NEP will play important role in making India self-reliant: PM Modi

Key points:

1. Education has a crucial role to play in making India self-reliant and prosperous and the new National Education Policy has been introduced with this objective, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
2. “Education has an important role to play in making India self-reliant, happy and prosperous. With this objective, we have been able to give the country a new education policy after over three decades,” Modi said.
3. Approved by the government last month, the NEP replaces the 34-year-old National Policy on Education framed in 1986.
4. It is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.

(Live Mint, 15 August 20200) News Link

Make in India

1. ‘Need to Make in India to make for the world’ — Modi’s I-Day call for Atmanirbhar Bharat

Key points:

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday urged Indians to work towards a ‘Atmanirbhar’ Bharat or self-reliant India, and said the country should strive towards bringing down its import bill and consume more locally manufactured products.
2. Reiterating his call for India to ‘Make for the world’ in his Independence Day speech, Modi said the slew of reforms and legal changes initiated by India over the last few years is seeing many global firms look to India to invest and set up their manufacturing units.
3. “We need to become self reliant to contribute more to the world … We need to increase value addition in the country,” the Prime Minister said from the ramparts of Red Fort.
4. Many measures towards meeting the government’s aim of a self-reliant India were announced as part of the Rs 21 lakh crore economic package announced in May.

(The Print, 15 August 2020) News Link

CII President Uday Kotak welcomes government’s emphasis on infrastructure

Key points:

1. According to Uday Kotak, PM’s speech was inspiring and full of hopes. Kotak stated that focus on infrastructure and supply-side will benefit the nation.
2. He also emphasised that we have to focus on getting out policies right. Kotak also said that we have to ensure unfair competition has no place in India. 
3. Talking about a self-reliant India, Bajaj said, “All-round Aatmanirbhar–from border to agriculture to business side – is achievable with the right efforts”.
4. Talking about ‘Make in India’ he said, the initiative is not just decreasing import but is also about increasing exports from India. He suggested that incentives for select sectors will boost exports. 

(Times Now, 15 August 2020) News Link

Planning of Central Government to Manufacture in Bharat

1. Modi pins hopes on Rs 110 lakh crore National Infra Pipeline to ease Covid hit on economy

Key points:

1. The government has already identified about 7,000 projects in different sectors that will be part of the NIP, the PM added as he made his Independence Day address at the Red Fort. 
2. “There is a need to give a new direction to the overall infrastructure development of the country. This need will be met from the National Infrastructure Pipeline project. The country is going to spend more than Rs 100 lakh crore on this,” the PM added.
3. While around 18-20 per cent of the pipeline is expected to be financed through the central government budget, around 24-26 per cent is to be contributed by state coffers. 
4. A finance ministry taskforce recommended this April that 31 per cent of the required resources be raised through debt from bond markets, banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial corporations), and around 4-10 per cent as equity from private developers, aid agencies, and internal accruals.

(The Print, 15 August 2020) News Link

Investment in Bharat by other Countries

1. FPIs invest ₹28,203 cr in Aug so far; turn net investor in debt after 5 months

Key points:

1. Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) remained net investors in Indian markets in the first half of August, pumping in ₹28,203 crore in debt and equities on net basis in the period, according to the depositories data.
2. FPIs turned net investors in the debt segment in August after a gap of five months.
3. Depositories data showed that a net sum of ₹26,147 crore was invested in equities and ₹2,056 crore in the debt segment by FPIs between Aug 3-14. This translated into a total net investment of ₹28,203 crore.
4. FPIs have been net buyers for two consecutive months prior to this. They invested ₹3,301 crore in July and  ₹24,053 crore in June on net basis.

(Live Mint, 15 August 2020) News Link

Startup in Bharat by Bhartiya

How a chance meet with Mukesh Bansal and post-pregnancy skin issues led to the launch of SkinKraft
Key points:

The skincare brand taps artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology to provide dermatologically approved and customised skincare solutions to customers. 

SkinKraft, a brand under parent company IncNut Digital, recently raised $4 million from RPSG Ventures, in its Series A round.

The skincare brand taps artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology to provide dermatologically approved and customised skincare solutions to customers. SkinKraft, a brand under parent company IncNut Digital, recently raised $4 million from RPSG Ventures, in its Series A round.

In 2008, IIT-Kharagpur and ISB Hyderabad alum Chaitanya, then running his company mGinger, an advertising platform, was at an entrepreneurial meet. He recalls pitching his startup’s idea to Kalaari Capital, where he met Mukesh Bansal, now CEO of Cure.fit. 

According to Chaitanya, SkinKraft’s average monthly revenue is Rs 8 crore and its ARR stands at Rs 100 crore.
(Your Story, 15 August 2020) News Link

How electro-optics startup Optimized Electrotech is strengthening national defence and homeland security
Key points:

Founded in 2017 by Sandeep Shah along with Anil Yekkala, Dharin Shah, Kuldeep Saxena, and Purvi Shah, Optimized Electrotech aims to solve surveillance-related challenges with its long-distance imaging systems.

The make-in-India electro-optics surveillance startup aims to serve the defence, paramilitary forces, aerospace, airports, critical assets, and other industries, along with a huge export market.

The startup’s first line of products, the InfiVision series, works on VIS+NIR wavelength and has been designed to detect a tank in more than 30km range.

The startup received its first VC investment from GVFL and a fund grant of Rs 1.5 crore from the Indian government as the winner of the iDEX challenge.

(Your Story, 15 August 2020) News Link