronged approach to modernize Indian agriculture. o This program is inspired by the Aspirational District Program which was launched in the year 2018 to quickly and effectively transform 112 underdeveloped districts across the country.

Key Objectives of PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana

 Crop Diversification: It supports better price realization for farmers by increasing market access and promoting diversified cropping patterns.

 Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Farming: This initiative will encourage the adoption of climate-specific farming, water efficiency and precision agriculture to boost productivity.

 Financial Support for Farmers: This scheme will provide short-term and long-term credit support while making modern equipment, quality seeds and advanced agricultural techniques more accessible.

 Increasing Post-Harvest Storage Capacity: This initiative will reduce post-harvest losses by providing efficient storage, warehousing and logistics at the Panchayat and Block levels.

 Improvement in irrigation facilities: This scheme will increase irrigation coverage and promote efficient water-use technologies to increase cropping intensity and yield stability.

 Technology integration: This scheme promotes innovative agricultural equipment to optimize production.

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National Commission for Safai Karamcharis

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the extension of the term of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis.

 It has been extended from 31st March for the next 3 years i.e. up to 31st March 2028.

 The total financial implication for its 3-year extension will be around Rs 50.91 crore.

About National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK):

 Formed : 12th August, 1994 (by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993')

 Established : As a statutory body

 Initially : For a term of 3 years

 Tenure extended : Up to March, 2002 and then up to February, 2004 through Amendment Acts passed in the year 1997 and 2001

 Year 2004 : National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act,1993" ended

 Ministry : As a non-statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

 Tenure : Extended from time to time through Government resolutions.

Composition of Commission : Chairman, Vice-Chairman and 5 Members

Functions of the Commission :

 To recommend to the Central Government the following specific programmes.

o To eliminate inequalities in the status of Safai Karamcharis,

o Inequalities in facilities and opportunities

o To study and evaluate the implementation of programmes and schemes relating to social and

o Economic rehabilitation of Safai Karamcharis and manual scavengers in particular.

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Potash reserves in India

Large mineral reserves have been discovered in three mining blocks of potash in Fazilka and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts of Punjab.

 Potash refers to potassium containing minerals which are mainly used in fertilizers.

 More than 90% of potash is used as fertilizer and is a combination of three primary agricultural nutrients Nitrogen, Magnesium and Manganese. Phosphorus and potassium (N, P, K) are two of them.

 According to the official Indian Minerals Book 2021, potash can be used on all plants to promote plant health and nutrition as well as increase crop yield.

 Potassium is present in several different forms in all potash fertilizers.

o These include sulphate of potash (SOP) and muriate of potash (MOP).

o SOP is a premium potash fertilizer that is absent of chloride while MOP contains some amount of chloride.

o SOP is mainly used on high-value crops such as leafy plants, fruits and vegetables while MOP is used on carbohydrate-type crops, such as wheat.

Potash reserves in India

 According to the National Mineral Inventory, the total potash resources in the year 2020 are estimated to be 23,091 million tonnes.

o Rajasthan alone contributes 89% of the total resources.

o In Rajasthan, potash reserves are mainly found in the northwestern Nagaur-Ganganagar basin, which also includes Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts bordering Fazilka and Muktsar.

 Punjab is the second state after Rajasthan to have significant reserves of potash.

o The three mining blocks of Punjab having potash reserves are Kabarwala (Muktsar Sahib), Sherewala and Ramsara (Fazilka) and Shergarh and Dalmir Kheda (Fazilka).

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